Only specialized life science university in Austria
25% of the students are incoming international students
Only specialized life science university in Austria
25% of the students are incoming international students
BOKU is the only specialized life science university in Austria and sees itself as a leading research and higher education institution in all fields of life sciences. BOKU has three main sites. The main campus of BOKU is located in the Gregor Mendel Street in Vienna, two further significant sites situated are in Vienna-Muthgasse and in Tulln (Lower Austria) respectively.
Our main activities focus around the following major societal challenges: protection of the living space and quality of life, management of natural resources and the environment, securing nutrition and health.
More about BOKU here.
Our vision
Our Mission
Our Values
Founded in 1872
12 000 students, among which 25% are incoming international students
3 campuses: Vienna-Türkenschanze, Vienna-Muthgasse, Tulln
2140 staff members
8 bachelor programs
6 master programs in English language
15 national master programs in German language
12 international master programs in English
10 doctoral programs
Over 300 partner institutions worldwide
Research and education in Plant Breeding at BOKU has its core basis at two departments located at the campus Tulln, located approximately 30 km west of Vienna: the Department of Crop Sciences – Institute of Plant Breeding and the Department of Agrobiotechnology – Institute of Biotechnology in Plant Production. Related topics such as Crop-Biotechnology, Plant-Pathogen Interaction, Bioinformatics, Statistics and Animal Genetics and Breeding are hosted in other departments, which all contribute to the overall teaching and research portfolio relevant for plant breeding at BOKU.
The campus Tulln of BOKU is easy to reach from Vienna with public transport.
Our mission is to contribute to academic teaching and to basic and applied research of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna.
We focus on basic and applied research in the field of crop improvement, integrating classical and most modern tools. We are equipped with modern greenhouses, growth chambers and laboratories. All basic facilities for modern plant breeding and genetic research are available. We have access to a research farm and plant more than 20.000 field observation plots annually. We coordinate the PhD program AgriGenomics. We explore on the implementation of remote sensing tools for phenotyping. A major research focus is resistance genetics and breeding in cereals, quality improvement in soybean and cereals, as well as genetic and breeding research on oil crops, maize and pumpkin.
List of Publications: link 1 and link 2
We have strong links to plant breeders and academic partners worldwide. We are involved in numerous national and international cooperation projects, such as European Union and ERA-Net projects.
The Master Program in Crop Sciences of BOKU provides students with advanced and interdisciplinary training and skills about function and management of agricultural ecosystems, and responsible and competent crop plant production. The study offers several specialization tracks including the specialization track in Plant-Biotechnology and Plant-Breeding. You will obtain the knowledge base and hands on skills that prepares you for example to work as a practical plant breeder, and related disciplines such as cultivar registration, extension service for farmers, seed production, etc.
Check the course list
Last updated : October 5, 2020