BC-i subprogram (Basic/Clinical-internship)
MSc Coordinator of the Master in Cancer Biology
Prof. Dr. Massimo Lopes (lopes * imcr.uzh.ch)
Study Coordinator
Dr. Karin Isler (studienkoordination * biol.uzh.ch)
Note: Admission to the MSc in Cancer Biology at UZH requires a BSc in Biology, Biomedicine or Biochemistry at the UZH, or general admission to the MSc in Biology at UZH according to procedures and deadlines described here. Hence, detailed questions of external MSc candidates regarding this MSc program, its requirements and procedures will be answered only after they have been granted admission to the MSc study program at UZH (please specify this in your e-mail).
OVERVIEW
This specific sub-program of the MSc program in Cancer Biology is designed for particularly motivated students, who are specifically interested in the interface between basic and clinical cancer research, and are ready to extend their MSc experience to include a 6-month internship in a biotech company working on cancer-relevant applications in the Zurich area. Course work (including BIO520) and requirements are the same as for the standard MSc in Cancer Biology, and are described here.
However, the BC-i subprogram differs from the standard program for two specific aspects:
a) The MSc thesis is performed on a project that implies extensive collaboration between a basic- and a clinical-cancer research lab. At least one of these labs should be officially affiliated to the MSc program. MSc thesis projects for the BC-i subprogram typically take advantage of an already active collaboration between these two labs, often driven by a co-supervised PhD student or postdoc.
These specific projects are periodically identified by the MSc coordinator in consultation with the Principal Investigators affiliated to the MSc program, and are specifically advertised at the bottom of this page. In principle, new BC-i MSc projects may also be designed by the MSc student together with the prospective supervisor(s), but will need to meet the criteria of collaboration described above and will need approval by the MSc coordinator.
The module identifying MSc thesis projects for the BC-i subprogram is BIO517, which therefore replaces BIO516 (MSc thesis in Cancer Biology) as mandatory alternative module.
Timing and procedures for the final MSc exams (BIO517 thesis defence + BIO520 “Integrative knowledge in Cancer Biology”) are identical to the standard procedures for BIO516 + BIO520 in the standard MSc Program in Cancer Biology. Detailed instructions can be found here (PDF, 142 KB).
b) After completing the MSc thesis (BIO517), the period of self-study (2 months) and the final MSc exams (BIO520), the MSc student enrolled in the BC-i subprogram engages in a 6-month internship in one of the biotech companies that agreed to participate in this training program. These internships are meant as part of the academic training and - unless differently specified by the company in the advertisement - do not imply a salary/stipend. The internship however is officially recognized in the MSc student transcript as an extra module (BIO527) and 6 ECTS. These are meant as additional ECTS, over the standard 20 ECTS course work needed to get the MSc in Cancer Biology. Unless differently specified, no thematic link is required between the MSc thesis and the internship. Currently active opportunities are advertised at the bottom of this page. Although the internships start typically 14-15 months after the starting date of the MSc thesis, reciprocal commitment of the student and of the biotech company is officially included already in the Learning Agreement, and hence must be reached before the starting date of the MSc thesis. Recruitment for internship in any of the companies requires formal application and selection for one of the positions available at the bottom of this page.
As described here, the work performed by the student during the internship is documented in a short (5-10 pages) confidential report, which is read and approved only by the MSc coordinator.
Procedure for BC-i enrollment
Students interested in the BC-i subprogram of the MSc in Cancer Biology must have reached (or be close to reach) all needed ECTS to close their BSc in Biology/Biomedicine/Biochemistry at UZH, or - as external students - must have been granted admission to the MSc program in Biology at the University of Zurich (see here). At this point they should contact the MSc coordinator (lopes@imcr.uzh.ch) to express their interest in joining this specific subprogram.
Once this formal step is done, the student can check available opportunities for MSc theses (BIO517) and internships (BIO527), and express interest reaching directly via e-mail the contact persons indicated in the respective flyers. Candidate selection for any specific MSc thesis and internship is done by the responsible supervisors in academic labs and companies, may require interviews (online or on-site) and may be decided competitively among different candidates.
Once a student has reached a tentative agreement a) with a host lab for BC-i MSc thesis and b) with a company for the internship (starting ca. 14 months later), he/she should take contact with the MSc coordinator to finalise the learning agreement, indicating tentative start/end dates for both experiences. At that time, it is expected that the student will also have a defined time plan to conclude the standard course work (≥ 20 ECTS) before or during the MSc thesis, according to the standard requirements for the MSc in Cancer Biology. A draft of the course work - including the semesters/years when the courses were or will be taken – should already be included when approaching the MSc coordinator via e-mail to finalise the learning agreement.