About the Department

The Department of Biotechnology offers both master's and doctoral programmes. The department is committed to the furtherance of the scientific enterprise through the establishment of a vigorous research programme, and to contribute to post-graduate level academic programmes to cater to national requirements in basic science as well as agricultural and environmental applications. In 2008, the M.Sc. programme in Plant Biotechnology was initiated with funding from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. From 2021 onwards, we are offering a widened programme, M.Sc. Biotechnology, with options for specialization in two areas, namely, Plant Biotechnology and Microbial Biotechnology. Students opting for the master's or doctoral programme can expect an academically rigorous and interdisciplinary environment and significant emphasis on laboratory work, emphasizing original, creative thinking and research. Doctoral students may also choose to carry out their research in the laboratories of our parent organization, TERI (www.teriin.org), in fields as varied as microbial biotechnology, mycorrhizal biofertilizers, environmental bioremediation, plant tissue culture and biofuels, to name a few.

• Vision: To foster excellence in research and training in the basic and applied aspects of the life sciences, contributing to academic and industrial requirements.
• Mission: The department is committed to the furtherance of research and education in basic and applied sciences, contributing to the goal of sustainable development.

Impact Statement: Department of Biotechnology

The Department of Biotechnology at the TERI School of Advanced Studies is an education to impact ecosystem that combines rigorous undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral training with active research addressing national needs in basic and applied life sciences.

Core strengths and research themes

• Thematic focus: Structural biology, molecular oncology, vaccine development, microbial pathogens, plant biotechnology and molecular breeding.
• Interdisciplinary bridge: Life sciences education and research are integrated with computation, sustainability, law, IP, environmental sciences and social sciences to produce evidence based, context aware solutions.

Education, training, and hands on learning

• Research driven curriculum: Students learn to formulate questions, apply rigorous methods, and communicate results; Ph.D. training emphasizes independent, ethical, high quality research.
• Workforce readiness: Degree-granting and research programs combine core life science theory with applied mathematics, statistics, computational skills, intensive lab sessions, and semester long major projects or dissertations that produce publishable outputs and deployable prototypes.
• Infrastructure: Teaching and research labs on campus; advanced R&D facilities at TERI’s Gual Pahari complex and at DIVACC Research Laboratories, Pvt. Ltd.

Faculty impact and translational outcomes

• High impact research: Faculty produce influential publications and translation ready technologies.
• Collaborations: Translational initiatives are embedded within the Department’s functioning through sustained engagement with government priorities, TERI’s applied research ecosystem and DIVACC Research Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., leading to industry facing outcomes.

Employability, internships, and donor impact

• Strong industry interface: A placement cell, structured industry internships and project based dissertations create pipelines into R&D, policy, education, ESG and industry roles.
• Donor leverage: Philanthropic support directly accelerates scalable solutions by funding pilot demonstrations, shared infrastructure, and translational fellowships that move discoveries into products, practices and policy aligned with the SDGs.

Why support us: Investing in the Department of Biotechnology at TERI SAS multiplies impact: it strengthens a proven education to impact model, expands translational research capacity, and prepares ethically grounded, globally competent graduates who convert scientific discovery into societal benefit. Through partnership or giving opportunities—in the form of infrastructure, translational fellowships, long-term endowments and targeted research funding—your support will fast track solutions for health, food security and environmental resilience.