BSc in Microbiology Course Details, Eligibility, Salary, Fees & Career Prospects

Updated June 8, 2022

Bachelor of Science in Microbiology or, in short, BSc in Microbiology is a three-year Undergraduate course, wherein students do an extensive study of the science of microbes. The course involves the study of several micro-organisms, including Fungi, Viruses, Bacteria, Protozoa, and many others. Besides, the student’s career prospects graduating with the BSc Microbiology course are bright, as the course covers vast areas, and even opportunities are growing at a good pace. 

Moreover, students will deal with several significant aspects, including pathology, virology, parasitology, immunology, to mention a few. These subfields play a crucial role in making individuals more competent and proficient in the domain. The students, however, aspiring to pursue the course must have completed their 10+2 standard with science stream, especially biology, physics, and chemistry as the main subjects. The students will also have to qualify in the entrance exam to get admitted to renowned institutes.

What is BSc in Microbiology?

BSc in Microbiology is an undergraduate course for students who are interested in studying the science of microbes or microorganisms. The course has been structured to provide all the essential aspects of the microbes to the participants. Thanks to many famous microbiologists worldwide who underpinned the holistic growth of society by making vital research and discovery, such as Fleming and the discovery of penicillin, Jenner and his Vaccine against smallpox, etc.

In fact, microorganisms are vitally crucial for all the processes happening in or around human beings. Microbes play a critical role in many ways, including the environment’s nutrient cycling, biodegradation, climate change, food spoilage, the cause and control of disease, and many more. Microbes are also used for making life-giving drugs, manufacturing Biofuels, production of foods and drinks, to name a few. They collectively create a massive impact on the lives of the people. Together, all this form the scope of microbiology as a discipline of study.

So, essentially, microbiology is the study of various tiny organisms that are not possible to be seen from the naked eye. The microbes like bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, protozoa, algae, etc. all come in the ambit of microbiology. And, a BSc in Microbiology is the realistic starting point.

Under the course, students also learn some aspects of pathology, virology, immunology, parasitology, biotechnology, etc. The course, however, aims producing microbiologists who are supposed to get into several research and discovery in the field of microbiology. The course of BSc Microbiology is a much sought-after academic option after 12th Board PCMB

The Curriculum Details of BSc Microbiology Course

BSc Microbiology is a three-year undergraduate course that comprises the study of some critically important subjects, including Microbial Physiology, Microbial Genetics, Molecular, Biophysics and Instrumentation, Principles of Transmission Genetics, Tissue Culture, Chemistry, to mention a few. From the personal and Public healthcare point of view subject matter of microbiology assume immense importance. After recent pandemic of Covid-19 all attention of global community is more on microbiology.

The scope of microbiology in terms of study and career both is huge. one can avail themselves of promising career opportunities, which include Microbiologist, Biotechnologist, Pharmacologist, Water quality laboratory technician, Food technologist/Scientist, to name a few. The students aspiring to pursue the course are required to have a certificate of 12th Standard from a deemed institute. The course, however, demands various other things from the aspiring participants, like keen interest in studying microbes, leadership quality, critical analytics ability, research aptitude, and many more.

Some Key Highlights of the Course

BSc Microbiology Eligibility Requirements Or Criteria

Bachelor of Science in Microbiology is a professional course that only can be studied after completing the specific eligibility qualifications and requirements. Aspirants seeking admission in the microbiology course must have completed 12th Standard with science stream, especially in Biology, Physics, and Chemistry as the mandatory subjects. Those students who will be graduated from the course will take vital responsibility on their shoulders of doing research and developing essential things for the wellness of human beings and maintaining the environment. That’s why students must analyze whether they possess some crucial soft skills or not. The soft skills include research aptitude, critical and analytical ability, good communication skills, ability to work under pressure, to mention a few. Let’s have a look over the essential requirements to pursue the course.

(a) Aspirants must have done 12th Standard from a recognized board for the microbiology courses after 10+2.

(b) The Applicants should have completed class 12th with science stream, especially BiPC (Biology, Physics, and Chemistry) subjects. Along with the main subjects, if students have studied Biology/Botany/Biotechnology/computer science/ mathematics as optional subjects, then they are also eligible to study the course.

(c) The candidates must have secured at least 50-60 percent of aggregate marks to be eligible to pursue the course.
(d) Qualifying in the entrance exam is also necessary for the applicants to study the course in renowned universities and institutes.

If students want to pursue Microbiology courses abroad, they might be required to submit ACT/SAT scores for bachelor’s level courses. Additionally, applicants must also provide English proficiency scores like IELTS/TOEFL, etc., as well as an SOP and LORs.

Microbiology Courses Admission Process

The students can easily take admission to the Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, it requires one to possess some specific qualifications and basic eligibility requirements. Students can get into the program by fulfilling the requirements and qualifications made by the institutes and universities. They are even required to clear the entrance exams to get admitted to renowned or reputed colleges/universities. Some popular entrance exams are MGU CAT, LPU NEST, Assam CEE, and several other tests. If students are not interested in taking the entrance exam, then they can take up microbiology courses through a merit-based entry process. It means students have two gateways to get admitted into the colleges and study the microbiology courses, which include taking either merit-based entry process or entrance-based entry process. Let’s have a look over the complete details of entry into the program:

Entrance Based Entry to the Microbiology Course

Individuals interested in pursuing from the reputed institutions rank given by NIRF can take up the microbiology course by taking the entrance exam, where one has to go through these steps:

(a) Students should pick up the institutes from which they are interested in pursuing the course because several reputed institutes and universities offer admission to the aspirants to study the microbiology course.

(b) To enroll in the B.Sc. microbiology course, students are then required to attempt the entrance exams, either National, State, or University-level, whichever suits them.

(c) After successfully giving entrance tests, the competent authority will declare merit lists of the students to prepare them for further process. The merit lists will comprise scores and ranks along with the names of the candidates.

(d) If students make it into the merit list, they will be called for the following selection process.
(d) Once you qualify for the entrance exams, the students will be called for counseling rounds. The competent entrance authority will conduct the counseling rounds under the stipulated date and time.

(e) As part of the counseling rounds, students will there have to select colleges and courses according to the ranks and scores.
(f) On the basis of choices made by the candidates, the competent authority will give provisional admission to the students into the course.

Merit-Based Entry to the Microbiology Course

Another way to get admission to the course is through the marks secured in the intermediate or higher secondary examination, for which one has to go through these steps:

(a) Candidates first check their eligibility for the microbiology course. More so, they must have obtained excellent grades in the intermediate examination.
(b) For those students, aspirants seeking admission through direct-based entry would have to fill out the application form of the colleges/universities they are interested in and select the course “B.Sc. in Microbiology.”

(c) The aspiring applicants must fill out the application form correctly of the colleges they are interested in.
(d) After filling the application form correctly, they will need to pay the application fees and at last submit the application form.

(e) After a Few Days, the universities will release a cut-off list and the list of candidates selected to study the course in the respective college/university portal.
(f) If they make in the shortlisted declaration, students will then need to send their documents for verification, and after that, they can get access to the B.Sc. in Microbiology course.

Fee Structure of the Microbiology Courses

There are several universities and institutes in India and abroad that select students to BSc microbiology program. They have made different norms and policies to allocate seats into the microbiology programs like entrance and merit-based entry. Most of the renowned institutes are concerned with providing access to study only after qualifying in either national, state, or university-level entrance exams. Several other institutes select candidates on the basis of an intermediate examination scorecard.

As every institute makes its norms and procedures to provide admission to the Bachelor of Science in microbiology program, so they constitute different fee structures for the course. Popularity, Location, Infrastructure, and faculty provided by the institutes, are also being considered when fees are charged upon the course. Therefore, students willing to study the program will have to pay the amount according to the demand of the respective universities/colleges. Although, the average fees structure of the BSc in Microbiology course ranges from INR 20k to above 60k for the entire course.

BSc in Microbiology Jobs and Career Scopes

The field of microbiology is now covering the vast areas that offer numerous promising career opportunities to students holding a degree in the same field. You are well aware that microbiology is the study of microorganisms that can not be seen from the naked eye. And microbes make a considerable impact on the lives of human beings. Well, every individual must have faced the corona 2019 pandemic one way or other. You know, how did it affect the lives of the people? Interestingly, a single cellular organism has produced devastation around the world. Apart from this single cellular virus, there are several other microorganisms on the earth, including a cluster of microscopic animals, bacteria, fungi, etc., that can potentially deteriorate or enhance the lives of human beings.

Microbiologists, immunologists, Mycologists, virologists, and several other scientists and researchers are responsible for involving in studying the science of microbes. They develop essential life-saving drugs, manufacture bio-fuels, methods of cleaning up pollution, and produce/process food and drink. The professionals could involve in these after acquiring the requisite degree in the field. More so, the field offers several exciting and rewarding career opportunities with lucrative salary packages. It does not end here; if students are interested in studying more intensively of the subjects, then they can go for higher education degree after completing a microbiology course.

Courses after Acquiring Microbiology Degree

There is no dearth of courses for the students after acquiring a graduate degree in microbiology. Students can choose numerous short-term and postgraduate level courses, which include:

(a) PG Diploma courses in Microbial Genetics, Bioinformatics, Microbial Physiology, Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Bioinstrumentation, etc.

(b) MTech Biotechnology
(c) Paramedical Courses
(d) MSc Microbial Genetics

(e) MSc Microbiology
(f) Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (DMLT)
(g) MSc in Applied Microbiology

Jobs for the BSc Microbiology Graduates-

Rewarding career opportunities are lined up for the students who did their graduation with BSc in Microbiology Course. Graduates can land their careers either in the private or government sector. Job positions for the students who graduated from the B.Sc. microbiology course are in the following way:      

(a) Medical Microbiologist
(b) Pharmacologist
(c) Research Associate
(d) Mycologist

(e) Junior Research Officer
(f) Food Microbiologist
(g) Medicinal Chemist
(h) Immunologist

(i) Biomedical Scientist
(j) Cellular Biologist
(k) Virologist
(l) Lab Technician

(m) Technical Brewer
(n) Medical Coder

Employment Sectors to Go in

Under the course, the students learn several essential subfields, including pathology, virology, Parasitology, Immunology, and many more, wherein students get specialized and avail themselves of the career opportunity that suits them. They are in high demand in several fields & areas and also keep growing with time. After obtaining a BSc in Microbiology programme, students can start working in government and private institutions. Though some fields and areas where the scope for graduates can be visible are:

(a) Environmental Science
(b) Pollution control boards
(c) Research Centres
(d) Lecturer/educator in Academics

(e) Healthcare and Medicine
(f) Agro-chemistry biotechnology
(g) Genetic Engineering
(h) Food Microbiology

(i) Biorefineries
(j) Hospitals
(k) Forensic Labs

Bachelor of Science in Microbiology Syllabus

Bachelor of Science in Microbiology is a three-year-long undergraduate course that offers students a platform to learn the science of microbes. The course, however, also helps participants in availing themselves of several promising career opportunities. Several universities have been constituted to provide this professional course to students, wherein students will study every essential aspect of micro-organisms.

B.Sc. Microbiology covers a range of vital subjects from Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Enzymology, Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Virology, DNA technology, etc. The course syllabus is divided into six semesters to ensure the availability of every important topic and subject. The semester-wise break-up of the course is in such a way:

Particulars of Microbiology Curriculum

Note- These aforementioned BSc Microbiology subjects only constitute an indicative list. The syllabus can vary to colleges to colleges as per the program and university.

BSc Microbiology Salary

The professionals working in the field are compensated with lucrative salary packages in India and around the world, though the salary offered to graduate students could vary depending on their work areas, skill set, qualifications, profile, and company they choose. The students who graduated with a microbiology course in India could earn up to 3lakh per annum in the initial phase. More so, the salary could go above 20 lakh per annum depending on the profile and the areas they are working with. Those who have gained a lot of experience in the relevant field will be compensated more.

BSc in Microbiology Colleges

There are several renowned universities in India as well as abroad that offer ambient and quality education to the students to learn the course properly. They, however, also provide better infrastructure and exposure to the students to help them grasp a better understanding of the concepts.

(1) MCC – Madras Christian College
(2) SJC Bangalore – St. Joseph’s College
(3) Gargi College, University of Delhi
(4) Mithibai College of Arts,
Chauhan Institute of Science & Amrutben Jivanlal College of Commerce and Economics

(5) Mount Carmel College
(6) Imperial College London
(7) University of Tokyo
(8) University of California -Berkeley

(9) Yale University
(10) University of Hong Kong
(11) McGill University
(12) University of Copenhagen

(13) Seoul National University
(14) Sophia College for Women, Mumbai

BSc Microbiology Colleges in Kerala

(1) SME Kottayam – School of Medical Education
(2) Sree Sankara College, Kalady
(3) St Mary’s College for Women, Thiruvalla
(4) MES College, Marampally
(5) Amrita School of Biotechnology, Amritapuri

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