The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

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The International Masters (MSc) program at FAU is for students with a passion for paleontology, who wish to be trained in theoretical concepts and cutting-edge quantitative techniques in paleobiology, macroevolution, and macroecology.

This 2-year program is based in the beautiful city of Erlangen in Bavaria. Students will spend the first 3 semesters deepening their knowledge by taking courses, such as analytical paleobiology, phylogenetics, biostratigraphy, vertebrate paleobiology, and science communication. In addition to these courses, students have the opportunity to choose a variety of supplementary courses, which can include field excursions to destinations such as Italy, Poland, and Sweden, as well as short-term research projects, and bespoke training courses in computational and laboratory techniques. Courses are taught entirely through English by staff at the Paleontological Institute and GeoZentrum Nordbayern alongside guest lecturers from all over the world. During each of these courses, students will develop a wide range of professional and transferrable skills, including data analysis and interpretation, research project planning, ethics, problem-solving and hypothesis testing. Students will learn to communicate research findings and data through written reports, oral presentations, and graphical displays.

In the final semester, students will have the opportunity to hone these skills and develop their own individual research project on a paleontological topic of their choosing. This program has no tuition fees for students of any nationality.

Degree awarded: MSc in Earth Sciences (Paleobiology)
Institution: Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU)
Location: Erlangen, Germany
Duration: 2 years full-time; part-time options available
Next start date: October 2025
Tuition fee: None!
University fee: 67€/Semester
Application start: February 2025
Application deadlines: Group 1b: April 30 2025
Group 2a: July 15 2025
a: EU, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, UK, USA b: Rest of the world


The most amazing part of this program (besides intensive supervision) is that it actually covers how to become a good scientist. You will learn how to phrase research questions, conduct own studies, get grants for your research and many many more. Gregor Mathes, Class of 2019