Education and Training

The Department of Biotechnology at Mersin University's Faculty of Science offers education at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The programs aim to enable students to translate their theoretical knowledge in biotechnology into practical applications and to gain an interdisciplinary perspective.

Opportunity for On-the-Job Vocational Training Biotechnology students complete a 40-work-day internship in relevant sectors during their final term as part of the Workplace Practice and Vocational Education (İYME) course. The internship process is managed through the Internship Gateway (Staj Kapısı) platform, the Mersin University Career Center, and collaborating institutions.

All social security procedures for the students during the internship are covered by the faculty. In this period, students gain hands-on experience in biotechnology-related laboratory and production environments, and they closely observe the functioning of the sector.

This training allows students to transfer their theoretical knowledge into practice and constitutes a significant career step that may result in job offers or project collaborations at the institutions where they intern after graduation.

Undergraduate Program The Biotechnology undergraduate program is four years, consisting of eight semesters. As of 2025, the program includes a total of 64 courses. 48 of these courses are mandatory, and 16 are elective. Students have the opportunity to specialize in their areas of interest through elective courses.

The undergraduate curriculum begins with basic sciences and introductory biotechnology courses; in later years, it continues with courses in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, microbiology, and bioinformatics. In the upper classes, applied laboratory courses, project work, and specialization-based elective courses take precedence.

The main elective course areas in the program include:

  • Medical, animal, plant, and algal biotechnology

  • Food and environmental biotechnology

  • Nanobiotechnology, stem cell biology, and genomics-proteomics

  • Cancer biology, immunology, and virology

The undergraduate program maintains a balance between theoretical and practical education. Students acquire experimental skills through courses conducted in fundamental biotechnology laboratories and can also work on genome, proteome, and metagenome analyses thanks to the bioinformatics infrastructure.

Double Major and Minor Program

Our department has a Double Major and Minor program with the Faculty of Education's Department of Mathematics and Science Education. Graduates of the Double Major program also gain eligibility for pedagogical training applications. Graduates of the Minor program receive a diploma supplement.

Graduate Program (Master's) The thesis-based Master's program is conducted under the Institute of Science within the Biotechnology Department (Anabilim Dalı). According to the 2024 curriculum, there are a total of 32 courses. 12 of these are mandatory, and 20 are elective. The program includes fundamental biotechnology topics as well as advanced research methodologies, data analysis, and specialization courses.

The Master's curriculum focuses on the following subjects:

  • Molecular biology, microbiology, and enzyme biotechnology

  • Bioinformatics, data analysis, and advanced research methods

  • Plant biotechnology, genetic engineering, and energy biotechnology

  • Antibiotics, bioremediation, and 3D biotechnology applications

The program is aimed at developing students' competencies in conducting independent research, analyzing scientific data, and interpreting results. Master's students actively participate in metagenomic, ancient DNA, plant genomics, and bioinformatics projects conducted in the department's laboratories as part of their thesis work.

Overall Assessment The Mersin University Department of Biotechnology has a contemporary curriculum structure at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The course contents are designed to cover the applied aspects of biotechnology alongside the basic scientific foundation.

While the undergraduate program prepares students for the sector and advanced research, the Master's program focuses more on research, analysis, and publication output.

A laboratory-based learning approach focused on project generation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and data analytics is adopted across all programs. This ensures that department graduates possess a strong position in both academic research and the biotechnology industry.