Graduate Programs

Acceptance to all Master’s programs is subject to the Technion’s graduate School Regulations and the guidelines held by the faculty of Biotechnology and food engineering.

These guidelines can change from time to time. In recent years an average grade point average of at least 84 in an undergraduate degree is required.

Candidates with an average grade of 82-84 will be considered and discussed by a faculty exception committee

For the ME program an average of at least 80 is required. Undergraduates from a tri-yearly program will be required to take supplemental courses which will be determined by the faculty’s acceptance committee for graduate studies.

The Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering offers several study tracks for a master’s degree that grant the following degrees:

Master’s Degree Studies

“Master’s in Science in Biotechnology and Food Engineering”

This degree is intended for candidates who completed a four year Bachelor’s degree with satisfactory grades and fulfill the Technion’s general requirements for graduate studies. Acceptance is subject to an interview in which the candidate’s level of knowledge will be assessed. In addition, the committee for advanced degrees reserves the right to take the candidate’s ranking into account.
Study Requirements
Candidates for the MSc thesis program must find a faculty member to serve as their Advisor. The Advisor will define the research and determine which courses should be taken. It is highly recommended that the candidate find an advisor as early as possible.

Curriculum:
The program consists of:

37 credits, 17 academic credits and a research practicum worth 20 credits.
Two mandatory courses: 1) Industrial Statistics (096414) 3.5 credits; 2) Biotechnology Enterprise (066525) 2.5 credits.
Exams in both Hebrew and English in accordance with the Technion’s Graduate school requirements as described in the letter of acceptance.
An Ethics exam.
Giving a Seminary lecture at a date yet to be determined in the Technion newsletter.
Submitting a thesis on research or on an extensive engineering project.
Defending the thesis to the examination committee.

“Master of Science in Biotechnology and Food Science (with thesis)”

This program is for outstanding students, who completed a three-year Bachelor’s degree in related fields, to study towards a Master degree in Biotechnology and Food Science without completing the engineering degree requirements. Acceptance to this program will be determined by the faculty committee for advanced degrees, and fulfill the Technion’s general requirements for graduate studies.

Curriculum:

The program requires a minimum of 30 credit points and a research project. The program will include:

Completion of undergraduate courses selected to bring students to a similar level based on their previous academic background. Only up to ten undergraduate credit points will be considered as part of the 30 credit points required for the degree.
Three mandatory graduate courses: 1) Industrial Statistics (096414) 3.5 credits 2) Biotechnology Enterprise (066525) 2.5 credits 3) Process Biotechnology (068509) 3.5 credits
Advanced courses that will be chosen together with the thesis advisor.
A grade required in each of the mandatory and undergraduate courses is 65 in the exam and a general average of 80
Students have to attend at least 80% of the Faculty Seminars.

“MSc in Health-Tech Innovation Program”

Humanity’s greatest unresolved challenges lay predominantly in the field of bioengineering. We expect that during the 21^st century, humanity will have to resolve challenges involving lifespan and disease while learning how to live in a sustainable environment. To that end, we chose to create a unique environment where world-leading biological engineers work side-by-side to address the following global challenges:

Extend humanity’s lifespan, while improving life quality without the burden on global health systems
Overcoming food shortage (estimated at 60% by 2050)
How can we supply the world with the requisite energy while reversing years of global environmental damage?

This new program is designed to attract outstanding candidates with a BSc degree (from various disciplines of engineering, exact sciences and life sciences) who are interested in combining research and entrepreneurial experience. The program will train the students from idea conceptualization, through hand-on research and business training, towards building next-generation startups. Admission to the program will require a GPA of at least 85 and/or class ranking of top 10%, as well as a personal interview. This program consists of 17-credit points (10 of which are for compulsory courses, as listed in Table 11), and a thesis (20 credit points).

In order to enable students to work on these important challenges, we established a graduate program that combines both research and innovation work so as to generate a pipeline that will begin by manufacturing new knowledge and understanding that will be funneled to the formulation of new IP or private venture. As a result, our long-term vision is for graduates of this program to become leaders in a new global Big Data and biotech-based industry of sustainability and healthy living.

Program description

A unique program designed to enable students to learn and practice skills of innovation. A two-year degree that will involve courses and studios designed with innovation in mind. Each student will have a chance to emerge with his/her own start-up company at the end of the two-year degree.
Year 1 – 17 credit points of which:

Five credit points – core theoretical courses (TBD).
Twelve credit points of studio-style courses/workshops (three points per studio – specialized hybrid lab courses where students work in groups, e.g., Synthetic Biology). The goal of each studio is to develop an idea for an application in one of the core elements of biotechnology (med-tech, food-tech, synthetic biology and informatics).
Research – literature search and first steps.

3. Year 2 – Research. Kick off with a bio-hackathon, and then divide into groups of 3-4 students who will carry out active and hands-on research at the Technion facilities in project studio. Each
group will be supervised by a committee of 2-3 faculty members assigned to each student based on a chosen research project. The work will be “iGEM-style” with multiple deliverables
delivered at the end of the academic year that include poster, talk, wiki, business plan, etc. Participation in other hackathons, accelerators, or competitions (e.g. iGEM jamboree) will be
considered. Each student will submit a comprehensive MSc thesis based on his/her independent work within the scope of the large multifaceted project.

4. Candidates who completed a three-year degree will be required to complete a total of 30 credit points, consisting of undergraduate courses (10 credits at least) and graduate courses. The list
of courses will be determined for each student individually according to their previous academic background.

5. Admission requirements: total GPA of at least 85 and/or ranking in the top 10% of his/her class and a personal interview.

“Master’s in Science in Biotechnology and Food Engineering (ME without a thesis)”

The ME degree is based on academic credits and doesn’t include a thesis.

The program is intended for external students with a Bachelor’s Degree from a 4 year program. Acceptance to this program will be determined by the faculty committee for advanced degrees.

Continuation of studies to a Doctorate program is very rare, but may be possible after the completion of “exploratory research” and after deliberation by the faculty’s committee for advanced degrees.

Curriculum:

The program consists of 40 credits (at least), which include an advanced seminar in food engineering worth 5 credits.
Two mandatory courses: 1) Industrial Statistics (096414) 3.5 credits; 2) Advanced Seminar in Food Engineering (068009) 5 credits
Exams in both Hebrew and English in accordance with the Technion’s Graduate school requirements as described in the letter of acceptance.
Mandatory and optional courses (updated on a yearly basis in the faculty catalog).

Receiving the degree
In order to be awarded a Master’s degree the student must fulfill all the faculty requirements and all of the Technion’s graduate School Regulations.

Doctoral Degree Studies

Studies for “Doctor of philosophy” (PhD) are intended for applicants with an MSc degree from an accredited academic institute, with proven achievements in their previous studies and areas of research which will be reviewed if the need arises.

Direct Track towards PhD Degree
Master’s degree students, who excel in both their studies and research may be appointed PhD candidate status in accordance to recommendations from the faculty committee for advanced degrees.

Special Track towards the PhD
This track is designed for excelling students which have completed their BSc. The admission procedure is as described in the Technion’s Graduate School Regulations catalog (clause 32.09 and 34.02). Acceptance to this track is on the condition that the student has found an advisor and defined their area of research prior to applying.

Admission Requirements
In addition to academic achievements (BSc with a GPA of at least 90), the candidate must have demonstrated capability for conducting independent research. The Committee will review the candidate’s achievements and determine whether they will be accepted and under which conditions.

Study Requirements

Compliance with the Acceptance Committee’s particular conditions (if there were any).
A study program consisting of at least 6 academic graduate credit points (the direct track requires 23 graduate credit points and the special track requires 25 graduate credit points)
Submitting a research proposal and having it approved by the examining committee.
Giving a Seminary lecture at a date yet to be determined in the Technion’s newsletter.
Submitting a thesis and defending it successfully to the examining committee.
Meeting language requirements in accordance with the Technion’s Graduate School Regulations.

Additional information:
Office of Graduate Studies in Biotechnology and Food Engineering:
Phone: +972-4-8293070.
Email: bfe.g.ad@bfe.technion.ac.il