Botany

The Botany study programme provides education in the systematics and ecology of organisms traditionally studied in botany, from cyanobacteria and algae, to fungi and lichens, to bryophytes and vascular plants. It also emphasises the understanding of the diversity of communities of these organisms and the study of their causes and changes over time and their relationships with other components of ecosystems. General issues studied in the thesis are mainly focused on intra- and inter-population variation and interactions of populations and species in evolutionary contexts, and spatio-temporal variation and dynamics of plant communities at different temporal and spatial scales. Some of the topics also focus on practical conservation of the organisms and nature studied, including restoration of disturbed, degraded or completely destroyed ecosystems. A strong emphasis is placed on the experimental approach, on the ability of graduate students to properly plan experimental designs or collect relevant molecular data, as well as on the ability to properly evaluate the data obtained. An essential part of the programme is the production of a high quality MSc thesis, which is therefore highly credit-rated.