Program information

A focus subject consists of a theoretical and a practical module and follow the same structure as the focus subjects in MSc Biology (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster). In short: Theoretical modules consist of lectures, a seminar, and an oral exam. Practical modules are essentially lab internships. For more information please see also here (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster).

As focus subjects, you can elect 

• Ecology
• Biodiversity
• Evolutionary and systematic botany
• Theoretical ecology
• Molecular ecology and evolutionary biology
• Animal ecology and evolution
• Conservation ecology and genetics
• Microbiology
• Bioinformatics

For this module, choose courses from 2 of the following 4 areas. When in doubt about whether courses are eligible, please contact Prof. Christoph Reisch , who is responsible for the module.

1) Science and philosophy

Lectures or seminars from the areas of philosophy, ethics or related disciplines that you can find in SPUR. Please contact Christoph Reisch in advance to check if a course is eligible. 

2) Environmental law

Lectures from general or in particular environmental law that you may find via SPUR. For German-speaking students, we recommend the VHB Kurs "Biodiversitätsfördernde Maßnahmen" together with the course on environmental law offered by our programme (contact Christoph Reisch for details)

3) Language skills

You can take any language course offered by the UR (e.g. the courses by the SHK here (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster)) or any other language course (e.g. VHS or private language school with a certificate) with a reasonable quality and a duration of at least 2 SWS.

4) Soft Skills

You can take any courses from the following areas:

• Any presentation, rhetoric or scientific writing courses, see e.g. courses offered by the ZSK.
• Any type of job-related skills courses (application training, career events)
• IT / statistics / data analysis courses, e.g. the stats courses offered by the Theoretical Ecology Lab or the courses offered by the IT Education (SITA)
• Participation in the RIGeL lecture series.
   

This module consists of doing an external internship for at least 6 weeks, organized by the student, in an institution or company with relevance for biologists. The internship can take place in Germany or abroad. Possibilities include planning offices, authorities, biological collections, zoos, national parks (close to Regensburg are NPBW (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster) and NPBG (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster)), botanical gardens, museums, associations or scientific institutes. You may also consider universities or research institutes outside Germany. Internships at the University of Regensburg or other universities in Germany will not be recognised. 

You are responsible for finding and organising the internship yourself! 

Contact person: Maaria Rosenkranz (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster) 

1. Approval: Before starting, you must confirm with Maaria Rosenkranz that your chosen internship qualifies for credit.
2. Credit transfer: To receive your credits after completing the internship, you will need to submit a internship report (written by yourself) and an official reference or certificate by the host institution that confirms the duration and quality (what you did) of your internship. After finalising your internship, send both to Maaria Rosenkranz.

A compulsory 3-week block course in research methods that is offered once per year by the Theoretical Ecology lab. It is recommended to take this course during your first year, as it prepares you for your internships and MSc thesis. The course is usually offered in Spring. The exact date will always be announced in the course catalogue. 

The course has no limit of participation, meaning that you will always get a spot. However, it is recommended to sign up to the GRIPS of the Research Skills course (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster) 1-2 months advance to get updates about the course organisation.

Broadly, the same rules for the thesis apply as for the MSc biology, with the addition that you would typically search for a supervisor within the groups that contribute to the EEC programme (this, however, is not a requirement). External MSc thesis are also possible and encouraged. 

The master´s thesis has to be registered in the examination office of biology (Prüfungsamt Biologie). The Application-Form you can find on the website of the examination office.

The examination regulations for the program can be found under below links. Because of legal / administrative reasons, only the regulations in German language are legally binding. 

Examination regulations for first-year students from the winter semester 26/27 onwards:

• Prüfungs- und Studienordnung vom August 2026 / Examination Regulations (pdf) (in German)
• Examination Regulations from August 2026 onwards (pdf) (in English)

Examination regulations for first-year students from the summer semester 2023 onwards:

• Prüfungs- und Studienordnung vom Januar 2023 / Examination Regulations (pdf) (in German)

You can find the Module Catalogue for the EEC program here (öffnet neues Fenster). (nicht barrierefrei).  This Module Catalogue applies to students commencing their studies in the winter semester 26/27 or later.

Notice! The subjects “Ecology” and “Biodiversity” are currently not offered.

An older Module catalogue (from the year 2023) can be found here (öffnet neues Fenster). (nicht barrierefrei).

Our faculty offers the MSc Ecology, Evolution and Conservation and MSc Biology. These two MSc programs have a nearly identical structure (in that both require 3 skills modules and selection of 3 focus subjects), but differ in the details of the application process, the offered courses and the study regulations. The main differences are:

1. In the EEC program, you can only take focus subjects with relevance to the EEC field (see examination regulations). In the MSc Biology, you can take pretty much all focus subjects from the EEC field, but you can mix them with other focus subjects, in particular from molecular biology or biochemistry. Note, however, that while both MSc Biology and MSc EEC students can take the EEC focus subjects, EEC students will be given priority in case of limited places, as these students cannot choose alternative focus subjects.
2. The EEC program has a different application process and study regulations. Broadly, the MSc Biology requires that your BSc studies were in Biology with a similar curriculum than in Regensburg. The EEC is more broad and also admits students with other BSc degrees such as ecology, environmental sciences etc.
3. The MSc EEC program has slightly different soft skills modules than the MSc Biology and notably includes an external internship. 

The bottomline is: if you are broadly interested in biology and consider taking focus subjects in the area of biochemistry as well, you should apply for the MSc Biology. If you know that you want to specialise on organismic biology with a focus on ecology, evolution and conservation, you should apply for the MSc EEC.

Note also that as the structure is so similar, it is also possible to switch between the two programs. Details have to be assessed on a case by case basis, but as a rule of thumb assume that:

• All focus subjects that you have already started or completed can be transferred between the two programs
• The Research Skills module is identical and can be transferred
• Likely, some courses can be transferred between the MSc Biology job skills module and the MSc EEC Ethics, law and communication module
• The MSc EEC Internship module is not included in the MSc Biology, so if you switch from Biology to the EEC, this is something you have to do additionally.