Cracow, Poland

Environmental and Plant Biotechnology

Master's
Table of contents
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⇑Environmental and Plant Biotechnology at URK

Language: EnglishStudies in English
Subject area: physical science, environment
Kind of studies: full-time studies
  • Description:

  • pl

⇑Why study Environmental and Plant Biotechnology (Master's) at URK?

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Why study it:

The University of Agriculture in Krakow (URK) runs Environmental and Plant Biotechnology (EPB) as full-time, general academic Master's studies at the Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture – 3 semesters ending with the title of Master of Science in Engineering. The programme is for students who want to use biotechnology to monitor, protect and restore the environment and to work on plants with modern molecular tools.

Programme: from molecular biology to soil reclamation

The compulsory courses combine plant biotechnology with environmental protection, among others:

  • molecular biology, genetic engineering and plant and microbial proteomics
  • physiology of stress in plants and crop improvement
  • ecotoxicology, soil chemistry and microbiology, instrumental analysis
  • bioremediation and soil reclamation, restoration ecology of post-industrial sites
  • biotechnology of water, sewage and activated sludge, waste management
  • environmental protection policy and intellectual property, ethics in biotechnology

Labs: your own experimental research

The emphasis is on practical skills, problem solving and independent work in laboratories with modern equipment and current techniques of plant and environmental biotechnology. You learn to choose and adapt microbiological, biochemical, molecular and bioinformatic analyses, as well as physico-chemical analyses of soil, water and sewage. Each student carries out their own experimental research, which can take place at URK, at another scientific institution or at a selected company.

Languages: English in an international group

All classes are taught in English in international groups, which prepares you for further education or work anywhere in the world.

Qualifications: analyst, diagnostician, inspector

The knowledge and specialist skills gained during the studies allow graduates to obtain the professional qualifications needed to work, for example, as an analyst, diagnostician or inspector in analytics and diagnostics applied in plant breeding and waste management. You also learn the legal and ethical aspects of using biotechnology in research and business.

After graduation: laboratories, research and environmental advisory

Graduates can work in Poland and abroad, among others:

  • in companies using agrobiotechnology and bioprocesses for environmental protection
  • in microbiological, biochemical and molecular analytical and diagnostic laboratories
  • in research and R and D institutes and advisory units
  • in state and local government administration dealing with biotechnology and intellectual property
  • as consultants to industry, farmers, investors and policy makers – or in their own business

Did you know? Besides biotechnology courses, the programme includes a humanities course on the culture, art and tradition of the region and an introduction to geomatics.

As of the 2026/27 admissions, based on the programme pages at urk.edu.pl and oferta.urk.edu.pl.

⇑Test: Is Environmental and Plant Biotechnology the right fit for you?

Environmental and Plant Biotechnology test

Answer all the questions and check if Environmental and Plant Biotechnology is the right Master’s degree for you!

1. Do you want to deepen your knowledge in genetic engineering and plant biotechnology?

2. Are you interested in research on sustainable agriculture and environmental protection?

3. Do you want to improve your laboratory skills in molecular biology and tissue culture?

4. Are you ready to participate in research projects on genetically modified plants and environmental applications?

5. Will two more years of Master’s studies help you become more competitive in the biotechnology job market?

6. Are you interested in the use of biotechnology in bioenergy, waste management, and environmental protection?

7. Do you want to expand your knowledge of plant physiology and adaptation to climate change?

8. Are you motivated to work on solutions to improve crop yields and resistance to stress factors?

9. Are you ready to cooperate in interdisciplinary teams with biotechnologists, chemists, and environmental engineers?

10. What motivates you most to take up a Master’s degree in Environmental and Plant Biotechnology?

⇑Definitions and quotes

Biotechnology
Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2). Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biomanufacturing, molecular engineering, etc.
Plant
Plants are mainly multicellular, predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. They form the clade Viridiplantae (Latin for "green plants") that includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, clubmosses, hornworts, liverworts, mosses and the green algae, and excludes the red and brown algae. Historically, plants were treated as one of two kingdoms including all living things that were not animals, and all algae and fungi were treated as plants. However, all current definitions of Plantae exclude the fungi and some algae, as well as the prokaryotes (the archaea and bacteria).

Contact:

Al. Mickiewicza 21
31-120 Kraków
tel. 12 662 43 34
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