The educational experience of students who enroll in the Professional Science Masters Degree in Biomanufacturing program (PSMB) will be enhanced by valuable supervisory, managerial and technical insights gained from working with the cGMP industrial scale facilities of BTEC. The students will gain a working knowledge of cGMPs, facility design and regulatory issues; understand mandated FDA record keeping, process monitoring, process validation, failure analysis and scheduling associated with production of purified bulk biopharmaceutical proteins and biologics. In addition, case studies courses analyzing company experiences of local biotechnology firms that utilize biomanufacturing will provide insight into legal concerns, worker safety, ethical and societal impacts of biomanufacturing and biologics manufacture.

Business management skills that are specifically focused to the unique requirements of FDA-regulated industrial cGMP manufacturing operations are needed by the biotechnology, biotherapeutics and vaccine industry. The Golden LEAF BTEC is in a unique position to offer this PSM. BTEC has an established, active industrial advisory Board and industry-experienced instructors. The Board will work with the faculty to develop industry-relevant curricula utilizing industrial scale biomanufacturing equipment located in the simulated cGMP BTEC facility. as well as coordinate summer internships at Board-member firms for each student. Internships may also be offered by local companies not currently members of the BTEC Board. The technical, FDA cGMP, and managerial experience learned at BTEC on industrial scale equipment will allow these students to quickly assume supervisory and management positions of responsibility in biotechnology companies that utilize biomanufacturing in their operations. In addition, a focused project and a required industrial internship will further enhance the students’ sense of the management expertise within corporate biomanufacturing operations.

The Professional Science Master's degree in Microbial Biotechnology (MMB) provides students with competencies in science and business and includes both academic and professional training.