Master in Bioinformatics

Master in Bioinformatics is one of 3 English-taught Bioinformatics programmes at Master's Degree level in the register, offered by 3 institutions. 2 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from EUR 8,700 to EUR 16,300; this programme lists EUR 8,700 a year. 2 are recorded as free for EU, EEA and Swiss students. The same programme title is offered at 3 institutions, so compare the content, campus and requirements before you choose.

Bioinformatics at the University of Copenhagen is a two-year MSc for people who want to solve biological problems with maths, statistics and computer science. The programme is taught in English and is worth 120 ECTS.

What you study

You learn the fundamentals of bioinformatics: sequence analysis, protein and RNA structural analysis, genomics, phylogenetics, analysis of high-throughput data, and machine learning methods. Before you start, you pick one of two specialisations.

Computational Biology puts the focus on biological sequence analysis, molecular phylogeny, structural bioinformatics, systems biology, and the bioinformatics aspects of gene expression and proteomics data. You work with the software used in the field and get insight into genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, mathematics, statistics, computer science and machine learning, and how these subjects feed into modern scientific practice and industrial and medical applications.

Computer Science lets you focus on computer programming, for example the development and use of algorithms, machine learning and probabilistic models in bioinformatics. You cover the same subject areas as above and again look at how they are used in science, industry and medicine.

How the programme is organised

Both specialisations follow the same credit split: 37.5 ECTS compulsory courses, 37.5 ECTS restricted electives, 15 ECTS free electives and a 30 ECTS master's thesis. Compulsory courses cover the basic elements of bioinformatics and sit mainly in the first year. Restricted electives are chosen from a set list. Free electives can be MSc or BSc courses at the University of Copenhagen, or a Project in Practice or a project outside the course scope.

On the Computational Biology track, the first year includes Biological Sequence Analysis, Statistics for Bioinformatics and eScience, Structural Bioinformatics, Population Genetics and Data Science for Genomics. Restricted electives on the list include Advanced Algorithms and Data Structures, Advanced Bioinformatics for Next-Generation Sequencing, Advanced Topics in Machine Learning, Applied Programming, Computational Geometry, Data Parallel Programming, Introduction to Data Science, Machine Learning A, Medical Image Analysis, Molecular Biology for Non-life Scientists, Numerical Optimisation, Programming Massively Parallel Hardware, Randomised Algorithms, RNA Biology, Bioinformatics Project 1 to 4, and Individual Project in Bioinformatics.

You can use electives for a Project in Practice in Denmark or abroad, for example with a company or an institution. You need a supervisor who approves the host and guides you, and you finish with a written project report and an oral examination. You can also study abroad for one or two semesters or a shorter period such as a summer school, with courses credited back at the Faculty of Science.

Who it suits

This suits someone who likes both sides of the field: the biology and the code. You should be comfortable with mathematics, statistics and programming, and curious about genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry. The two tracks let you lean towards the biology (Computational Biology) or towards algorithms and programming (Computer Science).

Admission, language and next steps

You apply through the application portal. A bachelor's in Bioinformatics from the University of Copenhagen gives you a legal right of admission, which you can use up to three years after finishing. Other Danish or international degrees are assessed individually. You need at least 10 ECTS in basic mathematics, 10 ECTS in biology, molecular biology, genetics and biochemistry, 5 ECTS in programming, 10 ECTS in bioinformatics and 5 ECTS in machine learning, plus English B.

Applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland must pay an application deposit and tuition fee. The university does not offer pre-assessment of your background. If there are more qualified applicants than places, priority goes to total ECTS in relevant courses, grades in those courses, then your grade-point average. Relevant courses include big data in biology, bioinformatics algorithms, genomics, metagenomics, pharmacogenomics, protein design, protein structural modelling, sequence analysis, structural bioinformatics and transcriptomics.

Master’s applications go straight to University of Copenhagen, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. The register shows 15 January 2027 as the next deadline for this programme. Intake, as the register states it: Starts 1 September 2027 (apply by 15 January 2027). 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.