Biotechnologie
mRNA vaccines, laundry detergent, lactose-free milk, or biogas: biotechnology is found in almost everything that makes our daily lives better. In this program, you’ll combine biology and chemistry with real-world engineering knowledge. And you’ll learn how to cultivate microorganisms, extract active ingredients, and develop processes for industry. Starting in the first semester, you’ll be in the lab, operating state-of-the-art bioreactors and cracking molecular codes. Theory? Sure. But with us, it becomes a solution right away.
Profile
Degree
Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng.) or Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.)
Study Language
German
Standard period of study
7 Semester (inkl. 1 Praxissemester)
Starts of study
Winter semester
Application deadline
September 18
Admission requirements
General or technical university entrance qualification, technical college entrance qualification
ECTS
210 Credits
Place of study
Campus Offenburg
Everything You Need to Know
Course Content
Your program is a mix of molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, and engineering. After covering the fundamentals of math, physics, chemistry, and related subjects, you’ll choose your specialization in the third semester:
Molecular Biotechnologie (B.Sc.): You’ll focus on the natural sciences. Here, your emphasis will be on the design and production of biomolecules from microorganisms. You’ll learn everything about biocatalysis and cell culture techniques and analyze proteins in detail.
Bioprocess Engineering (B.Eng.): Is your heart more in engineering? Here, you’ll design systems, control bioreactors, and optimize upscaling and downstream processing—that is, the transition from the lab to industrial production.
In numerous lab exercises, you’ll put your knowledge into practice: from the first chemical formulas to the finished biotechnological process. You’ll isolate DNA, perform PCR analyses, or treat wastewater using biological methods.
During the practical semester, you’ll apply your skills and knowledge at a company of your choice and gain valuable experience in your future field of work.
By the way, you can even spend the entire 7th semester in industry if you complete your elective modules there as a project.
Perspectives
As a biotechnology graduate, you’ll tackle major challenges of the future—such as the transition from a petroleum-based to a bio-based industry. After graduation, you’ll be in high demand and will hold positions of responsibility in the pharmaceutical, food, or cosmetics industries, in labs, at biotechnology startups, or in environmental technology.
For example, here:
Research & Development
Quality Management
Gene Therapy
Cell culture technology
Protein Engineering
Bioprocess Engineering (Upstream and Downstream Processing)
Labs in the Biotechnologie Program
Experience Biotechnology—Right from the Start
How are mRNA vaccines developed? Why is milk lactose-free? And what do microorganisms have to do with biogas or detergents? In our state-of-the-art labs, you’ll get to the bottom of these questions firsthand. Here, you’ll combine biology and chemistry with engineering and learn how microorganisms are cultivated, active ingredients are extracted, and industrial processes are developed. Starting in your first semester, you’ll work in the lab, use modern bioreactors, and immerse yourself in the world of molecules. Discover the diverse laboratories of the Biotechnology program and gain insight into the hands-on training offered in our program.
Chemistry and Biochemistry Lab
Chemistry and biochemistry laboratories form the foundation of all science education and research. They enable the practical performance of chemical syntheses, the purification and characterization of substances, and the handling and analysis of biochemical molecules such as enzymes and proteins. They provide a fully equipped infrastructure for preparative and analytical work in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry.
Laboratory Courses and Exercises
Students acquire a range of skills, from basic techniques—solution preparation, redox reactions, distillation—to preparative synthesis and product characterization. In the advanced phase of the program, the focus is on enzyme technology: purification, activity determination, and immobilization of beta-glucosidase using CLEA technology provide hands-on experience with industrially relevant biocatalysis.
Chemistry – Introductory Lab (BT-B 03, 1st semester)
Chemistry – Lab (BT-B 08, 2nd semester)
Biocatalysis – Lab (BT-B 16, 4th semester)
Equipment and Infrastructure
Fume hoods, titration apparatus, distillation and filtration units, analytical measuring instruments, FPLC system (upper-division), microplate readers (fluorescence, luminescence, absorption, kinetics, automated dispensing)
Analytics
Analytical laboratories are indispensable in industry and research—anywhere where material compositions need to be determined, purity levels checked, or processes monitored. They cover a wide range of methods: from traditional wet chemistry and electrochemistry to modern spectroscopic and chromatographic separation techniques. The facilities are available to collaboration partners for contract analysis and joint method development.
Laboratory Courses and Exercises
Students gain experience with a broad range of methods directly applicable to real-world situations: from wet chemical methods such as acid-base titration and water hardness determination, through photometric food analysis, to chromatographic separation using DC and HPLC. The goal is not only to master these methods but also to critically interpret and evaluate analytical results.
Analytical Chemistry – Laboratory (BT-B 13, 3rd Semester)
Equipment and Infrastructure
Photometers, electrochemical measuring instruments, HPLC system, DC/HPTLC equipment
Microbiology and Genetic Engineering
Microbiology and genetic engineering laboratories are at the heart of modern biotechnology. They enable the cultivation and characterization of microorganisms, the performance of molecular biological analyses, and the safe handling of biological material in accordance with legal safety standards. As Biosafety Level 2 laboratories, they are designed for a wide range of microbiological and molecular biological work—from environmental analysis to the development of genetic engineering applications.
Laboratory Courses and Exercises
Over the course of several semesters, students gradually develop their skills in microbiology and molecular biology: from working with pure cultures and analyzing real environmental samples to cloning and modern detection methods such as ELISA, qPCR, and FISH. In the 6th semester, they also analyze the inflow and outflow of real wastewater treatment plants and evaluate their treatment performance based on legal limits.
Biotechnology – Introductory Lab (BT-B 01, 1st semester)
Microbiology – Lab (BT-B 08, 2nd semester)
Genetic Engineering – Laboratory (BT-B 15, 3rd/4th semester)
Wastewater Treatment – Laboratory (BT-B 25, 6th semester)
Biotechnological Processes from Lab to Market – Laboratory (BT-M 11, 1st semester)
Equipment and Infrastructure
Laminar flow hoods, autoclaves, fluorescence microscopes, PCR and qPCR instruments, electrophoresis systems, ELISA readers, incubators, genetic engineering safety level S1, Biological Agents Ordinance / Infection Control Protection Level S2
Cell Culture Techniques
Cell culture laboratories enable the cultivation, characterization, and quality control of human and animal cells under defined, sterile conditions. They are indispensable for the development and production of biopharmaceuticals, cell therapies, and medical devices, as well as for preclinical drug testing and biocompatibility testing in accordance with international standards.
Laboratory Courses and Exercises
Students culture human cell lines in adherent culture, isolate immune cells from blood, and perform a complete quality control process, including viability testing and mycoplasma screening. Particular emphasis is placed on the toxicological characterization of active substances.
Applied Cell Biology – Laboratory (BT-B 28, 6th semester)
Equipment and Infrastructure
CO₂ incubators, laminar flow hoods, flow cytometers (four collinear lasers), fluorescence microscopes, cryopreservation
Fees and Funding
Semester Tuition and Fees
Hochschule Offenburg charges an administrative fee of 80.00 euros per semester and a social contribution of 65.00 euros for the Studierendenwerk Freiburg. In addition, the University’s student body charges all enrolled students a student body fee of 25.00 euros per semester to fulfill its responsibilities. Students on leave of absence from their studies are also required to pay these fees; however, foreign students enrolled on a temporary basis are exempt pursuant to Section 60(1), sentence 2, of the Higher Education Act (LHG).
= 170 euros per semester
Additional costs for PLUS Education degree programs (degree programs with a teaching certification option)
For students in the following bachelor's programs
Elektrotechnik/Informationstechnik PLUS Pädagogik
Mechatronik PLUS Pädagogik
Media Technology/Business PLUS Education
Wirtschaftsinformatik PLUS Pädagogik
an additional fee of 28.00 euros for local public transportation (semester ticket) applies, in accordance with the fees regulations of the Freiburg Studierendenwerk.
Note: You pay the semester fee to Hochschule Offenburg; however, you are enrolled at both Hochschule Offenburg and Freiburg University of Education.
Additional Costs for International Master's Programs
Students in international master's programs must also pay a flat-rate service fee of 150.00 euros per semester.
Tuition Fees for International Students and Students Pursuing a Second Degree
Since the 2017/18 winter semester, universities in the state of Baden-Württemberg have been charging international students tuition fees of 1,500.00 euros per semester and students pursuing a second degree 650.00 euros per semester.
You can find more information about these fees here:
https://www.landesrecht-bw.de/bsbw/document/jlr-HSchulGebGBWrahmen
http://www.bw-studyguide.de/en/studying/finance-and-funding.html
Exceptions to Tuition Fees for International Students:
According to Section 3 of the LHGebG, international students who are not citizens of an EU/EEA country and do not hold a German university entrance qualification are required to pay tuition fees. However, the law provides for a few exceptions.
To determine whether you are required to pay tuition fees, you can use the following information form and send it, completed and accompanied by the necessary supporting documents, to studiengebuehren@hs-offenburg.de:
Tuition Fee Information Form (PDF)
To apply for an exemption from tuition fees, please use the corresponding application form:
Application for Tuition Fee Exemption for International Students (PDF)
Application for Tuition Fee Exemption for a Second Degree Program (PDF)
Pursuant to Section 6, Paragraphs 4 and 5 of the LHGebG, Hochschule Offenburg may fully or partially exempt a limited number of international students from tuition fees if it deems them to be particularly gifted. The requirements, etc., are set forth in the bylaws governing tuition fee exemptions for international students based on exceptional talent. Students at the University can find more detailed information in the relevant announcement on the intranet.
BAföG
Information about BAföG is available on the website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. If you have any questions about BAföG, the Freiburg-Schwarzwald Studierendenwerk—which is responsible for Hochschule Offenburg—will also be happy to assist you under the “Money” section. You can submit applications for financial aid at the Studierendenwerk’s branch office on the Offenburg campus.
Studierendenwerk Branch Office
Badstraße 24, 77652 Offenburg
Phone: 0781 205-328
Office hours:
Mon and Wed from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.,
as well as by telephone appointment
Here you’ll find a PDF in which we’ve summarized the criteria for what are known as “standard achievements”—the requirements you must demonstrate to continue receiving funding after two years of BAföG support.
Contact Person for M+V
Scholarships
A scholarship takes the financial pressure off you. Find the right support in our overview of scholarship programs.
Application
Would you like to submit an application for this degree program?
Applications will not be accepted again until the 2027/28 winter semester.
Would you like to find out now which documents you’ll need to submit for an application or later enrollment? You can find the relevant information in these two checklists:
Checklist for programs with admission quotas (PDF)
Checklist for programs without an admission cap (PDF)
We look forward to receiving your application or direct enrollment for the 2027/28 winter semester!
Do you have any questions about the application or enrollment process?
The team at the Zulassungsamt will be happy to assist you:
Phone: 0781 205-4792 (Mon–Thu 9:00 AM–12:00 PM, Tue 1:00 PM–3:00 PM)
In person: Room: A 007
Research Meets Industry: Our New Modules
From genetic code to life-saving drugs: Our new Focus Modules provide you with the perfect tools for a career in the life sciences industry. Learn how to combat diseases at the molecular level, edit genomes with precision, and successfully scale biotechnological processes.
Highlights from the study program
Do you have any questions about the application or enrollment process?
The team at the Zulassungsamt will be happy to assist you:
Phone: 0781 205-4792 (Mon–Thu 9:00 AM–12:00 PM, Tue 1:00 PM–3:00 PM)
In person: Room: A 007
Contacts
