Introduction
At the start of the new Millenium, Biology is at the forefront of scientific discovery and public attention. The recent delineation of the complete genomic information of human and several other organisms provided the foundation for unprecedented advances in understanding Life at the molecular level. It also provided new tools and approaches to medicine, agriculture, anthropology, and other disciplines. The way Biology is taught, practiced, and understood has been revolutionised through advances in biochemistry, cell and developmental biology and genetic manipulations based on molecular biology. Biology has expanded to create novel fields, beyond its traditional scope, via synergies and interactions with information science, chemistry, physics and engineering. In this framework, Biology has become a driving force of discovery and application in the modern economy and industry (biotechnology, agriculture, medicine, pharmaceuticals, to name a few), and a source of employment improvements in health and quality of life.

Objectives
The newly established Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cyprus aims to provide high quality training through its postgraduate program and research, in line with international trends in Biological Sciences. The Department will accept its first postgraduate students in September 2003 and will offer postgraduate programs leading to titles of Master of Science and Doctor of Philososphy in two main directions, namely Molecular Biology and Molecular Genetics. The under-graduate programs of study will be starting at a later stage, perhaps in five or six years.