Bioeconomics aims at the conversion of the raw material base from fossil to biogenic raw materials and builds a bridge between technology, ecology, society and economy as well as their interactions. This structural change involves the production and use of biological resources to provide products, processes and services in all economic sectors within the framework of a sustainable economic system. The courses of study in Bioeconomics train experts who can understand, accompany and shape this change. Overall, there are several areas of work for the bioeconomy:
In order to be able to accompany economic and social transformation processes, it is first necessary to understand the processes involved and the actors involved. This understanding of the bio-based economic system does not end at national borders, but includes regional considerations as well as the global effects of local action.
Secondly, the use of biogenic resources is not per se sustainable. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of sustainability and sustainable development as well as other concepts and strategies existing alongside the bioeconomy are required to achieve this. This includes in particular the approaches of closed-loop management and industrial ecology.
Thirdly, bioeconomics requires the participation of various scientific disciplines and their successful cooperation. These disciplines come from the social and economic sciences, the engineering sciences and the natural sciences.
Biobased and bioinspired innovations form the basis for advancing structural change. The potential of innovative products and markets as well as technologies for their implementation on the basis of biological resources are to be harnessed for industry and society.
The aim of the course is to train innovative graduates who have an understanding of the complexity of a necessary structural change. By combining topics from micro- and macroeconomics, chemistry, engineering and life sciences with comprehensive knowledge in the field of the efficient and sustainable use of biogenic resources, graduates will have an interdisciplinary understanding and will be able to develop solutions. They are able to adopt regional, national and global perspectives.
Interdisciplinary emphasis
Consultation
Viola Probst, M.Sc.
- Phone:
- +49 9421 187-166
- Email:
- bec@cs.tum.de
Viola Probst, M.Sc.
- Phone:
- +49 9421 187-166
- Email:
- bec@cs.tum.de
Consultation in Presence
- Hours:
- Wednesdays, 13:00–16:00 h
- Location:
- PG5, 3503.EG.005
Online Consultation via Zoom
Room currently offline- Hours:
- Tuesdays, 14:00–15:00 h
- Zoom ID:
- 8302232193
- Password:
- tumcsstuko
Academic Head
- Standard period of study
- 4 semesters / 120 ECTS credits, full-time studies
- Graduation
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Start of Degree Program
- Winter and Summer semester
- Required Language Proficiency
- English English
- Admission Requirement
-
The Master’s program “Bioeconomy” addresses qualified students holding a university degree in economics or management. In the application process (aptitude assessment) the applicant’s professional suitability for the course of study as well as the courses and achievements in the preceding Bachelor’s programme are examined.
- Admission Category
- English
Semester fees/financing
- Semester fees (non-EU students)
- 4,000.00 Euro
- Student union fees per semester (mandatory for all students)
- 72.00 Euro
The master’s degree program in Bioeconomy, including the master’s thesis, comprises four semesters of standard study time. Including the master thesis, the course of study has a total of 120 ECTS credits.
In addition to five compulsory subjects, two specialisations are offered: The Major in Social Sciences and Sustainability or the Major in Natural Sciences and Engineering. Students who have already completed a combination of economics with engineering and natural sciences in their bachelor’s programme (for example, successful graduates of the B.Sc. Bioeconomy or the B.Sc. Sustainable Management and Technology), and who are aiming for a further technical-scientific specialisation, can choose a larger number of modules from the technical-scientific area. They then complete the Master Bioeconomy with a Major in Natural Sciences and Engineering. Graduates who prefer a stronger focus on economics and social sciences can complete the Master Bioeconomy with a Major in Social Sciences and Sustainability.
The course is divided into the following areas
1. Fundamentals in Economics and Sustainability
Advanced Empirical Research, Operations Research, Behavioral Public Economics, Principles of Life Cycle Assessment, Advanced Environmental and Resource Economics
2. Electives in Natural Sciences and Engineering
- Renewable Materials: Biogenic Polymers, Biological Materials, Renewables Utilization, Wood-based Resources, Material Application for Renewable Resources
- Biotechnology: Enzymatic Biotransformations, Sustainable Chemistry, Microbial and Plant Biotechnology, Catalysis, Enzyme Engineering
- Energy: Energy Efficient Buildings, Production of Renewable Fuels, Geothermal Energy Systems, Energy and Economics, Wind Power, Biogas Technology
- Simulation: Artificial Intelligence for Biotechnology, Seminar in Optimization Methods and their Applications, Modelling and Optimization of Energy Systems, Basics of Numerical Methods and Simulation
3. Electives in Social Sciences and Sustainability
- Economics: Advanced Development Economics, Personnel and Organizational Economics, Advanced Seminar in Behavioral Economics, Environmental Behavior and Support for Climate Policies, Economic History and Comparative Development, Advanced Seminar in Environmental and Development Economics
- Management: Corporate Sustainability Management, Innovation in Bioeconomy, Advanced Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment, Sustainability and Risk Management
4. General Elective
5. Master’s Thesis
The social transformation towards a bioeconomy requires a sufficient number of decision-makers and experts in society, business, politics and research who, in addition to disciplinary knowledge, possess the necessary interdisciplinary skills, practical abilities and social competencies. The Bioecocomy Master’s program aims to provide students with these competences and skills so that they can act as innovators and mediators across disciplines to further develop, implement and disseminate the bioeconomic idea in society, industry, politics and research. In particular, the course of study is intended to promote out-of-the-box thinking for solving complex inter- and transdisciplinary problems. Students are thus able to grasp the interaction of new technologies and their dissemination with the socio-technical systems in which they are embedded, to recognize and absorb future developments and thus to develop holistically sustainable solutions and make decisions. Successful graduates of the master’s degree Bioecocomy can combine environmental compatibility and technological possibilities with the ideas of economic efficiency and social acceptance in their decision-making.
Accordingly, the qualification profile of the students of the Master’s degree program Bioeconomy includes the areas of knowledge, knowledge generation and application, the fields of communication and cooperation, and also the scientific and professional self-image in order to train internationally oriented, inter- and transdisciplinary experts and managers. Students acquire essential specialist and methodological knowledge for the bioeconomy in the fields of economics, sustainability sciences, engineering and natural sciences. Students learn the methods of the disciplines under consideration in order to be able to acquire knowledge independently in the future and to understand the discipline-specific forms of problem solving and decision-making. Ultimately, the aim is to develop linguistic expression in the relevant disciplines.
Students will be enabled to work together in inter- and transdisciplinary teams to develop solutions to questions of the bioeconomy. Since the bioeconomy is not only regionally or nationally limited, but is embedded in a globally networked and digital society, the course of study is internationally oriented and is therefore offered completely in English.
Due to the strong interdisciplinary profile, graduates are able to work across disciplines. Professional fields include public offices and international organisations that deal with the production, use and national and international markets of biogenic resources and generally the establishment of more sustainable processes, but also companies that are active or want to become active in this field. Graduates* of the program can be employed in all areas in which complex and systemic inter- and transdisciplinary thinking is the basis for international entrepreneurial and economic success.
Winter semester
- Application Period (Winter semester)
- April 1st – May 31st
Summer semester
- Application Period (Summer semester)
- October 1st – January 15th
