Biotechnology, Bioprocessing and Business Management (MSc)

Explore our Biotechnology, Bioprocessing and Business Management taught Master's degree at Warwick

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P-C5N2

MSc

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

29 September 2025

Life Sciences

University of Warwick

The Biotechnology, Bioprocessing and Business Management MSc combines expertise in scientific knowledge and business acumen. Taught by leading academic staff in the School of Life Sciences and Warwick Business School, this MSc offers you the key business information, industry relevant expertise and science knowledge to prepare you for work in the sector.

The bioprocessing and biotechnology industries are major components of global industrialised economies with impacts in medicine, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and the food sector. Management of change requires a new calibre of technical specialist who will have business acumen and a scientific knowledge base.

This master’s course equips you with the necessary tools and expertise to become an entrepreneur, offering key business information and industrially relevant knowledge. Leading centres of expertise, including staff from Life Sciences and Warwick Business School (WBS), form a multidisciplinary teaching faculty. The course is delivered by lecturers with internationally acknowledged academic, industrial and government expertise.

Skills from this degree

You will gain:

• The ability to understand the scientific, technical and financial basis of biotechnology systems
• The ability to understand the operation and management of biotechnology industries
• The ability to appraise and analyse financial and business implications in a global context
• Transferable skills including team working, communicating with peers and sector specialists, organising, planning and oral presentation
• Research skills including scientific report writing, numerical skills, logical reasoning, critical analysis and project work

You'll be taught by expert scientists who undertake research in solving major global challenges in areas such as food security, disease control, bioenergy, systems biology, neurobiology and climate change. Also, external professional experts teach on selected modules giving a vital extra dimension to your teaching experience.

Teaching is typically by facilitated sessions, including interactive lectures, short Q&A sessions and small group interactive workshops/tutorials. Individual and team learning will be used for case study analysis and workshop activities.

Your project dissertation will be 10,000 words in length, non-laboratory based and generally undertaken at the University of Warwick under the supervision of an approved tutor. Your project will also include a 500 word Graphical Abstract together with a Research Performance piece. Every student has the opportunity to source their own work-based placement.

Class sizes for this course vary between 30 to 90 students.

Depending on the module contact hours vary between 15-25 per week.

Assessments take place during or shortly after completion of each module and include essays, seminar presentations, poster presentations, short answer in-module tests and assessed group work. One third of your final mark will be derived from the project dissertation which is 10,000 words in length. Two thirds of your final mark will be derived from assessment of the eight core and two elective modules.

Reading lists 

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platformLink opens in a new window. 

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogueLink opens in a new window.  

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department. 

Additional Course Costs

All students in Life Sciences are strongly encouraged to buy a computer, at an approximate cost of £600. Students are expected to have suitable clothing for field trips, including waterproof footwear.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

2:2 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). Candidates must have obtained at least a second class honours degree, or an equivalent qualification, in Life Sciences, Engineering or Business Studies (students from an engineering or business background must be a high class student and demonstrate an interest in biological science).

• Band B
• 7.0 overall with minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date.

Page updates

We have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.