Educational goals

The specific educational objective of the degree course in Biological Sciences is to prepare graduates who have acquired solid knowledge in the cultural areas of basic biology such as to allow both the continuation of studies, addressing specific aspects of biology, and access to the world of work in technical-executive roles. The graduate will acquire operational and applicative skills and abilities in the biological field and will be able to carry out technical-operational tasks and professional support activities. In particular, the graduate will have to possess an adequate basic knowledge in the various fields of biology, acquire multidisciplinary methodological and technological knowledge, with particular reference to technical procedures of analysis biological and instrumental skills, both for research and monitoring and control activities, to be able to use, in written and oral form, at least one language of the European Union, in addition to Italian, to be in possession of adequate skills and tools for communication and information management, to be able to work in a team and to operate independently, possess the basic cognitive tools for updating their knowledge. For the purposes indicated, the training course will be structured as follows: - during the first year, students will acquire the fundamental elements of mathematics with lectures and exercises dedicated to presenting the various aspects of theory and illustrating them through examples taken from the real world and in particular from biology; They will learn basic concepts of classical physics and fundamental chemical knowledge necessary to understand the chemical aspect of biological systems. There are also courses that introduce students to biological disciplines such as Cytology and Histology, Botany and Zoology; - in the second year, activities are planned aimed at the acquisition of knowledge of statistics and biometrics for the processing of experimental results, the acquisition of the theoretical and experimental foundations of the organization structural and molecular analysis of microorganisms, animal organisms and plant organisms, their functional aspects, the mechanisms of inheritance and development, the interactions between organism and environment, and the processes of biological evolution. English language is also taught, with the aim of providing students with a good basic knowledge, including the specific linguistic aspects of biological disciplines; - During the third year, the basic biological preparation will be completed by acquiring knowledge in the field of molecular biology, plant physiology and computer science. Also in the third year, a list is proposed of courses covering the different specialized areas of Biology, in the ecological-environmental, biochemical-biomolecular and biomedical-health fields. These courses have been deliberately included in this year of the course, so that the student can make informed choices already having a solid basic preparation. Laboratory activities are also planned, with the aim of acquiring specific practical skills in the 3 macro-areas of biological interest (molecular biology, cell biology and environmental biology) and providing a good command of the methodologies and technologies inherent in the relevant fields of scientific investigation. Students will then carry out an internship at one of the research laboratories in the various scientific disciplinary sectors present in the CdS, with the alternative possibility of training periods in companies, public administration structures and laboratories and/or internships at Italian and foreign universities, in relation to specific objectives, also within the framework of international agreements. These activities are a priority objective of the CdS, as they allow to carry out research activities, both basic and applied, and activities of a practical nature essential for the graduate's training. The training course ends with the final exam consisting of the elaboration and discussion of a written report in front of a special commission. The relationship may result either from the performance of an individual activity A laboratory research on a topic established by the thesis supervisor.

Career opportunities

Biologist The expected employment opportunities concern activities in different fields of application, such as production and laboratory technology (industrial, food and biotechnological, public and private research and service institutions) and services at the level of analysis, control and management. In particular, the main tasks and activities that graduates will carry out within these working realities concern the analytical-instrumental procedures related to biological investigations; To the investigations technical-analytical in the biotechnological, biomolecular, biomedical fields, also aimed at research activities; to technical-analytical and control investigations in the field of prevention, conservation, restoration of the environment and biodiversity; technical-analytical investigations in the biochemical, microbiological, toxicological, pharmacological and genetic fields; quality control procedures. Applications of computer methodologies for the manipulation of biological data are also included.

Admission requirements

To be admitted to the degree course, the student must be in possession of the upper secondary school diploma required by the regulations in force, or another qualification obtained abroad, recognized as suitable by the offices of the University. Biological, chemical, physical, mathematical and English language skills at high school level are also required for admission as an adequate initial preparation. The procedures for verifying the adequacy of the initial preparation and the recovery of any gaps and deficits in the student's training (to be filled in any case within the first year of study) are governed by the Didactic Regulations of the degree course.