BS in Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is a multidisciplinary program that combines biology with statistics and information technology to explore and understand biological data. Major research areas in the field include: alignment of gene and protein sequences, design and discovery of new drugs, prediction of protein structures, regulation of gene expressions and pathways, interaction of proteins, as well as association of genes with different diseases.
What Will I Learn?
The core areas of study are: bioinformatics tools and databases, programming languages, data structures and algorithms, data mining, biostatistics, cellular and molecular biology, genetics, chemical principles and biochemistry.
Our program also offers you a wide range of elective courses covering various research areas in bioinformatics such as functional genomics, structural bioinformatics, population genetics, association analysis, machine learning and systems biology.
Additionally, the program requires a capstone project, which provides you with the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge to acquire research and practical experience.
Your Career
The exponential growth of biological information has led to a critical need for undergraduate students to be trained on the latest technologies and methods required to deal with such huge amounts of data. A classically trained biologist may be unfamiliar with the statistical and algorithmic knowledge required in the field. A classically trained computer scientist may also be unfamiliar with the biology and chemistry required to properly interpret, analyze and manage the data.
Our program strives for a balance of the two while providing you with a solid foundation in the biological and computer sciences in preparation for new graduate or career opportunities in bioinformatics, biology, computer science as well as the fast-paced healthcare industry. You can also choose to pursue a career in medicine because this is a pre-med program as well, and covers all the required courses to sit for the MCAT.
Curriculum
The Bioinformatics program is housed in the Computer Science and Mathematics Department, and is offered jointly with the Natural Sciences Department.
A total of 100 credits are required to graduate:
- Core courses: 30 credits
- Elective requirements: 12 credits
- Other requirements: 34 credits
- Liberal Arts Core Curriculum (LAC): 6 credits
- LAC Electives: 18 credits (Arts and Humanities min 9 cr.; Social Sciences min 6 cr.; elective = 3 cr. (can be from Hum/Art or Social Science).
Major Requirements (42 credits):
Number |
Course |
Cr. |
---|---|---|
Bioinformatics Core Courses | 30 | |
BIF205 | Biostatistics | 3 |
BIF243 | Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming | 3 |
BIF244 | Introduction to Script Programming | 3 |
BIF245 | Objects and Data Abstraction | 3 |
BIF310 | Algorithms and Data Structures | 3 |
BIF345 | Cell and Molecular Biology | 3 |
BIF375 | Database Management Systems | 3 |
BIF415 | Introduction to Bioinformatics | 3 |
BIF524 | Data Mining | 3 |
BIF599 | Capstone Project | 3 |
Elective Courses: Choose any four courses (12 credits)
Number |
Course |
Cr. |
|
---|---|---|---|
BIF Electives (min. 6-max. 12 credits) | |||
BIF425 | Functional Genomics | 3 | |
BIF435 | Structural Bioinformatics | 3 | |
BIF455 | Computational Drug Design | 3 | |
BIF498 | Topics in Bioinformatics | 3 | |
BIF513 | Computational Biology | 3 | |
BIF515 | Machine Learning | 3 | |
Non-Major Science Electives (min. 0-max. 6 credits) | |||
MTH301* | Linear Algebra | 3 | |
MTH304* | Differential Equations | 3 | |
MTH307* | Discrete Structures II | 3 | |
PHY305** | Modern Physics for Life Sciences | 3 | |
BIO410 | Biotechnology | 3 | |
BIO632 | Advances in Epigenetics and Therapeutics | 3 | |
CSC443 | Web Programming | 3 | |
* advised for students who wish to pursue graduate studies in Computer Science | |||
** required from students who will be sitting for the MCAT exam |
Other requirements (34 credits)
Number |
Course |
Cr. |
---|---|---|
Biology Requirements | 12 | |
BIO201 | General Biology I | 3 |
BIO201B | General Biology I Lab | 1 |
BIO202 | General Biology II | 3 |
BIO202B | General Biology II Lab | 1 |
BIO321 | Genetics | 3 |
BIO322 | Genetics Lab | 1 |
Chemistry Requirements | ||
CHM201 | Chemistry Principles | 3 |
CHM311 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
CHM312 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
Physics Requirements | 3 | |
PHY301 | Classical Physics for Life Sciences | 3 |
Biochemistry Requirements | 4 | |
BCH301 | Introduction to Biochemistry | 4 |
Mathematics Requirements | 6 | |
MTH201 | Calculus III | 3 |
MTH207 | Discrete Structures I | 3 |
Liberal Arts Curriculum (24 credits)
Number |
Course |
Cr. |
---|---|---|
Liberal Arts Core Curriculum | 6 | |
ENG202 | Advanced Academic English | 3 |
COM203 | Art of Public Communication | 3 |
Liberal Arts Electives | 18 | |
Arts and Humanities | min 9 cr. | |
Social Sciences | min 6 cr. | |
**SOC201 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
**PSY201 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
Elective (can be from Arts/Humanities or Social Sciences | 3 |
**Required for students who will be sitting for the MCAT exam.