Cell and Molecular Biotechnology

The program prepares biologists/biotechnologists capable of solving practical problems and knowledgeable in biochemistry, biotechnology, bioengineering, bioinformatics, genetics, and other related fields.

Biotechnology is considered to be the science of the future because it lies at the intersection of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, molecular genetics, bioorganic chemistry - and therefore solves complex problems dictated by the rapid development of technology in various fields. That's why specialists in biotechnology are in demand in both scientific and practical spheres: they are attracted to work by technology companies, agricultural, pharmaceutical and food structures, as well as research institutes.

Specialists with a wide range of skills and qualifications graduated from the Cell and Molecular Biotechnology program at HSE University show high competitiveness, so they can make a career in both national and foreign companies and institutes. 

The lecture and seminar part of the program and the unique laboratory practical work are developed on the basis of scientific and pedagogical experience of biologists from leading Russian institutes, as well as on the current demands of biotechnology - so they include the most modern knowledge and methods in the field.
Program features:
- actively practicing specialists and the best university professors of natural sciences are simultaneously involved in teaching, which allows students to gain fundamental knowledge and experience already in the first years of study;
- from the first year students take part in the research of biological laboratories of the leading institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
- the program offers high-quality language training, allowing students to listen to English-language lectures of foreign professors by the middle of the course, and to prepare research papers in English independently by the end of the course.

The Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology program is a system of required major and variative additional courses, which allows students to build an individual learning track by choosing courses of interest and lecture cycles in advanced courses.

The program of study includes several blocks:

General Cycle: Life Safety, Physical Education, Legal Literacy, and Economics.
Basic and basic profile part, which can be conditionally divided into three areas: "Mathematics and Physics", "Chemistry", "Biology".
The variative part (disciplines read during the fourth year), in which students can choose subjects from two directions: "Biotechnology" and "Cell and Molecular Biology."
Additional profile - Minor (offered to second and third year students): an academic cycle that represents an additional educational trajectory over and above the training in the main educational field.
Practical, project and research work in laboratories throughout the course.
English: the block includes obligatory exams and Project Proposal defense on the topic of the Master's thesis in English, as well as elective additional courses and academic writing in a foreign language.
Data Culture module: is aimed at both basic mastering of programming and its profile application for the purpose of data processing and analysis. 
You can learn more about the program's academic disciplines here.

Students in the undergraduate Cell and Molecular Biotechnology program gain comprehensive knowledge of the natural sciences and skills in research and practical approaches to solving applied problems.
Biologists/biotechnologists trained in this program will be in demand in:
- leading research institutes in Russia and foreign research centers;
- Commercial organizations aimed at implementation of biotechnological developments in production;
- Research & Development of technological companies and startups;
- Institutes of the Russian Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture;
- Manufacturing, pharmacological and other spheres that require specialized knowledge and skills for solving applied problems in the sphere of biotechnology.
After graduation, graduates can continue their studies in Master's programs at the Higher School of Economics or other Russian and foreign universities.

The undergraduate program "Cell and Molecular Biotechnology" is implemented at the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

To enroll, you must submit the results of the Unified State Exam in the following subjects:

Biology (minimum score 70)

Mathematics (major exam) / Chemistry - optional (minimum score 70)

Russian language (minimum score 60).

In addition to the USE, applicants can get additional points for a set of individual achievements. A complete list is available on the Admissions Office page.

In addition to the Unified State Examination, applicants can get extra points for a combination of individual achievements. A complete list is available on the Admissions Committee page. 

Requirements to international applicants

Foreign nationals and stateless persons, including compatriots living abroad, may apply for budgetary (quota) places in a separate competition. Only foreign citizens who do not have Russian citizenship may be admitted to the commercial places in a separate competition.

Full admission information for foreign nationals can be found here.