Program description:
06.04.01
Biology
Mathematical and Natural Sciences
Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Master's degree
2019-2024
Full-time: 2 years
Russian
Duration of study: 2 years
Code: 06.04.01 “Biology”
Credits: 120 ECTS
Language of instruction: English
Entry requirements: Bachelor’s degree, certificate of English proficiency (B2 level or higher). Final admission is decided upon an interview.
Final examination: Master’s thesis defense
· Program highlights: Several polygons for studying biodiversity: Biological station, Botanical gardens, Zoological Museum, Herbarium, Expeditions, university labs.
· Unique opportunities for studying different types of natural communities in different climatic zones within one region
Career opportunities: graduates are trained for starting the career in research and project institutions dealing with biology, ecology, biotechnology, agriculture and environmental services.
What will you study?
1. Biodiversity - from molecular genetics to population and ecosystem level;
2. Biodiversity of plants, fungi and animals;
3. Relicts and endemic species – living witnesses of past epochs;
4. Adventitious species: a threat to native (autochthonous) biodiversity or its completion?
5. Biodiversity in a changing climate and under the human impact;
Why in UrFU?
Ural region as a polygon for studies of biodiversity on the border of natural ecosystems (altitudinal and latitudinal gradients, eastern-western slopes, lakes and rivers, swamps and meadows, coniferous and deciduous forests, steppes and tundra). Several climatic zones cross the whole territory, so that there are northern and southern borders of many biological species distribution. The plains adjacent to the Urals are characterized by an expressed horizontal zoning: boreal forest (northern, middle and southern taiga), broad-leaved forest and steppe. In the mountains, the pronounced vertical zoning is marked: mountain forest, subalpine, mountain tundra and alpine cold deserts, which are fragmentary presented in the northern part of the Urals. Moreover, the Urals is a highly industrial region. Mining and smelting enterprises are traditional for the region. Considerable areas are occupied by agricultural land, arable for crops and fodders. In recent decades, a lot of territories are impacted by recreational loads.
The program is implemented in the Department of Biodiversity and Bioecology. The Department has a strong cooperation with the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Russian Academy of Sciences, bringing together fundamental education and practical application of knowledge. Both university professors, postdocs and principal investigators from the Academy of Sciences supervise students on their studies.
The language of the program - English
