Programs

BS in Bioinformatics (Pre-Med Program)

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:

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.