Molecular Biology and Genetics Program offers courses mainly on the biological, chemical, physical and mathematical principles governing the structure and functions of organisms at the molecular and cellular levels. Fundamental subjects as molecular and cellular biology, genetics, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, plant biology, and ecology are supplemented by a wide variety of departmental and interdepartmental elective courses to prepare students for careers in research and teaching in university, and for various positions in biotechnology, food and drug industry, agriculture, forestry, and public health.


Elective Courses

There are two types of elective courses in our program,

  1. Technical Elective (9 courses)

A MINIMUM of 3 of these 9 must be chosen from BIO or GENE programs.

A MAXIMUM of 6 technical electives may be chosen from other science and engineering departments of METU, in addition to BIO or GENE program courses. These include courses offered by the Departments of Mathematics, Statistics, Chemistry, and Physics, as well as by the Faculty of Engineering and the Graduate Schools of Informatics or Marine Sciences.

  2. Nontechnical Elective (2 courses)

These include courses offered by the Art Departments of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (e.g., Psychology or Philosophy) and faculties or graduate schools OTHER THAN Engineering and Informatics.


Course Lists and Prerequisites

Please visit the academic catalog for information on courses offered by the BIO and GENE programs of our department. For information on course prerequisites please click here.

The Special Project course (GENE472) is only offered to 4th-year students with CPGA >2.75.


Undergraduate Curriculum


First Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
CHEM111 General Chemistry I 4 3 2 6.0
ENG101 English For Academic Purposes I 4 4 1 6.0
GENE103 Molecular and Cellular Biology I 5 4 2 7.5
MATH117 Calculus I 5 4 2 7.5
OHS101 Occupational Health and Safety I 0 0 0 2.0

Second Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BA100 Career Planning 0 1 0 2.0
CHEM112 General Chemistry II 4 3 2 6.0
ENG102 English For Academic Purposes II 4 4 1 6.0
GENE104 Molecular and Cellular Biology II 5 4 2 7.5
IS100 Introduction to Information Technologies and Applications 0 0 2 1.0
MATH118 Calculus II 5 4 2 7.5

Third Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL220 Introduction to Biometry 4 3 2 6.0
GENE205 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 4 4 0 6.0
HIST2201*   0 2 0 2.0
PHYS111 Physics I (Mechanics) 5 4 2 7.5
Technical Elective
Nontechnical Elective 

* International students must take HIST2205 course instead of HIST2201.

Fourth Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL252 Physiology 3 3 0 7.0
CHEM231 Organic Chemistry 5 3 4 7.0
ENG211 Academic Oral Presentation Skills 3 3 1 4.0
HIST2202*   0 2 0 2.0
PHYS112 Physics II (Electricity and Magnetism) 5 4 2 7.5
Nontechnical Elective 

* International students must take HIST2206 course instead of HIST2202.

Fifth Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL303 Microbiology 3 3 0 6.0
BIOL307 Biochemistry I 4 4 0 7.0
BIOL355 Microbiology Laboratory  2 0 4 4.0
GENE365 General and Molecular Genetics 4 4 0 6.0
GENE367 General and Molecular Genetics Laboratory 2 0 4 3.0
OHS301 Occupational Health and Safety II 0 0 0 2.0
TURK303* Turkish I 0 2 0 2.0
Technical Elective 

* International students must take TURK105/201 course(s) instead of TURK303.

Sixth Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL308 Biochemistry II 4 4 0 8.0
BIOL310 Biochemistry Laboratory 2 0 4 4.0
BIOL356 Plant Biology 4 3 2 7.0
GENE366 Molecular Biology of the Gene 3 3 0 5.0
TURK304* Turkish II 0 4 0 2.0
Technical Elective 

* International students must take TURK106/202 course(s) instead of TURK304.

Seventh Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL423 Recombinant DNA Techniques 3 3 0 6.0
GENE473 Molecular Biology of the Cell 3 3 0 6.0
GENE475 Molecular Biology of the Cell Laboratory 2 0 4 5.0
GENE479 Current Research in Biological Sciences 0 0 0 10.0
Technical Elective
Technical Elective

Eighth Semester
Course Code Course Name METU Credit Contact (h/w) Laboratory (h/w) ECTS Credit
BIOL360* Summer Practice 0 0 4 2.0
GENE480 Student Seminars in Molecular Biology and Genetics 0 0 2 10.0
Technical Elective
Technical Elective
Technical Elective
Technical Elective

* Students who did their internship with the Erasmus program must take BIOL361 course instead of BIOL360.

h/w: hours per week