Science Faculty

Master's Degree in Science in Biodiversity

Encouraged by the immense importance which the study of plants and animals has always had, the Department of Biology and the Science Faculty of the UAM proposed a Master in Biodiversity. This Master entails the broadening of the knowledge acquired by the students in the Graduate Degree or the previous Degree stage, therefore, its fundamental objective is to instruct the students on the progress made in research in the areas of Botany and Zoology. These areas of biological knowledge are not addressed with sufficient depth in the basic training and it is clear that present day society requires scientists with sound training in these fields, particularly, when there is a serious crisis of Biodiversity, at both planetary and local level.

Objectives

Among other objectives, the Master is intended to train specialists in the field of the processes which generate the diversity of living beings, the ecosystems and the terrain, as well as the management, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. These studies will provide up to date training of a high quality based on the acquisition of the theoretical and practical multidisciplinary knowledge required to work in research, employment in emerging professions which are in expansion, as well as in management in entities of the public or private administration.

Profile of the Student

These studies are mainly, although not exclusively, intended for graduates in Biology

• Environmental Science 
• Forestry 
• Agricultural Engineering 
• Sea Sciences

Although this Degree can also be studied by graduates in the following:

• Food Science and Technology 
• Medicine 
• Bio-Chemistry 
• Veterinary Science
• Related Degrees

Competences of the Graduate

The holder of the Master in Biodiversity will be fully capacitated to work in a variety of fields such as pure research in Botany or Zoology, as well as in numerous fields of applied science, such as planning the use of resources (fisheries, aquaculture, forestry, etc.), museum studies, conservation and management of vegetable or animal species, agricultural or forest plagues, applied entomology, scientific publication and others.

This Master has been structured with a view to addressing theoretical and practical aspects of Animal and Vegetable Diversity, and provides the knowledge and experience required so that the student can be incorporated to the world of work or go on to draft a Doctoral Thesis.

The Master provides a broad range of theoretical and experimental bases, as well as technical approaches. The students will acquire skills to identify animal and vegetable taxa, they will know the biological bases of taxonomy and its applicability to the sustainable management of land and marine ecosystems, forestry science, archaeology, etc. The syllabus tends to eliminate the artificial barriers which are often placed between the different ways to address environment management, and endeavours to integrate aspects which, until now, were separated into disciplines and even different University Degrees: marine diversity, land diversity, forestry management, evolution, archaeology, etc. All these specialities underpin a notable multidisciplinary approach to the Master.

The Master in Biodiversity will capacitate the students to address work on a Doctoral Thesis within the University Doctorate Studies. The courses of this Master can also capacitate the student for other professional opportunities, independently of the drafting and defence of a Doctoral Thesis as it deals in depth with themes of Botany, Zoology and the Management of Land and Marine Ecosystems, some of which we have mentioned above.

The teaching staff is fundamentally made up of lecturers from the Department of Biology at the UAM, together with a group from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Montes from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Advanced Technical School of Forestry Engineering of Madrid), belonging to the Departments of Rural Projects and Planning, Forestry Economics and Management, Forestry, Fundamental Physics and Mechanics applied to Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, these lecturers are integrated into the group of Technologies and Methods for Sustainable Management (TECNATURA); some researchers from the CSIC (Superior Council for Scientific Research) also participate in the Master.