Master of Science in Biology at University of Malta

This programme of study is also offered on a part-time basis. Please consult the Registrar’s website for more information pertaining to courses offered by the University.

Students are required to write a dissertation based on research work of an advanced and original nature performed by them during the Course. The dissertation, to which 85 credits are assigned, will describe this research and present results and conclusions in a scholarly manner.

The dissertation will generally be laboratory/field-based (i.e. experimental/observational) in nature although in specific cases it would be acceptable for the work to be based on literature research, provided that an original contribution is made (e.g. meta-analysis, modelling etc). The dissertation must be based on work of a sufficiently advanced nature performed by the student during the course, and should produce results that are publishable in the mainstream scientific literature. The work should demonstrate that through the project, the student has gained experience in biological research and is able to set up a research problem, plan experiments and/or observations, present and analyse data and draw logical conclusions from the results obtained. 

Students are also required to give a Seminar to which 5 ECTS credits are assigned. This will consist of a presentation to be given to an audience that will include the Board of Examiners (i.e. the Panel of Supervision in its assessment function). The presentation shall consist of the student’s appraisal of a subject area related to the dissertation project but which does not directly form part of the dissertation or include a discussion of the results of the dissertation project. Students are expected to demonstrate their familiarity with the literature of the subject area chosen for the seminar presentation.

The Research Areas that are currently being offered for potential projects, include the following:

• Aquaculture
• Aquaculture-environment interactions
• Bioremediation
• Biotechnology
• Conservation Biology
• Conservation genetics of wild species
• Ecological Assessment and Monitoring
• Ecology of Seagrass and Algal Habitats
• Environmental Management
• Faunistics and Biogeography of the Maltese Islands
• Fish Diseases/Pathology
• Genetics of domesticated species
• Influence of physical/chemical factors on marine habitats/species
• Isolation and Bioactivity of Natural Products
• Marine and Coastal Ecology
• Marine Ecotoxicology 
• Marine Pollution Studies
• Microbiology
• Utilisation of plant and microbial resources
• Vegetation Ecology