The major in Life Sciences is offered as part of a five year Integrated Master of Science in Life Sciences programme. It is a distinctive programme which introduces students to modern concepts in biology ranging from molecules to ecosystems. The major  introduces students to the basic areas of biology as cell biology, microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology and later in certain specialised branches of biology such as cancer biology, nanotechnology, research methodology, recombinant DNA technology and bioinformatics. The laboratory courses will introduce students to research methods in biology and the 18 months long Masters thesis will help them to continue their research in an area of their interest. Students wanting to pursue their career in industry can substitute their credits with an extended industry internship or an industry project. Through the interdisciplinary approach, they will be able to think even outside biology and try to solve a problem from different angles and to become well-rounded scientists. 

The major aims to generate curiosity about learning and scientific reasoning through laboratory work where the student will get hands-on experience to accompany the knowledge they gain from the lectures in class.  The objectives of the major are as follows:

• To introduce students to the basic areas of biology like biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology and molecular biology first and then let them choose their area of specialisation based on their interest. 
• Help students to develop skills of reasoning and critically analysing their ideas.
• Lecture-based courses will enable them to think about a problem and apply knowledge gained in the class to find solutions to a problem.
• Through laboratory courses, they will be trained in designing experiments to verify their theoretical solution, planning and executing experiments and finally analysis of the results accurately to solve a problem. 
• Develop an aptitude for research through the 18 months long Masters thesis and the research projects and provide flexibility to go for an industry internship or an industry project for those who wants to pursue their career in an industry. 
• Introduce students to ethics in life science which is important for them to learn early in the course.
• Provide excellent training to students to undertake diverse and challenging career opportunities in academia, industries, NGOs and entrepreneurship.

On completing the Integrated Master of Science in Life Sciences programme, students will be able to:

• Apply their thorough knowledge gained in the class for critical thinking
• Apply knowledge to analyse a problem
• Design experiments to answer a query
• Apply ethical training where appropriate
• Collect and analyse data as accurately as possible
• Write about their scientific work and communicate it to a layperson
• An interdisciplinary approach will provide them the platform to apply knowledge gained in other areas in finding a solution to a problem

The Integrated Master of science in Life sciences will provide an excellent training to pursue a career in research both in academia and industries. Students not interested in research will be guided for other career opportunities like entrepreneurship, NGOs, scientific writing and also in software programming or analytics.

To learn more about the Lifesciences programme at Ahmedabad University you may send an email to [email protected].