Master in Quantitative Biology at University of Milan

About the programme

Quantitative Biology is a two-year master's degree in class LM-8-R (industrial biotechnology), taught in English by the Department of Biosciences of the University of Milan. Classes run in person on the Città Studi campus in Milan, at Via Celoria 26, Via Celoria 20 and Via Golgi 19.

The programme trains graduates to work where biology meets physics. It combines biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science to study living systems with quantitative tools, with applications in protein engineering, metabolic engineering, drug discovery and synthetic biology. Because it accepts graduates from many science and engineering fields, it suits physicists, chemists, engineers and computer scientists moving into the life sciences as well as biologists who want stronger quantitative skills.

What you will study

The first year is fully compulsory. The second year adds Artificial Intelligence in Quantitative Biology, one or more options such as Non Linear Dynamics in Quantitative Biology, Structural Bioinformatics, Synthetic Biology, Introduction to Logic or Cell Population Dynamics, and 12 free-choice ECTS. First-year units include:

• Principle of Spectroscopy and Applications to Quantitative Biology (10 ECTS)
• Cell Biophysics
• Imaging in Living Cells
• Mathematical Modeling for Biology
• Programming in Python
• Advanced Molecular Biology (9 ECTS)
• Integrated Structural Biology
• Molecular Biophysics

How the programme is taught

Teaching mixes lectures, classroom exercises and lab practicals. Attendance is compulsory, and you need at least 75% attendance to sit an exam. The thesis is worth 33 ECTS and is based on an original experimental project carried out during an internship of at least nine months in a research laboratory, at the university or elsewhere with prior approval; the dissertation is written in English. A further 3 ECTS can come from Italian language, seminars, workshops or a short lab internship. Through Erasmus+ you can take exams or do thesis work abroad.

Career paths

The university describes two main profiles: product scientist or bio-nanotechnologist, who runs lab procedures on high-tech instruments and writes code to analyse biological data, and junior research scientist in biotechnology or biophysics, who designs and runs experiments independently. Employers include:

• Bio-nanotechnology start-ups
• Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
• Public and private research institutes
• Companies developing scientific instruments

Fees and scholarships

Quantitative Biology is in Area B of the 2026/27 fee regulation. Non-EU students whose family lives and earns abroad pay a second instalment fixed by country group rather than by income: €256 a year in Group A, which includes countries like India and Bangladesh, €1,164 in Group B and €4,101.12 in Group C. A first instalment of at least €146 applies to everyone. Full winners of the regional DSU scholarship, which the University of Milan runs for Lombardy, pay no second instalment: zero euro tuition for eligible students.

How to apply from outside the EU

Selection combines your academic record and an online interview on the subjects of your bachelor's degree and your English, each worth up to 50 points; the pass mark is 60 out of 100. Twenty-five places are reserved for non-EU students living abroad. For 2026/27, visa applicants applied on apply.unimi.it from 22 January to 30 April 2026 with a €30 fee. The 2027/28 notice was not yet published in September 2026.

Once admitted, you complete Universitaly pre-enrolment (31 July for 2026/27), apply for a type D study visa with B2 English and obtain a CIMEA statement or declaration of value.

How ApplyAZ helps

If this programme fits your goals, ApplyAZ can include it in a shortlist of 20 to 30 English-taught programmes at Italian public universities. We write your CV and a tailored statement of purpose, submit your applications and Universitaly pre-enrolment, file your DSU scholarship application and prepare your visa file, with a named person on each stage. The university decides admission, the region decides the scholarship and the consulate decides the visa. See how ApplyAZ works or check your eligibility.