The master degree in Veterinary Biotechnology Sciences provides graduates with an advanced grasp of scientific methodology, and the competences required to coordinate national and international study and research projects, in compliance with the regulations currently in force and with ethical and bioethical considerations.

In particular, they possess in-depth specialist knowledge of the biotechnological sectors related to veterinary medicine, particularly in the following sectors:

• animal nutrition and food safety;
• animal pathology;
• diagnostics;
• microbiology and veterinary immunology;
• infectious and parasitic diseases;
• zoonosis;
• veterinary toxicology and pharmacology;
• animal production and reproduction;
• genetic improvement and the conservation of biodiversity;
• the development and use of animal models for biomedical studies;
• regulations connected with the sectors associated with veterinary biotechnologies.

Graduates from the master degree programme in Veterinary Biotechnology Sciences can pursue careers in the following professional spheres. Scientific research and technological development in:

• public and private universities;
• public facilities (the National Health Institute, the National Research Council (CNR), the National Environment Agency, Experimental Veterinary Preventive Medicine Institutes, Research Institutes);
• the pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnological industries;
• the food, food processing and fodder industries;
• public and private pre-clinical research facilities in the medical and veterinary fields;
• the management of quality control;
•  clinical monitoring activities;
• regulation, management and biotechnological corporate creation procedures in the public and private spheres.

Graduates can assume managerial and consulting roles in the following fields:

• therapeutic, with particular reference to the development and trial of innovative products with therapeutic capacities for animal pathology and the use of animal models for biomedical studies and cellular therapy;
• patent design and production in the health field;
• diagnostics, through the management of molecular analysis technologies and cellular biotechnologies applied to the health and environment fields;
• animal reproduction, for the preservation of animal biodiversity and species at risk of extinction;
• quality control for foods of animal origin in the food industry;
• quality control for fodder and products in the fodder industry;
• technological research and design for the selection and management of animal species;
• genetic variability and animal husbandry control in relation to the preservation of biodiversity;
• the design and development of biotechnologies with clinical and therapeutic uses in a multidisciplinary context;
• technical and scientific pharmaceutical information;
• the valuation and control of environmental security.

Application and admission: Open with entry requirements examination. How to apply.

English language

Students must have level B2 proficiency in English. Proficiency may be certified at the time of matriculation by submitting a certificate of level B2 language proficiency or better, or by sitting the SLAM (University Language Centre) Placement test during the first year of studies only, between September and December.

Students who do not pass the test must follow the SLAM language courses and obtain appropriate certification within the year the plan of study calls for a language exam.

The degree programme in Veterinary Biotechnology Sciences allows you to spend a study / internship period abroad under Erasmus+ bilateral agreements or through collaboration projects started by individual teachers.

The Erasmus+ offer includes internships at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, in Spain, the University of Ljubljiana, in Slovenia, the University of Bonn, in Germany, the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland, the University of Rijeka, Croatia, and the University of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, for up to 12 months.

You can combine university courses with your thesis internship, following a specific agreement with the internship tutor. The fields of study essentially cover the application of biotechnology to animal production and to veterinary pathology and immunology. Exams are recognized under the learning agreement provided for in the Erasmus+ bilateral agreements.

The internship abroad is regulated by ad-hoc agreements stipulated by the University of Milan, and is usually activated in the context of individual collaborations between the degree programme teachers and researchers of foreign institutes. The internship abroad is funded through scholarships granted by the University of Milan or by the Erasmus+ Traineeship programme, which can be accessed through a public competition.

Recommended, not mandatory