Educational plan
These educational plans and programme descriptions refer to the A.Y. 2025/2026
Molecular biology of the cell (Classe LM-6 R)
Enrolled in the 2025/2026 academic year (FBI)
First semester
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| Advanced Molecular Biology | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/11 |
| Molecular Bioinformatics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/11 |
| Organic Chemistry Applied to Biology | 6 | 48 | English | CHIM/06 |
| Optional | ||||
| Biomembranes | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/09 |
| Developmental Biology and Genetics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/18 |
| Functional Genomics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Molecular Microbiology and Genetics of Microorganisms | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/18 BIO/19 |
| Molecular Pharmacology and Immunology | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/14 MED/04 |
| Synthetic Biology | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/04 BIO/10 BIO/11 BIO/18 BIO/19 |
Second semester
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| Molecular Genetics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/18 |
| Protein Biochemistry | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/10 |
| Structural Biology of the Cell | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/01 BIO/06 |
| Optional | ||||
| Biostatistics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Epigenetics and Epigenomics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Methods in Biochemical Investigation | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/10 |
| Signal Transduction | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/04 BIO/10 |
| Stem Cells and Genetic Diseases | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/14 |
Undefined
There are no specific sessions for these activities.
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optional | ||||
| Additional Language Skills: Italian (3 ECTS) | 3 | 0 | Italian | NN |
Optional activities and study plan rules
1 - The student must choose one of the following four courses:
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | Lesson period | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developmental Biology and Genetics | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/18 |
| Epigenetics and Epigenomics | 6 | 48 | English | Second semester | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Functional Genomics | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Molecular Microbiology and Genetics of Microorganisms | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/18 BIO/19 |
2 - The student must choose one of the following three courses:
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | Lesson period | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biomembranes | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/09 |
| Molecular Pharmacology and Immunology | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/14 MED/04 |
| Stem Cells and Genetic Diseases | 6 | 48 | English | Second semester | BIO/14 |
3 - The student must choose one of the following four courses:
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | Lesson period | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biostatistics | 6 | 48 | English | Second semester | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Methods in Biochemical Investigation | 6 | 48 | English | Second semester | BIO/10 |
| Signal Transduction | 6 | 48 | English | Second semester | BIO/04 BIO/10 |
| Synthetic Biology | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/04 BIO/10 BIO/11 BIO/18 BIO/19 |
4 - The student must acquire 12 ECTS by selecting any of the courses offered by the University of Milan, provided that they are coherent with MBC topics and that the course content does not overlap with those present in mandatory and guided-choice courses. Obviously, as open choice courses, the student can pick the remaining guided-choice courses that he/she had not inserted in the study plan. MBC recommends to select elective courses with a specific focus on bioinformatics and biostatistics. If unavailable in English, open-choice courses can be taken in Italian provided that the student is fluent in Italian language.
5 - STUDENTS MUST ACQUIRE 6 ADDITIONAL ECTS
To obtain the degree, students must acquire 6 ECTS of soft skills offered through individual courses worth 6 ECTS, or, for international students who choose to earn the 3 ECTS in Italian Language Proficiency, one course worth 3 ECTS from those listed on the webpage - https://mbc.cdl.unimi.it/en/courses/soft-skills.
For international students, it is strongly recommended to acquire skills in the Italian language - 3 ECTS at linguistic level A2 - necessary for job and professional opportunities among those provided for the degree program in Molecular Biology of the Cell, limited to the Italian national context.
International students who do not hold an Italian high school diploma or degree can obtain 3 credits in Additional language skills: Italian by demonstrating A2 level in Italian per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This level can be assessed in one of the following ways:
- by submitting a certificate of A2 or higher level issued no more than three years prior to the date of submission. You will find the list of language certificates recognized by the University at: https://www.unimi.it/en/node/349/ ). The language certificate must be uploaded through the dedicated platform;
- by an entry-level test administrated by SLAM that can be taken only once and is compulsory for all students who do not have a valid language certificate. Those who fail to reach A2 level will have to attend one or more than one 60-hour Italian course(s) geared to their level. Those who do not take the entry-level test or fail to pass the end-of-course test after six attempts will have to obtain language certification privately in order to earn the 3 credits of Additional language skills: Italian. As an alternative, they can modify their course programme by choosing a different course of soft skills recommended by MBC Master's Degree.
To obtain the degree, students must acquire 6 ECTS of soft skills offered through individual courses worth 6 ECTS, or, for international students who choose to earn the 3 ECTS in Italian Language Proficiency, one course worth 3 ECTS from those listed on the webpage - https://mbc.cdl.unimi.it/en/courses/soft-skills.
For international students, it is strongly recommended to acquire skills in the Italian language - 3 ECTS at linguistic level A2 - necessary for job and professional opportunities among those provided for the degree program in Molecular Biology of the Cell, limited to the Italian national context.
International students who do not hold an Italian high school diploma or degree can obtain 3 credits in Additional language skills: Italian by demonstrating A2 level in Italian per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This level can be assessed in one of the following ways:
- by submitting a certificate of A2 or higher level issued no more than three years prior to the date of submission. You will find the list of language certificates recognized by the University at: https://www.unimi.it/en/node/349/ ). The language certificate must be uploaded through the dedicated platform;
- by an entry-level test administrated by SLAM that can be taken only once and is compulsory for all students who do not have a valid language certificate. Those who fail to reach A2 level will have to attend one or more than one 60-hour Italian course(s) geared to their level. Those who do not take the entry-level test or fail to pass the end-of-course test after six attempts will have to obtain language certification privately in order to earn the 3 credits of Additional language skills: Italian. As an alternative, they can modify their course programme by choosing a different course of soft skills recommended by MBC Master's Degree.
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | Lesson period | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Additional Language Skills: Italian (3 ECTS) | 3 | 0 | Italian | Undefined | NN |
be activated by the A.Y. 2026/2027
year
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| Biomolecular Methods Laboratory | 9 | 72 | English | BIO/10 BIO/11 BIO/18 |
Undefined
There are no specific sessions for these activities.
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| Laboratory Training | 9 | 0 | English | NN |
Conclusive activities
There are no specific sessions for these activities.
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| Final Dissertation | 30 | 0 | English | NN |
There are no propaedeutic courses in the MBC programme that limit progression from the first to the second year.
Molecular biology of the cell (Class LM-6)
Enrolled from 2015/2016 to 2024/2025 academic year (F9Y)
course year not available
First semester
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| Advanced Molecular Biology | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/11 |
| Molecular Bioinformatics | 6 | 48 | English | INF/01 |
| Organic Chemistry Applied to Biology | 6 | 48 | English | CHIM/06 |
| Optional | ||||
| Biomembranes | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/09 |
| Developmental Biology and Genetics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/18 |
| Functional Genomics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Molecular Microbiology and Genetics of Microorganisms | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/18 BIO/19 |
| Molecular Pharmacology and Immunology | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/14 MED/04 |
| Synthetic Biology | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/04 BIO/10 BIO/11 BIO/18 BIO/19 |
Second semester
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| Molecular Genetics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/18 |
| Protein Biochemistry | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/10 |
| Structural Biology of the Cell | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/01 BIO/06 |
| Optional | ||||
| Biostatistics | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Methods in Biochemical Investigation | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/10 |
| Signal Transduction | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/04 BIO/10 |
| Stem Cells and Genetic Diseases | 6 | 48 | English | BIO/14 |
Undefined
There are no specific sessions for these activities.
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| English Proficiency B2 (3 ECTS) | 3 | 0 | English | NN |
Optional activities and study plan rules
1 - The student must choose one of the following three courses:
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | Lesson period | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developmental Biology and Genetics | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/18 |
| Functional Genomics | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Molecular Microbiology and Genetics of Microorganisms | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/18 BIO/19 |
2 - The student must choose one of the following three courses:
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | Lesson period | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biomembranes | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/09 |
| Molecular Pharmacology and Immunology | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/14 MED/04 |
| Stem Cells and Genetic Diseases | 6 | 48 | English | Second semester | BIO/14 |
3 - The student must choose one of the following four courses:
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | Lesson period | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biostatistics | 6 | 48 | English | Second semester | BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Methods in Biochemical Investigation | 6 | 48 | English | Second semester | BIO/10 |
| Signal Transduction | 6 | 48 | English | Second semester | BIO/04 BIO/10 |
| Synthetic Biology | 6 | 48 | English | First semester | BIO/04 BIO/10 BIO/11 BIO/18 BIO/19 |
4 - The student must acquire 12 CFU by selecting any of the courses offered by the University of Milan, provided that they are coherent with MBC topics and that the course content does not overlap with those present in mandatory and guided-choice courses. Obviously, as open choice courses, the student can pick the remaining guided-choice courses that he/she had not inserted in the study plan. MBC recommends to select elective courses with a specific focus on bioinformatics. If unavailable in English, open-choice courses can be taken in Italian provided that the student is fluent in Italian language.
year
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| Biomolecular Methods Laboratory | 9 | 72 | English | BIO/10 BIO/11 BIO/18 |
| Laboratory Training | 12 | 0 | English | NN |
Conclusive activities
There are no specific sessions for these activities.
| Courses or activities | Max ECTS | Total hours | Language | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory | ||||
| Final Dissertation | 30 | 0 | English | NN |
There are no propaedeutic courses in the MBC programme that limit progression from the first to the second year.
