2022:

Martina Poncarová (Ph.D. student) - 1. místo, Cena prof. Sládečka, XX. konference "Toxicita a biodegradibilita odpadů a látek významných ve vodním prostředí"

2022:

Jacqueline Bittner for her thesis Validation of mitochondrial localization and essentiality of prioritized proteins assigned to the tripartite attachment complex in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei

Miroslava Bromová for her thesis A link between structure and activity of acyclic nusleoside phosphonates, inhibitors of Trypanosoma brucei purine phosphoribosyl transferases

Marco Halbeisen for his thesis Modelling of tick borne enecephalitis virus (TBEV) proteins and their complexes

Vladyslav Lazebnyk for his thesis Assembly of the unique Trypanosoma brucei F1-ATP synthase

Robin Schürz for his thesis Comparison of metabolic pathways in insect symbiotic bacteria

2021:

Mirjam Odermatt for her thesis Investigation of stability and dynamics of photosynthetic pigment- protein complexes using optical spectroscopy

Laura Zellner for her thesis Preparation of antibodies to determine the association of mitoribosomal complexes with mitochondrial membrane

2020:

Anna-Marija Andova for her thesis Determining the subcellular compartment in which the unique cleavage of mitochondrial F1 ATPase subunit alpha happens

Marc Ninou-Codina for his thesis Theoretical study of bacteriochlorophyll aggregates using methods of quantum chemistry and molecular mechanics

Lena Graf for her thesis Transformation of marine protist Diplonema papillatum – characterization of selected cell lines

Sasha Gratzl for his thesis Post-transcriptional regulation of TbIF1 in life cycle of Trypanosoma brucei

David Hollaus for his thesis Determining the role of F0F1-ATP synthase dimers in Trypanosoma brucei mitochondrial biogenesis

Iryna Kondrashchenko for her thesis Evaluation of different methods of glycan enrichment to their subsequent MS identification

Amelie Klein for her thesis Phylogenetic and seasonal patterns in the microbiome of mosquito vectors

Melissa Leibetseder for her thesis Latitudinal effect on mosquitoes microbiota

Vanja Mirosavljević for her thesis Effect of high fat diet feeding on resistance to bacterial infection in Drosophila melanogaster

Nora Müller for her thesis The novel kinetoplastid kinesin TbKIFx and its partner TbPH1 are associated with specific cytoskeletal structures of Trypanosoma brucei

Sebastian Tschernuth for his thesis The role of juvenile hormone during immune reponse in Drosophila melanogaster

Guarantor: doc. RNDr. Martin Kabeláč, Ph.D. Study in Czech only.

The joint Bachelor's degree program in Biological Chemistry is organized and supported by the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the JKU Linz and the Faculty of Sciences at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czech Republic.

The program focuses on competency skills and knowledge transfer in biological sciences, and also international experience and training as a chemist to pursue professional, scientific, and application-oriented careers. The program incorporates essential areas of chemistry crucial for overall knowledge in the field and also addresses an analysis of biological systems as well as areas of biology in which chemical procedures are crucial.
General education covers base knowledge in areas of inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry. Compared to studies in “Technical Chemistry”, this program provides concentrated, in-depth instruction in areas of biological chemistry and biology.

The Bachelor Curriculum of Biological Chemistry consists of Biochemistry, Mathematics, and Physics, Biology, Analytical Chemistry, General and Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Informatics, Communications and Ethics, Physical Chemistry, Elective subjects, Molecular Biology.

The program is conducted entirely in English - B2 level is required for admission. Non-natively English-speaking participants must attend the courses titled “English for Chemists". Participants with proof of proficient knowledge of English need not take these courses (recognition process required). For them, we recommend alternative language courses, e.g., in Czech. The curriculum has been designed so that students spend ca. 50 % of the program studying at each university.

Applicants must prove at least three years of chemistry and three years of mathematics during their secondary school studies; otherwise, an entrance test from basics of chemistry and mathematics will be required.

A fee for studying at FSc USB in a foreign language is 500 CZK (or 20 EURO), as stated in the Provision of the Dean No. 83. Za studium v cizím jazyce se na PřF JU platí poplatek 500 Kč (anebo 20 EURO) za rok, viz Opatření děkanky D83.

Potential Career Opportunities
The academic degree qualifies graduates to pursue careers as project and research assistants or laboratory managers in the field of Life Sciences. The international nature of the program, combined with English as the main language of instruction, particularly qualifies graduates for professions in multinational environments (such as EU institutions and internationally active business and corporations).

Program of Study: Bachelor's Degree in Biological Chemistry
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science (BSc) of the JKU Linz and a Bachelor's degree (Bc) awarded by the University of Southern Bohmemia
Program Length: 6 Semesters

ENTER BOOK
a helpful booklet on how to wurvive the first year in Linz, wrote by the first studednts of the study program.

Students are supported by various stipends from USB and JKU during their studies - the Dept. of Study Affairs will provide more information. Further possibilities fo stipends for students outside Austria.

First graduates of the Biological Chemistry program.

Bachelor and Master theses

The requirements for theses is very different at JKU and USB, especially for bachelor thesis. please, read the information on theses writing and number of submitted copies!

Contacts

Facebook group of Biological Chemistry students

Guarantor: doc. RNDr. Šárka Klementová, CSc. Study in Czech only.

Guarantor: prof. RNDr. Ivana kutá Smatanová CSc. Study in Czech only, English version in preparation.

The joint Bachelor's degree program in Biological Chemistry is organized and supported by the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the JKU Linz and the Faculty of Sciences at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czech Republic.

The primary goal of the study program is to provide state-of-the-art education that encompasses molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, and biophysics. The program represents an alternative extension of modern molecular, cellular and structural biology towards biochemistry, bio-organic chemistry, and biophysics.

The length of the study is 2.5 years (5 semesters). The first year of master's study takes place in Linz and involves the study of chemistry, structural biochemistry, and biophysical chemistry. The second year of instruction focuses on structural, molecular, and systems biology. Instruction takes place in Ceske Budejovice. During the fifth and final semester, students may choose at which university they wish to complete their studies.

A fee for studying at FSc USB in a foreign language is 500 CZK (or 20 EURO), as stated in the Provision of the Dean No. 83. Za studium v cizím jazyce se na PřF JU platí poplatek 500 Kč (anebo 20 EURO) za rok, viz Opatření děkanky D83.

The program is conducted entirely in English. Applicants from study programs other than Bachelor Biological Chemistry and other universities must provide a sufficient TOEFL score or pass an exam (see below).

The emphasis during the study is laid on modern forms of study focused on practical instruction with the use of modern information technology. A significant portion of the study program consists of practical training, praxis in research laboratories, and involvement in research projects.

Successful completion of the master's degree program will open the door to continuing on to doctoral studies in biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, or bioorganic chemistry. Graduates of the cross-border Biological Chemistry study program will receive a professional qualification at the frontier of modern chemistry and biology. This will clear the path for a wide range of employment positions at institutions undertaking basic and applied research and development, in chemical and biological laboratories, at biotechnology firms, universities, institutes of the Academy of Sciences, and private companies. Excellent knowledge of the English language will prepare graduates of this attractive discipline for involvement in international research teams or work abroad.

ENTER BOOK
a helpful booklet on how to survive the first year in Linz, written by the first students of the study program.

Admission

Admission to the study program is based primarily on the applicant's academic credentials and his/her knowledge of biology/chemistry/biophysics and the English language. Admission is granted without regard to sex, age, religion, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, or marital status. The master’s “Biological Chemistry” study program welcomes qualified candidates for transfer admission from accredited universities with a completed bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, or related fields showing substantial knowledge of biology and chemistry comparable to graduates of our bachelor Biological Chemistry program.

An official TOEFL level of at least B2 (SERR) will be required. The candidates without this TOEFL level will have to pass the internal English test at the Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia (FS USB).

A) Students who successfully graduated in the bachelor program Biological Chemistry from USB and JKU are admitted to the master's program automatically.

B) Applicants for masters program Biological Chemistry from other programs or universities

Applicants with sufficient background in chemistry and biology will have to pass a written exam composed of three parts:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• General, Organic, and Analytical Chemistry.

Tuition fee
According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic, students are required to pay a tuition fee. The tuition fee reflects extra administration and operational costs connected with running the study program in a foreign language (estimated to be around 10 EUR per student). The precise amount will be declared by the dean of the Faculty of Science at the beginning of each calendar year, in accordance with the Study and Exam Guidelines of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice.

Students are supported by various stipends from USB and JKU during their studies - the Dept. of Study Affairs will provide more information. Further possibilities fo stipends for students outside Austria.

Requirements for successful completion of studies
The requirements follow the Internal guidelines of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. Further requirements are specified in the Internal guidelines of the Faculty of Science of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. To complete the master’s study program in Biological Chemistry, four basic requirements have to be fulfilled. The student has to pass all required exams and acquire a sufficient amount of credits (≥ 150). The student is also required to defend a master's thesis and subsequently pass a final oral exam.

Bachelor and Master theses

The requirements for theses is very different at JKU and USB, especially for the bachelor thesis. please, read the information on theses writing!

Contacts

Facebook group of Biological Chemistry students

Guarantor: prof. RNDr. Ivana kutá Smatanová CSc. Study in Czech or in English possible.

Contact: tel. 387 776 234; e-mail: kuta (at) prf.jcu.cz

State rigorosum exam and thesis defence lead to a title of Doctor of Natural Sciences (rerum naturalium doctor) RNDr. in the field of Biochemistry (only in Czech, Biochemie). Contact: Prof. Ivanu Kutou Smatanovou (kuta (at) prf.jcu.cz).

International applicants are welcomed.

The same admission procedures will be applied to all the applicants.

Applicants accepted into the Bachelor study programme - apply please for visas in Austria, not the Czech Republic; as you will spend the first year in Austria, it is much more straightforward to apply for visas in Austria. This also applies to students accepted via the University of South Bohemia.

Application to Bachelor study programmes
Applications are usually possible until the end of March every year; it is not possible to apply in other terms. A fee for the application is usually 500 CZK or an equivalent in EURO; check the amount before application.

Applicants must prove a completed secondary education. In the case of foreign applicants, validated documents proving the completed level of education and completed courses, the faculty reserves the right to request higher forms of verification or nostrification.

Admission will be permitted to those who completed at least 3 years of Chemistry and 3 years of Mathematics. Otherwise, the applicant must pass an entrance examination for these subjects (usually at the beginning of June); the entrance examination is done online.

All applicants must pass an entrance examination in the English language.

Applicants are notified about the result usually in late June or early July by e-mail and in paper form.

Some more documents regarding the applications: https://www.prf.jcu.cz/en/admissions/admission-documents

e-applications: https://wstag.jcu.cz/portal/studium/uchazec/eprihlaska.html?pc_lang=en

overview of the study plans:
USB part: http://wstag.jcu.cz/StagPortletsJSR168/CleanUrl?urlid=prohlizeni-browser-segment&browserFakulta=FPR&browserProgram=1170&browserObor=2666&browserPlan=18203&browserSegment=17138&plang=en

JKU part: https://studienhandbuch.jku.at/curr/862

Application to Master study programmes

Students who successfully finished their studies in the BSc study programme Biological Chemistry will be after application automatically admitted into the master's studies. If the number of such applicants exceeds the maximum allowed number of MSc students in Biological Chemistry, applicants will be ranked based on the results of the bachelor's state exam, and the best applicants will be admitted.

Applications are usually possible until mid-May every year; if the number of admitted applicants is lower than the maximum allowed number of admitted students, an additional term will be open usually in October. A fee for the application is usually 500 CZK or an equivalent in EURO; check the amount before application.

Every applicant must pass an entrance examination (online) from subjects, usually in the morning:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular and Cell Biology
• General, Organic and Analytical Chemistry
• English language (applicants will not have to pass this exam if the country of origin has the English language as the official language or if can provide a certificate on the B2 level (SERR) or better).

Applicants who will pass these exams will then be invited for an interview (usually afternoon on the same day) - a discussion about their bachelor theses in the English language.

Applicants are notified about the result usually in late June or early July by e-mail and in paper form.

Some more documents regarding the applications:

https://www.prf.jcu.cz/en/admissions/admission-documents

https://www.prf.jcu.cz/cz/prijimaci-zkousky/prijimaci-rizeni

e-applications: https://wstag.jcu.cz/portal/studium/uchazec/eprihlaska.html?pc_lang=en

Do not forget to fill out the Assignment of the Bachelor/Master thesis form with your supervisor and bring it signed to the head of the Institute.

To help you with filling in this form we prepared these instructions.

If you need a signature by Prof. Vácha, you can contact the secretary of Dept. of Chemistry Ms. Magdalena Kucerova - kucerovam (at) prf.jcu.cz, phone 38 777 6247, you can find her in the Bldg. C, 2nd floor, room 02 035.

Currently, during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemics, all the signatures can be provided electronically (print-sign-scan-send) and the form with all the signatures can be sent by e-mail to the Study Dept. (ricanova (at) prf.jcu.cz) and to Ms. Kucerova (kucerovam (at) prf.jcu.cz).

We prepared some instructions for students preparing their Bachelor and Maters theses. DO NOT forget to include the "thesis declaration" - you can find the actual version of the Faculty website (in Information for Students) and consult also your supervisor on how to prepare the thesis.

For more information contact Bc. Petra Korcová (pkorcova (at) prf.jcu.cz, +420 38 777 2262) or check the other contacts.

Finishing bachelor and master students, see information on state exams and defences, number of submitted theses, and information on the organisation of joint master state exam.

Organisation of the Academic year
Pleas, check the Calendar ofr Academic Events for Crossborder studies on the faculty web page with information for students (https://prf.jcu.sk/en/study-at-the-faculty/study-system). You will find there the important dates such as terms for:

• teaching period
• examination period
• submission of theses
• dates of state exams and defenses

Bachelor and Master theses
The requirements for theses is very different at JKU and USB, especially for bachelor thesis. please, read the information on theses writing and number of submitted copies!

Intensive Czech language course – organized always 1 week before the start of the semester with 4 lessons/day, total 20 lessons. If you ar einterested in this course, aask the Study Dept. pelase (Mrs. Korcova).

Useful links for international students:

You can find more information for international students at:

https://jcu.sk/en/study-at-usb/about-studies or https://jcu.sk/en/university/faqs/incoming-students

Possibilities for a stipend support for Czech (foreign) students in Austria (thanks Anna Rázková for providing this nice summary):

https://www.dzs.cz/cz/aktion-ceska-republika-rakousko/prehled-stipendii/

https://grants.at/de/

https://bildung.bmbwf.gv.at/service/brett/stipendienstiftung.html

https://oead.at/de/nach-oesterreich/stipendien/

https://www.scholarships.at/default.aspx?CMSPage=49

International Student Club:
https://isc.jcu.cz/

Erasmus+ students – requested documents:
Please do not forget to send those documents to: veda (at) prf.jcu.cz

- Learning Agreement (use preferably your university´s form, if required, or you can find our form attached)

- scan of your photo in a passport-size

- scan of your passport

- scan of your Health Insurance European card or other Health Insurance Certificate

- contact details of a family member or relative, who can be contacted in case of emergency

Getting your JCU Card:
Mr. Kubák – kubak (at) jcu.cz
KaM - Aula JU, hostel, Help Desk CIT, kartové centrum

Contacts

Organisation of joint master state exam in Biological Chemistry

Rules and recommendations for writing of Bsc. and MSc. theses
The rules are mandatory for all theses to be defended at the Department of Chemistry FS USB. In the event of any of points 2 to 6 being unfulfilled the student will not be permitted to defence their thesis, i.e. the thesis will be evaluated as grade 4 (FAIL).

Update on the use of university or faculty logo in theses

Rules for writing bachelor and master theses at the Department of Chemistry.

Recommendations on writing of bachelor and master theses at Department of Chemistry

Check the regulations.

For students working on their MASTERS theses in Linz:
even though you work in Linz, you need to fill in the Assignment of master thesis and submit it in Budweis (Study Dept.) with all the signatures - this is needed for the subsequent uploading of your finished thesis. You can do this anytime during your study, but the simplest and best will be, if you submit the assignment as soon as possible; you will not need to think about it when you are finishing.

When you finish your thesis, you need to upload your thesis in the STAG system.

Bachelor students and master students working in Budweis - of course, you need to submit the assignment as well. The sooner, the better. And of course, also upload your thesis into the STAG system.

Bachelor state exams and defences

• state exam - written tests, 1 hour for every test. Usually starts at 9 am. The results are usually announced afternoon (depending on the number of students) in person or by mail
• defence - 45 minutes are reserved for one student. You should have prepared a presentation for a maximum of 12 minutes. The evaluation by the supervisor and the opponent are read after your presentation, next, you answer the question of the opponent (the answers can be included at the of the presentation). Lastly, you will answer the questions from the commission and the guests. After the discussion, everybody except the members of the commission and the commission will discuss the thesis and vote on the grade. The result is announced immediately after the defence.

Master state exams and defences

• info on the organisation of the state exam and defence and of the commission
• defence is usually the first - 60 minutes are reserved for one student. You should have prepared a presentation for a maximum of 15 minutes. The evaluation by the supervisor and the opponents are read after your presentation, next, you answer the question of the opponents (the answers can be included at the of the presentation). Lastly, you will answer the questions from the commission and the guests. After the discussion, everybody except the members of the commission and the commission will discuss the thesis and vote on the grade. The result is announced immediatelty after the defence.
• state exam - usually after the defence - oral, approximately 15 minutes per subject.

Due to differences in rules at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice and Johannes Kepler University in Linz Organisation of joint master state exam in Biological Chemistry had to be adjusted.

The state exam will be located at the institution where student worked on his/her diploma thesis and will have two parts:

1) Master thesis defence

2) Oral exam consisting of

• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Biology oriented part of the exam)
• General Chemistry (Chemistry oriented part of the exam)
• Elective subject (subject related to the topic of master thesis)

(Additional information for students, working on their theses in Linz)

Constitution of state exam committee

State exam committee will consist of at least 4 members, at least one of them will always be from the sister university. Supervisor will be a full member of the state exam committee (according to Linz rules).

For the state exam organised at USB, the member of the committee from JKU will be examining the subject General Chemistry.

For the state exam organised at JKU, the member of the committee from USB will be examining the subject Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Student(s) should contact Dr. Štěrba/Prof. Grubhoffer and Prof. Müller regarding the members of the committee in advance.

Elective subjects at USB:

Bioenergetics

Gen and Protein Engineering

Enzymology

Protein Chemistry

Electron Microscopy

X-ray Crystalography

Fluorescence spectroscopy

Cell Signaling

Computational Chemistry

Glycobiochemistry

Xenobiochemistry

Immunology

Biopharmacy

Virology

Bioinformatics

Molecular Phylogeny