BSc (Hons) Biotechnology
Approved by Ministry of Higher Education – OFFERED BY NSBM
Key Features
- Ministry of Education approved 4 year, full time degree programme
- The programme encompasses core and elective courses.
- Includes mandatory industry placement and supervised research project element
Aims of the Programme
The BSc (Hons) Biotechnology degree programme aims to produce competent, innovative, and ethically responsible graduates who can apply biotechnology to address real-world challenges and contribute to national and global development.
Graduates will be prepared to:
- Apply strong analytical, technical, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills in biotechnology.
- Uphold ethical and professional standards while addressing economic, environmental, and societal needs.
- Conduct research and develop innovative, sustainable biotechnological solutions.
- Demonstrate entrepreneurship and leadership in biotechnology-based industries and start-ups.
- Build successful careers in healthcare, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and industrial biotechnology.
- Gain expertise in bioprocessing, biomanufacturing, and commercialization to enhance global employability.
- Progress to higher studies and interdisciplinary research in advanced areas such as synthetic biology and bioinformatics.
Programme Structure
Explore the course content by year and semester.
Total Credits- 120
Year 1Year 1 – Semester 1 · Year 1 – Semester 2
Year 1 – Semester 1
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BT 11101 | Introduction to Biotechnology | 1 |
| BT 11202 | General Chemistry | 2 |
| BT 11203 | Cell Biology | 2 |
| BT 11204 | Genetics | 2 |
| BT 11205 | Plant Science | 2 |
| BT 11206 | Animal Science | 2 |
| BT 11107 | Laboratory Practices and Management | 1 |
| BT 11108 | Plant and Animal Science Laboratory | 1 |
| BT 11109 | Genetics and Cell Biology Laboratory | 1 |
| BT 11110 | Chemistry Elementary Laboratory | 1 |
| Foundation 1 | General and Professional English | 2 (Non-GPA) |
| Foundation 2 | Personality development | 1 (Non-GPA) |
| Total | 15 | |
Year 1 – Semester 2
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BT 12201 | General Instrumentation | 2 |
| BT 12202 | Organic Chemistry | 2 |
| BT 12203 | Introduction to Biophysics | 2 |
| BT 12204 | Biochemistry | 2 |
| BT 12205 | Bioanalytical Chemistry | 2 |
| BT 12206 | Microbiology | 2 |
| BT 12107 | General instrumentation and Bioanalytical Laboratory | 1 |
| BT 12108 | Organic chemistry and Biophysics Laboratory | 1 |
| BT 12109 | Microbiology & Biochemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| Foundation 3 | Psychology | 1(Non-GPA) |
| Total | 15 | |
Year 2Year 2 – Semester 1 · Year 2 – Semester 2
Year 2 – Semester 1
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BT 21201 | Metabolism | 2 |
| BT 21202 | Molecular Biology | 2 |
| BT 21203 | Advanced Microbiology | 2 |
| BT 21204 | Immunology | 2 |
| BT 21205 | Enzyme & Enzyme Technology | 2 |
| BT 21106 | Nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics | 1 |
| BT 21207 | Scientific writing and Research methodology | 2 |
| BT 21208 | Molecular Biology and Enzyme technology Laboratory | 1 |
| BT 21209 | Microbiology & Immunology Laboratory | 1 |
| Foundation 4 | Basic Mathematics | 1 |
| Total | 15 | |
Year 2 – Semester 2
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BT 22201 | Techniques in Molecular Biology | 2 |
| BT 22202 | Recombinant DNA Technology | 2 |
| BT 22203 | Developmental Biology | 2 |
| BT 22204 | Applied Biotechnology | 2 |
| BT 22205 | Animal Tissue culture | 2 |
| BT 22206 | Plant Tissue culture | 2 |
| BT 22107 | Molecular Biology Techniques and Recombinant DNA Technology Laboratory | 1 |
| BT 22108 | Developmental Biology Laboratory | 1 |
| BT 22109 | Plant and Animal Tissue culture Laboratory | 1 |
| Foundation 5 | Information Technology | 1 |
| Total | 15 | |
Year 3Year 3 – Semester 1 · Year 3 – Semester 2
Year 3 – Semester 1
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BT 31201 | Plant Biotechnology | 2 |
| BT 31202 | Animal Biotechnology | 2 |
| BT 31203 | Introduction to omics | 2 |
| BT 31204 | Biostatistics | 2 |
| BT 31205 | Bioprocess engineering | 2 |
| BT 31206 | Environmental Biotechnology | 2 |
| BT 31207 | Industrial Microbiology | 2 |
| BT 31208 | Food Technology | |
| BT 31109 | Industrial microbiology/ Food Technology Laboratory | 1 |
| Total | 15 | |
Year 3 – Semester 2
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BT 32201 | Bioinformatics | 2 |
| BT 32202 | Pharmacology | 2 Optional |
| BT 32203 | Molecular Diagnostic and therapeutics | |
| BT 32304 | Special Topics in Biotechnology | 3 |
| BT 32205 | Experimental Design | 2 |
| BT 32206 | Metabolomics | 2 |
| BT 32107 | Industrial Training | 4 |
| Total | 15 | |
Year 4Year 4 – Semester 1 · Year 4 – Semester 2
Year 4 – Semester 1
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BT 41201 | Marine Technology | 2 Optional |
| BT 41202 | Biopharmaceuticals | |
| BT 41203 | Stem cells and Regenerative medicine | 2 Optional |
| BT 41204 | Drug development and commercialization | |
| BT 41205 | Nanobiotechnology | 3 |
| BT 41206 | Natural product chemistry | 3 |
| BT 41207 | Epigenetics | 2 Optional |
| BT 41208 | Computational Biology | |
| BT 41209 | Molecular phylogenetics | 2 |
| BT 41210 | Quality Management in Biotechnology | 2 |
| Total | 16 | |
Year 4 – Semester 2
| Subject Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BT 42801 | Research project | 8 |
| BT 42302 | Entrepreneurship & strategic management in biotechnology | 3 |
| BT 42303 | Biosafety, Bioethics and regulation in Biotechnology | 3 |
| Total | 14 | |
Entry qualification
Three Passes in Biology/ Biosystems Technology /Agriculture Stream in a single sitting, at one of the following examinations or equivalent foreign qualifications is the minimum entry requirement. Equivalent foreign qualifications are defined as the minimum requirement for admission to the first year of a UGC recognized university in that country.
- GCE Advanced Level examination conducted by the Department of Examinations, Sri Lanka
- GCE Advanced Level examination conducted by Pearson Edexel, UK (London A/L)
- International Advanced Level examination conducted by Pearson Edexel, UK
- GSE Advanced Level examination conducted by Cambridge International Examinations, UK
Career opportunities
A graduate with a BSc (Hons) in Biotechnology has a wide range of career opportunities across the pharmaceutical, healthcare, agricultural, food, environmental, industrial and research sectors.
Graduates can work in the following fields:
- Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industries
- Molecular Biology, Genetics and Genomics
- Medical and Healthcare Biotechnology
- Agricultural and Plant Biotechnology
- Food and Industrial Biotechnology
- Environmental Biotechnology
- Research, Academia and Higher Education
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biotechnology
Course Fee
The fee for each semester is 450,000 LKR
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