Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Design and Engineering

How does a promising molecule become a safe and effective medicine? The MSc in Pharmaceutical Design and Engineering at DTU teaches you how drugs are designed, developed, tested and brought to market. The programme combines biology, chemistry and engineering so you can work across the pharmaceutical development pipeline in the pharma and biotech industries.

What you study

You follow drugs through the whole development process, from early discovery to finished pharmaceutical products. That means how promising molecules are identified, developed and tested, how formulations are designed, how production processes are scaled up, and how medicines meet regulatory requirements before they reach patients.

You work with both small-molecule drugs and advanced therapeutics such as peptides, proteins, vaccines and antibodies. Central areas include drug delivery, immunology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and pharmaceutical process development.

There are no pre-defined specialisations on this programme. You choose from a range of technological specialisation courses and combine them with electives to build the profile that matches your interests and background. A number of core mandatory courses still define the Pharmaceutical Design and Engineering candidate. The full course descriptions sit under the curriculum.

How the programme is organised

The programme is highly interdisciplinary, drawing on biology, chemistry and engineering. You often work in groups with students from different scientific backgrounds, which mirrors how modern pharmaceutical research and development works. Courses, projects and laboratory work build your ability to collaborate across disciplines and to see how different specialists contribute to safe and effective medicines.

You can also join an Industry Master of Science, an option open across all DTU master's programmes. It combines work and study, so you apply your academic knowledge in a real company setting while you earn your degree.

Who it suits

This programme fits you if you want to work where biology, chemistry and engineering meet, and if you like the idea of group work with people who think differently from you. It suits students who are curious about the whole chain from molecule to patient, not just one lab bench. An engineering approach to problem-solving is central, so you should be comfortable with quantitative and process thinking alongside the life science side.

Admission, language and next steps

The programme is taught in English. Academic requirements and selection criteria are set out on the programme's prerequisites page, and the application procedure is described on DTU's application pages. Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland study free of charge; other students pay a fee that the institution sets. DTU's Study Guidance answers questions on course planning, credit transfer and exemption, the International Admissions Office helps applicants with a bachelor's degree from outside Denmark, and International Student Services supports new students settling in. You can also study abroad as part of your degree, and DTU runs honours programmes for students who want a particularly demanding track.

Master’s applications go straight to Technical University of Denmark, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.