Drug Sciences

The Master of Science Drug Sciences provides theoretical and practical skills in the field of the discovery, development and safety aspects of drugs. This Master program is focused on a future career in industrial or academic research, product development or in a regulatory agency. 
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and its associates offer a comprehensive Master course for students with a Bachelor degree in pharmaceutical sciences. This course provides basic knowledge focusing on pharmacology and toxicology as well as on the drug discovery and development process. The curriculum was developed by a collaboration of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Basel in close collaboration with scientists from the Department Biomedicine, the Basel-based life science industry, the Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology and regulatory authorities.

The Master of Science degree requires a successfully completed Bachelor’s program. The MSc Drug Sciences awards 120 ECTS credits in total. The course comprises lectures, seminars, a practical training, as well as a ten months supervised Master’s thesis work. Elective courses complement the program in order to promote individual skills. One ECTS credit point roughly equals 30 hours of studying.

Combination of subjects

The degree programs at the Faculty of Science are generally mono-courses with the possible addition of an in-depth subject and an elective subject. The Master’s degree program Drug Sciences does include an elective subject; however, no other subjects are required.

Courses

• Introduction and Basis of Human Diseases
• General Skills and Experimental Tools
• Target Identification/Validation to Discovery of Modulators
• Translating Pharmacology and Drug Safety to Humans
• Clinical Drug Development: the Basis for Market Approval
• Practical Training
• Masterarbeit (10 Monate)
• Masterprüfung
• Wahlbereich 

A Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Basel allows for direct admission to the Master’s degree program Drug Sciences. Other Swiss university degrees have to be approved by the respective teaching committee. Foreign degrees have to be approved by the examination commission of the Faculty of Science.

The University of Basel currently collects CHF 850 in tuition fees per semester, along with CHF 10 for the student body.

Please note that there are also costs for books and, of course, your personal living expenses. The following list provides a general indication of monthly living expenses if you are not living at home with your family.

Rent (room, shared living space, student dormitory)
Minimum: CHF 400; Average: CHF 600

Food, household, clothing
Minimum: CHF 450; Average: CHF 600

Insurance/healthcare
Minimum: CHF 200; Average: CHF 300

Transportation
Minimum: CHF 60; Average: CHF 90

Learning materials
Minimum: CHF 100; Average: CHF 150

Tuition Fees
CHF 140

Recreation/culture
Minimum: CHF 150; Average: CHF 220

Total
Minimum: CHF 1500; Average: CHF 2100