Bachelor in Biology

By prolonging the BA by a MA in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular biology, Biology of organisms and Ecology, or Bioinformatics and Modelling, students may pursue careers in the following areas:

• Industrial area (pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food processing, environmental technology): research and development, responsible for management, communication and/or publishing; scientific advisor for the sale of high-tech products;

• Education: teaching in secondary schools and at higher non-university level

• Academia: teaching and research in universities and high schools;

• Public area (local, regional, federal, international) and nongovernmental organizations (NGO): business related to conservation, management and valorization of resources of biological diversity; to environment and sustainable development, quality control, biosafety, forensics, continuing education, dissemination of science;

After the Master, the student can continue his education by achieving a PhD, for which fellowships are available.

By prolonging the BA by a MA in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biology of organisms and Ecology, or Bioinformatics and Modelling, the student will address to one of the following careers:

• Research (in companies, universities, public research institutions)

• Teacher (secondary schools, higher non-university level)

• Project manager for the conservation and management of natural resources, in NGOs, administrations and international institutions

• Responsible for educational projects in the field of natural sciences in museums, ASBL, botanical gardens

• Scientific advisor for the sale of products derived from biotechnology, pharmaceutical companies

• Responsible for the monitoring of analyses (clinical, quality control, biodiversity, bioremediation, biosecurity, forensic, companies in biotechnology and genomics...)

• Instructor in in-service training activities

• Responsible for management, communication and/or in scientific publishing in a company (pharmaceutical, biotechnology, environmental technologies...) or a public institution

• Etc....

• Acquiring the general scientific training (in Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Earth science) necessary for the study of Biology and that raise awareness of the students in all aspects of the progress of science.

• Appropriating all the fundamental concepts of Biology and using them in new situations.

• Acquiring the principles of scientific approach.

• Acquiring an experimental training in the key disciplines of Biology.

• Learning to master the peculiarities of scientific language and writing, and communicating to a target audience appropriately.

• Awareness of societal issues of Biology and Science (values, moral, ethic, and legal issues).

During the BA, you will receive a double competence:

• a general education in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth sciences;

• a specific education in Life sciences: Zoology, Botany, Ecology, Physiology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Cell biology, Molecular biology, Microbiology (viruses and bacteria).

Theprogram covers two main topics:

• Biology of organisms. It concerns with the knowledge and understanding of biological diversity, its evolution and its role in ecosystem functioning; therefore it studies the organization, physiology, and ecology of various types of organisms (animals, plants, fungi, micro-organisms);

• Molecular biology. It deals with the understanding of biological phenomena through the study of molecules and cells constituting organisms. It also contributes to the study of pathologies (molecular causes and development of therapies).

The importance of these two topics is substantially equivalent (50/50%).

Each year of the program includes several modules of practical training in laboratories where the students learn how to perform experiments and analyze results.

The training includes excursions to conduct field studies (observation, exploration, collection, analysis...)

In unit 2 and 3 a scientific training in English is provided.

In unit 2, computer training is provided.

Unit 1 comprises optional courses in earth and environmental sciences

In unit 3, students carry out a personal project of « Research and scientific communication ».

The ULB is internationally recognized for the excellence of its research teams in the field of Life Sciences.

The ULB has a Museum of Zoology (with the possibility of observation of living and preserved specimens) and an experimental botanical garden, freely available to students, and widely used in original teaching approaches.

Most molecular biology laboratories of the Faculty of Sciences of the ULB are grouped at the Biopark, a major centre of research and economic development located at Gosselies, near Charleroi.