Biotechnology - the Science and the business

As an engineer, Keerthna Prakash has a strong background in science. Given her interest in biotechnology, however, she knew she needed to learn more about business, and that’s what she got out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Master of Science in Biotechnology Program.

“I wanted to get the business perspective in terms of marketing, sales, and commercialization, ” Prakash says. “Basically, how a drug product taken from start to finish is able to get to pharmacies or patients.”

The M.S. in Biotechnology offers a business perspective to scientists like Prakash, as well as a scientific perspective to students with a background in business. It’s a multidisciplinary program geared toward working professionals, including practicing scientists, technical professionals, attorneys, and business people looking to advance their careers in biotechnology.

“We come from such different backgrounds, ” Prakash says of the students. “It’s a team-building environment where we learn from each other throughout the two-year program.”

The M.S. in Biotechnology Program focuses on product development and technology-based entrepreneurship, combining the study of science, law, and business. To accommodate working professionals, it offers classes on evenings and weekends. Instructors include UW-Madison faculty and leaders in the biotechnology field from private industry in the Madison region.

“It’s an industry where there’s continuous growth, and so I feel in terms of job opportunities, it’s endless, ” says Prakash. “There will always be a need for people to work in the biotech industry, and so many opportunities that have yet to be explored.”