Duration and Workload

The curriculum comprises 120 ECTS credits, allocated to 10 compulsory modules entitled MPS 1-10, the final master's thesis and the public defence. The scheduled duration is 4 semesters (2 years).

Program Structure

MPS 1: Introduction to Drug Discovery and Preclinical Drug Development (8 ECTS)

  • In this module, students are introduced to the main steps in the discovery and development of drugs, as well as to the respective terminology and time lines. Furthermore, students will be provided with an overview of experimental methods in drug discovery and preclinical drug development.

 

MPS 2: Basics of Drug Discovery (8 ECTS)

  • Students will gain an overview of the drug discovery process. Based on case studies, they will learn the main concepts and methods for discovery, characterization, optimization, and preclinical development of new drug candidates.

 

MPS 3: Drug Discovery (7 ECTS)

  • This module provides students with a basic knowledge of methods and technologies used for the discovery of new drugs. These include e.g. target identification and validation, biological assays and assay technologies, strategies for discovery of bioactive natural products, as well as computational methods for ligand- and structure-based drug design.

 

MPS 4: Preclinical Drug Development (7 ECTS)

  • In this module students gain a basic understanding of methods for lead optimization and in vitro and in silico methods for ADME profiling. They will have an overview of methods used in preclinical toxicology and drug targeting. Beyond that, this module also provides knowledge on concepts of technology transfer.

 

MPS 5: Advanced Methods in Drug Discovery and Preclinical Drug Development (15 ECTS)

  • This module provides students with the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge in selected areas of drug discovery and development. These encompass, among others, special topics in medicinal chemistry, pharmacoinformatics, isolation and identification of bioactive compounds from natural sources, hit-to-lead optimization strategies, biophysical methods, fragment-based drug discovery, nucleic acid-based drugs, receptor pharmacology, and techniques for pre-formulation. Out of a broad variety offered, students will have to choose courses corresponding to 15 ECTS.

Participation requirement: MPS 1

 

MPS 6: Experimental Methods in Drug Discovery and Preclinical Drug Development (10 ECTS)

  • Students will learn how to design, carry out, and document experiments or computational analyses on selected topics in the field of drug discovery and development. They will be able to correctly interpret the results in the context of the research question and to make proposals for further experiments.

Participation requirement: MPS 1

 

MPS 7: Case Studies in Drug Discovery and Preclinical Drug Development (5 ECTS)

  • The students will work in small teams to conceptualise concrete drug development projects and to discuss their proposals with the supervisors.

Participation requirement: MPS 1

 

MPS 8: Lab Rotation I and II (20 ECTS)

  • In the lab rotations, the students will be affiliated with one of the research groups and carry out small individual research projects. They will learn how to summarize research results in the form of a scientific report and to present them orally.
    • optional: Instead of completing the Lab Rotations at the University of Vienna, an internship corresponding to 20 ECTS (including the internship report) can also be completed at a research institute, which is accepted by the study program director. Such an internship requires prior approval from the responsible study program director.

Participation requirement: MPS 6

 

MPS 9: Proposal Writing (5 ECTS)

  • The students are introduced to the craft of writing a grant application for a research project, preferably within the framework of the subject of their research project or internship (MPS8). The project will be presented and discussed with the supervisors. The research application may serve as the basis for a Master thesis.

Participation requirement: MPS 6

 

MPS 10: Extension Module (5 ECTS)

  • Out of a broad panel of courses offered by the University of Vienna, the students will choose those that will help to deepen their knowledge in specific areas of drug discovery and preclinical drug development.

Participation requirement: MPS 6 (Recommended: MPS 5)

 

Master Thesis and Public Defence (25 ECTS + 5 ECTS)