Master of Science (M.Sc.) Bioeconomy

Structure

The master's degree program in Bioeconomy, including the master's thesis, comprises four semesters of standard study time. Including the master thesis, the course of study has a total of 120 ECTS credits.

In addition to six compulsory subjects, two specializations are offered: The Major in Social Sciences or the Major in (Bio-)Technology. Students who have already completed a combination of economics with engineering and natural sciences in their bachelor's program (for example, successful graduates of the B.Sc. Bioeconomy or the B.Sc. TUM-BWL with a focus on renewable resources), and who are aiming for further technical-scientific specialization, can choose a larger number of modules from the technical-scientific area. They then complete the Master Bioeconomy with a Major in (Bio-) Technology. Graduates who prefer a stronger focus on economics and social sciences can complete the Master Bioeconomy with a Major in Social Sciences.

The course is divided into the following four areas:

• Fundamentals in Economics and Sustainability:
  Advanced Empirical Research, Operations Research, Behavioral Public Economics, Advanced Sustainability, and Life Cycle Assessment, Advanced Environmental and Resource Economics, Sustainable Production
• Specialization in (Bio-)Technology:
  Microbial and Plant Biotechnology, Artificial Intelligence in Biotechnology, Biogenic Polymers, Biological Materials in Nature and Technology, Bioinspired Materials and Processes, Sustainable Chemistry, Modelling and Optimization of Energy Systems, Renewables Utilization, Chemistry of Enzymes, Enzyme Engineering, Enzymatic Biotransformation, Wood-based Resources, Advanced Concepts
• Electives in Social Sciences, Sustainability, and Technology:
  Advanced Development Economics, Markets for Energy and Biobased Products, Personnel and Organizational Economics, Consumer Studies, Innovation in Bioeconomy, Corporate Sustainability Management, Plant and Technology Management, Advanced Seminar in Supply and Value Chain Management, Advanced Seminar in Circular Economy and Sustainability Management, Advanced Seminar in Behavioral Economics, Environmental Accounting and Economics and Sustainability Sciences, Microbial and Plant Biotechnology, Artificial Intelligence in Biotechnology, Biogenic Polymers, Biological Materials in Nature and Technology, Bioinspired Materials and Processes, Sustainable Chemistry, Modelling and Optimization of Energy Systems, Renewables Utilization, Chemistry of Enzymes, Enzyme Engineering, Enzymatic Biotransformation, Wood-based Resources, Advanced Concepts
• Master’s Thesis

Learning outcomes

The social transformation towards a bioeconomy requires a sufficient number of decision-makers and experts in society, business, politics, and research who possess the necessary interdisciplinary skills, practical abilities, and social competencies in addition to disciplinary knowledge. The Bioecocomy Master's program aims to provide students with these competencies and skills so that they can act as innovators and mediators across disciplines in order to develop, implement and disseminate the bioeconomic idea in society, industry, politics, and research. In particular, the course of study is intended to promote out-of-the-box thinking for solving complex inter- and transdisciplinary problems. Students are thus able to grasp the interaction of new technologies and their dissemination via the socio-technical systems in which these are embedded. Further, they are able to recognize and absorb future developments and thus to develop holistically sustainable solutions and make decisions. Successful graduates of the master's degree Bioecocomy can combine environmental compatibility and technological possibilities with the ideas of economic efficiency and social acceptance in their decision-making.

Accordingly, the qualification profile of the students of the Master's degree program Bioeconomy includes the areas of knowledge, knowledge generation and application, the fields of communication and cooperation, and also the scientific and professional self-image in order to train internationally oriented, inter- and transdisciplinary experts and managers. Students acquire essential specialist and methodological knowledge for the bioeconomy in the fields of economics, sustainability sciences, engineering, and natural sciences. Students learn the methods of the disciplines under consideration in order to be able to acquire knowledge independently in the future and to understand the discipline-specific forms of problem-solving and decision-making. Ultimately, the aim is to develop linguistic expression in the relevant disciplines.

Students will be enabled to work together in inter- and transdisciplinary teams to develop solutions to questions of the bioeconomy. Since the bioeconomy is not only regionally or nationally limited, but is embedded in a globally networked and digital society, the course of study is internationally oriented and is therefore offered completely in English.

Career opportunities

Due to the strong interdisciplinary profile, graduates are able to work across disciplines. Professional fields include public offices and international organizations that deal with the production, use, and national and international markets of biogenic resources and generally the establishment of more sustainable processes, but also companies that are active or want to become active in this field. Graduates* of the program can be employed in all areas in which complex and systemic inter- and transdisciplinary thinking is the basis for international entrepreneurial and economic success.