Bioinformatics Programs in the United States

Date Compiled: June 2006

University

Degrees
Professional MS with
bioinformatics-genomics
track

Department(s)
The Sloan Foundation of
Computational Biosciences
in the Department of Life
Sciences

Degree Requirements
30 credit hours of courses, 6 credits of
internship, and 6 credit hours of
professional development or advanced
study. 42 credit hours total.

Baylor College
of Medicine

PhD - Structural and

Computational Biology
and Molecular
Biophysics, MD/PhD

Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences

3.

Baylor
University

BS of Informatics w/
Bioinformatics major

Department of Computer
Science, Biology
Department

PhD: Collection of program-specific

coursework, graduate school core
curriculum, lab rotations, qualifiying
exam, thesis MD/PhD: first 2 years of
med school (includes clinical
clerkship), followed by grad school
coursework, lab rotations, thesis
completion finishing with final year
of med school.
124 credit hours required including
Humanities and Social Science,
Computer Science and Biology, and
Mathematics and Chemistry.

4.

Boston College

Ph.D. degree in Biology

with
Bioinformatics/Computat
ional Biology track

Biology Department

5.

Boston
University

MS-Bioinformatics, MS

Department of
Bioinformatics

1.

Arizona State
University

2.

Minimum curriculum for Ph.D.

students consists of four Graduate
Core Courses (BI611 Advanced
Genetics, BI612 Graduate
Biochemistry, BI614 Graduate
Molecular Biology, BI615 Advanced
Cell Biology, and BI616 Graduate
Bioinformatics); five additional
Biology-approved Graduate Elective
Courses (e.g., BI500+, BI800+), at
least three of which must be Graduate
Seminars (e.g., BI800+); and a
seminar on Responsible Conduct of
Research and Professional
Development, (BI880).
Comprehensive examination,
dissertation.
MS: 32 credits required and
internship. MD Track: 32 credists
required and thesis. PhD: (PostBachelor's) - 64 credits required and
exam (32 course credits, 16 research
credits); (Post-Master's) 32 credits

Sampling of Research Interests

Computational algorithms for the effective utilization of
imaging modalities (e.g., PET) in the study of Alzheimer's
Disease. The design of efficient, scalable algorithms for image
deformation, reconstruction, and quantitative analysis (with
Computer Science and Good Samaritan PET Center), parallel
algorithms.
The faculty research activities include development of
structural and computational techniques, protein design and
engineering, biophysical chemistry of macromolecules,
membrane biophysics, neuroscience and genome
informatics,quantitative and physical approaches to
molecular and cell biology, biophysics, genomics, proteomics,
neuroscience, nanobiology, molecular design, drug design,
and medicine
Unsupervised learning methods, automation of learning,
especially in the applications knowledge discovery in science,
such as bioinformatics and astrophysics; interplay among
routing services, transport protocols, and information
dissemination problem domains
Study of genetic variations, human population and medical
genetics (Prof. Gabor Marth), comparative genomics and
gene regulation (Prof. Jeff Chuang), and computational RNA
and protein structure predictions (Prof. Peter Clote).

Computational modeling of regulatatory and metabolic

networks, docking, comparative genomics, protein design,
genomic and proteomic biotechnology, microarray
engineering and analysis, pharmacogenomics, structural
biology, large scale modeling of biological systems, RNA,
computational studies of cancer and neurological disorders and

required (16 course credits, 16

research credits) and exam (For all:
no lower than "B" in core courses)
MS: 36 credits; Certificate: 21
credits. All include core courses and
courses in programming, scripting
language and database management.
33-34 units total, bioinformatics
emphasis (18 units (9 courses))

functional genomics, synthetic gene networks and molecular

computing and genetics

Artificial Intelligence (Logic, Knowledge Representation,

Reasoning, Natural Language Understanding, Robotics),
Cognitive Science, Computer Science Education,
Bioinformatics.
Rare Plants, Neurophysiology, Microbial Pathogenesis, Viral
Genetics, Evolutionary and Ecological Genetics

6.

Brandeis
University

MS Bioinformatics,
Graduate Certificate in
Bioinformatics

Rabb School of Continuing

Studies - taught by
professionals in the field

7.

California State
University

Biology Program

8.

Canisius
College

MS Degree program in
Biotechnology and
Bioinformatics
BS

Department of Computer
Science

37 courses (128 credits) required.

Full undergraduate curriculum.

9.

Cedar Crest
College

BS Minor

Department of Biological
Sciences

MA, PhD- both degrees

in Biomedical
Informatics with option
of concentration in
Bioinformatics
BS in Biomedical
Informatics

Department of Biomedical
Informatics

Undergraduate minor
program, MS-both
degrees have
concentrations in
bioinformatics; PhD in
Integrated
Bioinformatics

School of Biomedical
Engineering, Science &
Health Systems-Center for
Integrated Bioinformatics-

Biology, Genetics, Evolution,

Biostatistics, 2 courses in
Bioinformatics
MA: 30 credits required, oral exam;
PhD: 60 credits, comp exam,
dissertation, seminar presentation on
research; an oral presentatiom; a
dissertation.
126 credits (largest concentration in
Biomedical and Healthcare
Informatics: 28 credits,
Programming: 19 credits,
Mathematics and Sciences: 16 credits)
Undergraduate minor: 2 core classes
and 2 senior research project courses,
MS and PhD: No specific
requirements available on webpage

PhD in Computational
Biology and
Bioinformatics (CBB)
Both in bioinformatics:
graduate Professional
Science Master's, and a
Graduate Certificate.

Duke Institute for Genome

Sciences & Policy

10. Columbia
University

11. DeVry
University

12. Drexel
University

13. Duke University

14. Eastern
Michigan
University

15. Florida
International
University

MS, PhD in Computer

Science w/Specialization

Technology - Biomedical
Informatics

Mulitple participating
departments: departments
of Biology, Chemistry,
Computer Science and
Mathematics in the College
of Arts and Sciences, and
the department of
Management in the College
of Business
Department of Computer
Science

List of faculty and research at

http://www.brandeis.edu/facguide/department?deptid=2
No specific research available on webpage

Standards for encoding and sharing clinical guidelines,

diabetes informatics, clinical data mining

No specific research mentioned.

Medical and biomedical sensors, Three-dimensional tissue

engineering, Biomedical
optics, Merging nanotechnology with
biomedical applications, Limb prostheses.

Core classes, electives, exams,

graduate seminars, rotations, and
dissertation
M.S.:requires 34-36 credit hours of
work; Certificate: requires 18 credit
hours of course work spanning the
fields that make up the Masters
subjects. The certificate can be used
as a gateway to the MS program for
students who may not be certain they
want the MS degree.

Computational & discrete geometry, computational biology,

spatial databases, robotics, developmental biology, list at
http://cbb.genome.duke.edu/faculty
No specific research available on website

MS-15 credits of required CS classes

and 15 electives or 9 electives, and
option of thesis; PhD- 6 required CS

Pattern Discovery in sequences and structures, micro-array

data analysis, primer and probe design, phylogenetic analysis,
image processing - conducted by BioRG

classes, 6 electives, 24 dissertation

credits, 2 credit hours of seminar
MS: 36 hours of coursework and
seminars PhD: MS degree
requirements, comp exam,
dissertation
53 credits for Associate Degree, 49
for Certificate

MS/PhD in Biomedical
Mathematics

Department of Mathematics

17. Foothill College

Associate Degree, Career

Certification

18. George Mason

MS, PhD, graduate Cer

Biological and Health

Sciences Division
(BIO/Health divisions) in
conjunction with the
Computer Technology and
Information System (CTIS)
Division
School of Computational
Sciences

19. George

BS in Computer Science
or Biology w/
concentration in
Bioinformatics or Dual
BA in CS and Biology,
MS in Genomics and
Bioinformatics with
tracks in Biology or CS
MS in Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology with
specialization in
Biotechnology and an
emphasis in
Bioinformatics

Multiple participating
departments

BS: 130 credit hours required along

prescribed curriculum, Dual BA: 133
credit hours required Biology MS:
non-thesis option, 35 credits required
with a final project. Thesis option: 32
credits plus thesis. CS MS: 38 credits
required.

School of Medicine,
Department of
Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology

No specific research available on webpage

MS, PhD in
Bioinformatics

MS-School of Biology,
PhD Bioinformaticsmultiple participating
schools

M.S. in Medical and

Bioinformatics

School of Computing and

Information Systems

An individualized program. As well

as Biotechnology program courses,
students can take courses in
bioinformatics, computer science, and
also intern in bioinformatics. This
internship can be in academia or in
industry. 6 core classes. .
MS-37 credits, three semesters of
specific courses in biology,
mathematics, computer programming,
and chemistry. PhD Bioinformatics36 course credits, 24 research credits
36 credits and internship in partnering
workplace organizations, non-thesis

MS Medical Informatics

Harvard-MIT Division of
Health Sciences and
Technology
Harvard-MIT Division of
Health Sciences and
Technology

Core courses and thesis requirement

Information processing in medicine, communication in

medicine.

Core courses and thesis requirement,

interdisciplinary courses among both
schools.

No information available on specific research interests

16. Florida State

University

Washington
University

20. Georgetown
University

21. Georgia Institute

of Technology

22. Grand Valley

State University

23. Harvard and

MIT

24. Harvard and

MIT

PhD

MS: 31 credit hours including

research project or master's thesis.
PhD: 72 credits total, 48 course
credits and 24 credits of thesis
research. Certificate-15 credit hours

Mathematical physiology, protein structure determination,

human brain mapping, DNA topology
N/A

Integration of genomic, gene expression and clinical databases,

protein structure and function analysis, models of cellular and
metabolic processes, and models of microbial consortia.
Research in the Program addresses fundamental computational
methods with applications in bioinformatics, including
computational geometry, image processing, pattern
recognition, and data mining
Phylogenetics, information systems, genomics and
proteomics of HIV and cardiovascular disease

DNA and protein sequence analysis, comparative genomic

analysis, systems analysis and structure analysis, and
prediction.
Computer industry analysis, Information systems policy in
management, Mobile data exchange / XML

25. Indiana

MS bioinformatics, Ph

School of informatics,
Department of Biology

MS: 36 credits, 6 core credits, 6

credits bioinformatics, 18 credits of
electives, 6 credits
project/thesis/internship; PhD minor:
12 credits

MS

School of Informatics with

Depts of Biology,
Computer Science,
Biochemisty and
Molecular Biology and
other departments in the
School of Medicine.
Program in Bioinformatics
and Computational Biology
with multiple participating
departments

MS: 36 credits, 6 core credits, 3

credits bioinformatics, 21 credits of
electives, 6 credits
project/thesis/internship

University at
Bloomington

26. Indiana
University/Purdu
e University Indianapolis

27. Iowa State

PhD

University

28. Johns Hopkins

Bloomberg
School of Public
Health
(JHBSPH)

29. Johns Hopkins

University

30. Johns Hopkins

University

31. Kean University

Master of Health Science

(MHS)

School of Public Health:

Departments of Molecular
Microbiology and
Immunology and
Biostatistics

Pre- and post-doctoral

candidates in
computional biology

Institute for Biophysical

Research

MS in Bioinformatics
(option to complete MS
in Bioinformatics degree
fully online)

Hopkins Advanced
Biotechnology Studies,
Zanvyl Krieger School of
Arts and Sciences and the
Whiting School of
Engineering

M.S. in Biotechnology
w/ Bioinformatics

College of Natural, Applied

and Health Sciences

Courses in genetics, molecular

biology, mathematics and statistics,
computer science, with research
rotation in first year, interdisciplinary
thesis research project completed the
second year. 72 credits are required.
Students are required to take 16
credits each term in their first year,
including at least 12 credits outside of
Biostatistics. A minimum of 64 credits
are required to graduate and includes
a culminating project, and a web
portfolio.
Candidates for graduate school apply

A total of 11 courses to complete

degree requirements: five core
courses, four concentration courses,
an elective from bioscience and an
elective from computer science. After
completion of the core and
concentration courses, students may
choose an independent study project
as one or both of their electives.
Students have up to five years to
complete the program.
38-42 credits, written research
project paper, presentation of research

Sequence pattern recognition (transcriptomics, regulatory

region prediction and characterization, splicing site
recognition, gene prediction); comparative genomics
(complete genome comparisons, biolinguistics, phylogenetic
analysis); structural genomics (DNA, RNA and protein
secondary structure prediction related; frament assembly in
DNA sequencing; systems biology (biological networks,
proteomics, protein annotation); models of evolution
(quantitative or population genetics, molecular evolution,
biochemical theories for the origin of life); molecular
modeling and drug design.
See IUB (above)

Intelligent searching, data warehouses, analytical tools, high

performance computing in genomics

Mechanisms of genetic and epigenetic gene regulation in

plants, human genetics, statistical genetics, survival analysis,
clinical trials, epidemiological studies, bioterrorism
surveillance, microarray data analysis, biomarker discovery
and validation, statistical methodology, longitudinal data
analysis, genomics, environmental epidemiology.
Protein and RNA: folding, energetics, and dynamics,
computational mechanics of large proteins, conformational
statistics of biological macromolecules, applied mathematics,
computational biophysics of membrane systems,
biomolecular modeling, compuational protein design and
ligand binding
No specific research available on webpage

No specific research available on webpage

Concentration

32. Keck Graduate

Institute of
Applied Life
Sciences

33. Marquette

Professional Masters of
Bioscience, PhD
Computational and
Systems Biology

PhD: KGI and the

Claremont Gradu

MS: Two academic years of work,

with internship over the summer and
master's paper, PhD: 72 units of
coursework, dissertation

MS

Departments of
Mathematics, Statistics,
Computer Science, Bio, and
Electrical Engineering
(MU), Bioinformatic and
Biomedical Research
(UWM)
Department of Biometry
and Epidemiology

Thesis: 24 credit hours required plus

thesis (6 credit hours). Non-thesis: 36
credit hours. Core courses required
for both options.

BS

Department of Biological
Sciences

74 credits of bioinformatics work and

mandatory cooperative work
experience required.

Immunology, microbial toxicology and biochemistry,

molecular diagnostics

BS Concentration in Bi

Department of Computer
Science

124 total credit hours (66 credit hours

combined of core computer science
and biology courses)

No specific research available on website

Certificate

Department of Continuing
Professional Education

4 courses (12 credit hours) - 3 core, 1

elective

No specific research available on website

MS (non-thesis), PhD,
Minor (for students
pursuing a Ph.D. in
Functional Genomics or
another discipline; there
is no minor offered for
M.S. degrees)
MS

Program in Genomic
Sciences

MS: 33-36 credit hours: 15 Genomic

Sciences core, 9 Bioinformatics Core,
9 credits of electives, with oral exam,
non-thesis degree. PhD: 72 credit
hours: 15 Genomic Science, 9
Bioinformatics Core, 48
Bioinformatics and thesis.
32 credits required. Core courses
with electives, internship required,
some background in basic disciplines
can be filled in with extra work.

Using genomics tools to identify quantitative trait loci,

developmental quantitative genetics and molecular evolution,
molecular population and evolutionary genetics, application of
Information Theory to genetics, fungal molecular genetics,
nucleic acid design, molecular biology and biophysics

University/Medi
cal College of
Wisconsin

34. Medical

MS, PhD

University of
South Carolina

35. Michigan
Technical
University

36. Missouri
Southern State
University

37. New Jersey

Institute of
Technology

38. North Carolina

State University

39. Northeastern
University

in a public forum.

Department of Biology's
Program in Bioinformatics
with multiple participating
departments

MS: 5 core courses and 6 required

courses for bioinformatics track; PhD:
7 core courses, three lab rotations
with different mentors, Basic Written
Examination, Advanced Written
Qualifying Exam and all students
have to demonstrate proficiency in at
least one computer language.

optimization of yeast recombinant protein production;

genomic, proteomic, and cell-based microarray technologies;
DNA amplification and analysis methods; microfluidics;
molecular and computational analysis of regulatory networks;
rational design of multidrug HIV therapy, and structural
genomics
Systems identification applied to neuromuscular control of
movement; cybernetics and learning; rehabilitation robotics;
design of computer-based medical instrumentation;
telehealth; neurofuzzy computing; computer modeling of
biomedical systems, image processing and analysis, modeling
of pulmonary hemodynamics, integral equations; listed at
http://gp.bbc.mcw.edu/people/faculty.html.
The group research activities are focused on theory
identification and algorithm development with particular
emphasis on Systems Biology, S-Systems modeling of
dynamic processes such as metabolism and regulatory
networks, machine learning, including artificial intelligence,
namely artificial neural networks, Bayesian networks and
exploratory analysis by mutivariate statistics.

Genetic pathway of red blood cell formation, sensory

physiology of microorganisms, methods of theoretical and
computational analysis of biological macromolecules,
development of computer front-end bioinformatics application
for visualization and analysis, future electronic information
systems for scientific research literature, understanding the
molecular basis of transmembrane signaling by G protein-

40. Northern Illinois

University

41. Northwestern

MS Specialization,
Certification

42. MS

University

43. Ohio State

University

44. Oregon Health &

Sciences University

45. Portland State

University and
Oregon Health &
Science University

46. Ramapo College

PhD (program
encourages all applicants
to go for a Ph.D.;MS
automatically received
by all all students who
pass their general exams
(approximately after their
second year) )
All degrees in
Biomedical Informatics:
MS (research) and MS
(professional), PhD;
Graduate Certificate

Five year, dual degree

program: B.S. Computer
Science degree and a
Master of Biomedical
Informatics degree at the
end of five years

BS

Department of Biological
Sciences
School of Engineering and
Applied ScienceDepartment of Electrical
Engineering and Computer
Science
Biophysics
Program's
Division
of
Computati
onal
Biology
and
Molecular
Biophysics
Departmen
t of
Medical
Informatic
s and
Clinical
Epidemiol
ogy

PSU's
Computer
Science
Departmen
t and
OHSU's
Departmen
t of
Medical
Informatic
s and
Clinical
Epidemiol
ogy
School of
Theoretica
l and
Applied

30 credits required for MS with

specialization, 16-17 required for
certificate
3 core courses, seminar sequence, five
electives, 3 units of independent
research with one quarter spent in an
industrial setting, thesis required.

coupled receptors, nanoparticles, quantum systems

Arabidopsis BLAST searches, enzyme rate studies, similarity
matrices, Rice chromosome studies

Programs are highly individual and are worked out

with your advisor in contract form. Before the end of
the tenth quarter of residence, the student must
complete both the written preliminary exam and the
general exam. Thesis defense is required for
completion of degree.

Assembly and function of protein complexes, neural networks,

function of solute transporters in health and disease.

MS research: 60 credit hours required, with 48 credits

of course work distributed among four core areas, and
12 credits of thesis research. MS professional: 52
credit hours required with Capstone Project. Six credit
on-campus requirement; PhD: Core classes (48 hours),
advanced research methods (12 hours beyond
minimum in MS), Cognate-area outside informatics
(12 hours), qualifying exam, symposium (3 hours),
doctoral seminar (12+ hours, 2 hrs/term), dissertation
research (48 hours), mentored teaching (up to 6
hours); Certificate: Eight courses (3 credits each)
required.
B.S. degree in Computer Science from PSU
requirements and Master of Biomedical Informatics
from OHSU requirements. See course page.

Areas of research include electronic medical records,

information retrieval, information needs assessment, humancomputer interfaces, consumer health informatics,
telemedicine, clinical epidemiology and consortium-based
research

128 credits, 65 core credits with option for

Bioinformatics research with faculty or internship in
industry

Client-server applications, peptide synthesis methodology,

nucleic acid research, molecular genetics and physiology,
database design

No specific research mentioned on webpage. Faculty

listing/research: http://www.cs.pdx.edu/facultyIndex.php

47.

48.

BS, MS in Applied
Rensselaer
Science w/Concentration
Polytechnic Institute
in Bioinformatics, PhD
in Biology with
Concentration in
Bioinformatics,
Certificate in
Bioinformatics
MS in Computer Science
Rice University
w/ Concentration

49. Rochester Institute

of Technology

50. Rockefeller

BS, MS (professional),
BS/MS (The existing BS
program may be
combined with the MS
program in
Bioinformatics, allowing
undergraduate majors to
acquire both degrees in
as few as five years.)
PhD, or MD/PhD

University/New
York University's
Courant Institute

51. St. Edwards

BS

University

52. Stanford University

MS (academic--full-time
on-campus program ),
MS (professional--parttime, online, distance
program), MS
(coterminal, Stanford
UG's only), PhD,
Coterminal MS program
(Stanford undergraduates
only), Certification

53. Stevens Institute of

BS, MS, PhD in

Chemical Biology
w/concentration;
Certificate

Technology

Science
School of
Science's
Departmen
t of
Applied
Science
and
Biology
Departmen
t of
Computer
Science

Certificate: 13-14 Rensselaer graduat

Regulation of gene expression, protein folding and structure,

data mining, molecular simulations, drug design

Specific courses listed on website. 14 courses

required.

Departmen
t of
Biological
Sciences

BS: 187 credits including completio

No specific research mentioned (webpage in development)

Departmen
t of
Biology
(NYU
Center
School of
Natural
Sciences
Departmen
t of
Biomedica
l
Informatic
s; Stanford
Center for
Profession
al
Developm
ent
(SCPD)
(certificate
program)
Departmen
t of
Chemistry
&
Chemical
Biology

No specific information available.

Systems Biology and Prot

52 credits of core courses, with 13 elective credits

required in bioinformatics

N/A

MS (Academic): thesis in addition to completing a

minimum of 45 course units; MS (Professional):
identical to Academic MS, except no thesis
requirement; PhD: minimum of 135 course units in
Biomedical Informatics, Biomedical Domain
Knowledge, Computer Science, Probability, Statistics,
and Social and Ethical Issues; Qualifying Oral
examination (no later than end of 3rd year) and
doctoral dissertation around the fifth year.

Diverse topics including: biomedical informatics, biomedical

imaging, ontologies engineering, electronic medical records,
pharmacogenetics/pharmacogenomics, information
retrieval; Descriptions of the affiliated research projects
available at http://bmi.stanford.edu/affiliatedproj.htm

MS: 30 credits required (thesis not required, but is

encouraged); PhD; Ninety credits of graduate work in
an approved program of study are required beyond the
bachelor's degree; this may include up to 30 credits
obtained in a master's degree program, if the area of
the master's degree is relevant to the doctoral program.

Polymer synthesis and characterization, methods of

instrumental analysis, medicinal chemistry and structural
chemistry (theoretical as well as experimental) are areas of
chemistry in which the department has attained international
recognition.

54. Univ of Arkansas at

Little Rock & Univ
of Ark. for Medical
Scien
(UALR/UAMS)

55. University of
Alabama Birmingham

56. University of
Buffalo

ULAR Undergraduate
minor, MS, PhD,
Professional Certificate
in Bioinformatics (PCB)
and a Graduate
Certificate in
Bioinformatics (GCB)
are under development

Specializations for MS,

PhD, M.S./Ph.D.
program (intended for
students whose ultimate
goal is the Ph.D. degree
but who do not currently
hold an M.S. degree in
computer science,
students receive an M.S.
degree on the way to the
Ph.D. when the
requirements for an M.S.
have been met but this
will usually occur much
later than if you are
studying directly for the
M.S. as you will be
expected to be heavily
involved in research
which counts toward the
Ph.D. degree but not
toward an M.S. degree)
BS in in bioinformatics
and computational
biology (BCB)

UALR/UA
MS Joint
Graduate
Program in
Bioinform
atics;
ULAR
Undergrad
uate
Minor:
Biology
and
Informatio
n Science
Departmen
ts
Departmen
t of
Computer
&
Informatio
n
Sciences;
Opportunit
ies are
available
for a Ph.D.
specializat
ion in
bioinforma
tics in
collaborati
on with
the UAB
Academic
Health
Center.
College of
Arts and
Sciences-Students in
the BCB
program

Those with a master's degree who wish to transfer

those credits toward the Ph.D. must be aware that only
one master's degree can be used toward the Ph.D.,
doctoral dissertation and defense included. Certificate:
12 credits (4 courses), all of which are transferable to
the appropriate Master's degree program.
Minor: For majors in Information Science and
Computer Science: 18 credit hours. MS:
Approximately 34 total credits of coursework in 10
courses, 4 total credits of seminar over 4 semesters,
and 2 total credits for 4 research lab rotations over 2
semesters. PhD: Requires completion of the MS in
Bioinformatics. Subsequently, students concentrate
almost exclusively upon their research and must
complete a minimum of 36 additional credit hours

Understanding receptor mediated signal transduction and

intracellular signaling mechanisms in relation to
environmental changes or in disease states; Molecular
Systematics and Evolution, Ecology, and Biostatistics;
Software Engineering Domain Oriented High Level
Architecture, Component-based Software Development,
Intelligent User Interface Agent Based Development Data
Mining, see
http://bioinformatics.ualr.edu/academics/bioinformatics_gradu
ate_faculty.html

MS: With a specialization, students take 15 hours in

the area of specialization (6 required hours, 9 elective
hours) and 21 hours of other computer science courses,
for a total of 36 hours; must fullfill requirements for
Exit Exam and Breadth requirment. PhD: flexible
study options that have no required courses, but rather
emphasize individualized training that is suitable for
the specific prospective candidate and his or her area
of specialization; PhD requires qualifying and
comprehensive exams, dissertation and defense

Joint research projects wit

Students in the program complete a full major in their

area of concentration and also take additional courses
important to bioinformatics in disciplines that
complement their concentration. All students take
courses in calculus, statistics, molecular biology,
organic chemistry, and databases, as well as a core

Computational biology, pr

57. University of
California Berkeley

58. University of
California - Irvine

59. University of
California - Los
Angeles

60. University of

Professional Sequence
(Professional Sequence
in Bioinformatics:
Quantitative and
Computational Methods)
w/Certificate given
MS, PhD, both have
research areas in
Informatics in Biology or
Medicine
BS in Cybernetics
w/Concentration in
Bioinformatics, MS, PhD

PhD in Genomics and

select a
major
from
among
four
concentrati
ons,
offered in
the
Departmen
ts of
Biological
Sciences,
Physiolog
y and
Biophysics
,
Computer
Science
and
Engineerin
g, and
Mathemati
cs.
UC
Berkeley
Extension
Continuin
g
Education
School of
Informatio
n and
Computer
Science
Mult.
Depts:
Biomathe
matics,
Chemistry
and
Biochemis
try,
Statistics,
Computer
Science et
al.
Genetics,

course in bioinformatics. In addition, students enroll in

a bioinformatics seminar and complete an
interdisciplinary project during their senior year. 120
total credits required. See http://undergradcatalog.buffalo.edu/academicprograms/bioinfo.shtml
for specific course requirments and credit hours.

Three 2-semester unit/30-hour credit courses and one

0.7 ceu course, for a total of 97 hours (6 semester units
and 0.7 ceu). All coursework must be completed
within two years, with a minimum grade point average
of 2.5 and no grade lower than a C in any one class.
There are no substitutions or waivers

No specific research mentioned on website.

Three core courses, plus at least 6 additional courses,

and courses to satisfy a breadth requirement. Other
core courses required for ICS school. Paper
Requirement for the Ph.D. Degree. Each student must
write a survey paper and a research paper of
publishable quality.

Research in bio/medical informatics include: Medical

Information Access; Knowledge Representation for HealthCare Guidelines; Structure in Biomedical Data; Biomedical
Simulations; Discovery of Gene Expression Control;
Knowledge Discovery in Clinical Databases; Computational
Biology; Bioinformatics and Probabilistic Modeling
Predicting membrane protein structure, analyses of genome
evolution, microarrays

BS: methodology core (6 courses: 23 units),

bioinformatics concentration area (38 or 32 units), 6
courses chosen from the Bioinformatics Approved
Course List and breadth area (3 courses: 12 unit
minimum).

BS: Life Sciences core requirements (6568 units),

Genetic manipulation of insects of commercial importance;

California Riverside

61. University of
California - San
Diego

Bioinformatics (GGB)
with a
subspecialization in
Genomics/Bioinformatic
s track. The GGB
Program also administers
a full undergraduate
curriculum in
Genomics/Bioinformatic
s within the Biological
Sciences major.

Genomics
and
Bioinform
atics
(GGB)
Graduate
Program

BS Computer Science
with a Specialization in
Bioinformatics, PhD,
also PhD in
Neuroinformatics

BS:
Computer
Science
and
Engineerin
g
Departmen
t, Division
of
Biology,
Departmen
t of
Chemistry
and
Biochemis
try and
Departmen
t of
Bioengine
ering:
PhD: Mult.
Depts: 7
participati
ng
departmen
ts and
graduate
programsBioengine
ering,
Biology,
Biomedica
l Sciences,
Chemistry
and

Computer Science and Mathematics (16 units). Ethics

and Science (4 units), Upper-division requirements (a
minimum of 45 units), Breadth electives, Independent
study or research in the field of bioinformatics or
genomics is recommended; PhD: Normative Time to
Degree 15 quarters: Specific course requirements are
selected on the basis of the subdiscipline and the
students particular needs and objectives. Students are
strongly encouraged to participate in lab rotations,
select a major professor and begin research work early
in their training (during the first year of residence).
Written preliminary examination and an oral qualifying
examination, teaching requirement (at least one quarter
of teaching experience), and dissertation and final oral
examination.
BS: The Computer Science and Engineering
requirements: 152 units; the bioinformatics series: 24
units; PhD: Biological Data and Analysis Tools,
Sequence Analysis, Genomic Analysis, and Statistics
are areas emphasized; Three quarters of work required,
one four-unit course in each quarter will be a research
rotation in the laboratory of a Program faculty mentor.
The remaining 9 courses will include 4 compulsory
core courses and 5 courses to be chosen from a list of
electives approved by the Advising Committee. Upon
completion of formal course requirements, each
student will be required to take a written and oral
Qualifying Examination that will admit the student
to the candidacy of the Ph.D. program. Each graduate
student admitted to the Ph.D. program in
Bioinformatics is mandated to serve as a Teaching
Assistant (TA) for at least 2 quarters. Dissertation and
final oral exam required.

translational regulation; molecular responses to environmental

stress, molecular microbial ecology of pests, pathogens, and
ecosystem; combinatorial algorithms; computational molecular
biology, computational molecular biology; data compression;
data mining; information hiding and others at
http://www.genetics.ucr.edu/genomics_bioinformatics_faculty.
html

Synthetic gene regulatory networks, algorithms for

Computational molecular biology, structural bioinformatics,
artificial intelligence, enzymes, genomics etc
http://bioinformatics.ucsd.edu/faculty/index.htm#

62. University of
California - San
Francisco

63. University of
California - Santa
Cruz

64. University of
Cincinnati

65. University of
Colorado at Denver

66. University of
Colorado at Denver

MS The M.S. program

is open only to students
with a health sciencesrelated graduate or
professional degree (e.g.,
M.D., Pharm.D., M.S. in
epidemiology); PhD
All degrees in
bioinformatics: BS
(bioinformatics students
may apply in their senior
year for combined
B.S./graduate program),
minor ( this minor is
suitable for biology and
chemistry majors or for
computer science and
computer engineering
majors.), MS and PhD
PhD in Biomedical
Engineering with
Specialization in
Bioinformatics
Certificate in
Computational Biology
PhD in Analytical Health
Science/ Bioinformatics

Biochemis
try,
Computer
Science
and
Engineerin
g,
Mathemati
cs, and
Physics
Graduate
Program in
Biological
and
Medical
Informatic
s
Departme
nt of
Biomolec
ular
Engineerin
g

Departmen
t of
Biomedica
l
Engineerin
g
Center for
Computati
onal
Biology
CU Health
Sciences
Center Departmen
t of
Preventati
ve
Medicine
and
Biometrics

MS: A total of 36 academic units and final research

project; Ph.D: there is no unit requirement for PhD,
but requirements include oral qualifying examination
and thesis.

Minor: 15 courses; Both M.S. and Ph. D. students must

complete nine 5-credit courses (seven core courses and
two electives) and a 3-credit research and teaching
course. In addition, M.S. students must complete 4
seminar credits, while Ph. D. students must complete 8
seminar credits. Also, M.S. students must complete
two (1-credit or 2-credit) research project courses and
Ph.D. students must complete three research lab
rotations with different supervisors. Thesis required for
both MS and PhD.
138 credits, written and oral qualifying examination at
end of 2nd year, last 2-3 years devoted to completion
of dissertation

15 credits

To apply for candidacy in the AHS/Bioinformatics

PhD track, students must complete a minimum of 30
semester credit hours of course work (mimimum of 10
semester credit hours of Bioinformatics courses)
(including academic credits transferred from other
programs) and a minimum of 30 semester credit hours
of doctoral dissertation research. While the PhD
program only has three required courses, students quite
often have to backfill areas of deficiencies with
additional elective/recommended courses beyond their
prior graduate-level academic work. Dissertation

Structure, function, and folding of proteins, chromosomes, and

centrosomes; Applications of computer technology to
clinical medicine and imaging; Bioinformatic and
experimental analysis of protein superfamilies for
understanding protein structure-function relationships and
developing strategies for protein engineering, etc
http://www.bmi.ucsf.edu/faculty.html
Gene finding methods, RNA detection techniques, proteomics,
estimation of amino acid distributions. More specific
descriptions at
http://www.cbse.ucsc.edu/research/research_bioinfproject.sht
ml

Computational neuroscience, computer learning, genomics,

proteonomics, computational modeling and computational
software development and applications to healthcare.
Bioinformatics brings together researchers in computer
engineering, computer science, genomics, proteonomics,
neuroscience
Image processing and radiation therapy, Population genetics,
Algorithm design for problems in DNA mapping,
Computational mechanics
Ontologies in biomedicine, bio-molecular dynamics, genomic
sequence and polymorphism, gene expression analysis,
biochemical pathway analysis

67. University of Idaho

MS, PhD Bioinformatics

and Computational
Biology (BCB)

68. University of Illinois

BS in Bioengineering
with Bioinformatics
Concentration; MS, PhD
Bioinformatics

at Chicago

69. University of
Maryland

70. University of
Massachusetts Lowell

71. University of

MS Biotechnology
Studies w/
Bioinformatics Track;
Certificate
Degrees in specified
areas available with
Bio/Cheminformatics
Option: BS, MS, PhD

MS/PhD certificate

Medicine &
Dentistry of New
Jersey (UMDNJ)

72. University of
Memphis

MS Computer Science or
Mathematical Sciences
w/Concentration

Initiative
for
Bioinform
atics and
Evolutiona
ry Studies
(IBEST)
Departmen
t of
Bioengine
ering

Examination.
Both degrees require: Core courses, depth courses, lab
rotation, seminars, teaching experience, and thesis.
MS: 32 credits (9 credits of thesis research), PhD: 78
credits (at least 30 hours of thesis research).

BS: 128 credit hours (12 Bioinformatics

Concentration Area Elective hours); Graduate: 36
credits minimum of specific courses in biochemistry,
mathematics, statistics, and bioengineering for MS,
108 credits for PhD. Thesis required for both.

Research in three disciplines: biological, mathematical and

computational sciences. Sampling of projects: Spatial
Dynamics of Plasmid-Bacteria Interactions, Microbial
Community Analysis, Decision Theoretic Approach to Model
Selection, Evolving Ecological Networks, Potato Genetic Map.
List at http://styx.ibest.uidaho.edu/ibest/research.html
Structural Bioinformatics--cutting-edge computational
methods for analyzing binding protein surfaces and core
packing of proteins; Cheminformatics--developement of
novel shape descriptors for molecular data mining for drug
discovery; Research in Computational Biology, Machine
Learning & Data Mining Combinatorial and Global
Optimization.
Biomedical research, geno

Graduate
School

MS: 36 credits (18 credits-core bioinformatics

courses, 15 credits-electives, 3 credit capstone course)
Certificate: 15 credits (5 courses)

Departmen
t of
Computer
Science
collaborati
ng with
Depts of
Biology,
Chemistry,
Mathemati
cs and the
Medical
School.
Informatic
s Institute
of
UMDNJ,
The
Graduate
School of
Biomedica
l Sciences
(GSBS)
Departmen
t of
Mathemati
cal
Sciences'
s
Computer
Science

BS: 120-124 credits depending on major; MS: 30 total

credits; PhD: 42 total credits (24 credits-thesis)

Data mining, visualization of data, applied computational

geometry, combinatorial optimization, medical informatics,
computer graphics, virtual environments, user interfaces,
computational complexity, applied algorithms

MS: A certificate documenting completion of the

Concentration in Bioinformatics will be awarded to
students earning the M.S. degree from their graduate
program upon completion of 12 Credit Hours in
consultation with the Program Supervisor; PhD: the
Ph.D. degree from their graduate program upon
successful completion of the entire Bioinformatics
Core Curriculum including appropriate Research and
Electives for a total of 18 Credit Hours.

No specific research available on webpage

With PhD: 30 credits, without: 33 credits required.

Thesis required for both.

Supercomputer design and construction for bioinformatic and

e-commerce applications, random number generation, analysis
of exchangeable data, distribution theory, statistical risk
assessment and meta-analysis

73. University of
Michigan

MS: Professional Mast

Division
MS:
Bioinform
atics
Program
through
Rackham
Graduate
School;
PhD, 2
tracks:
Students
interested
in joint
experimen
tal and
computati
onal
emphasis
and have
prior
experience
in the
biological
sciences
should
enter
through
the
Program in
Biomedica
l Sciences
(PIBS) at
the
University
of
Michigan
Medical
School.
Students
interested
in
quantitativ
e and
analytical
sciences
should
apply
directly to
the

MS: 31 credits of core courses and electives,

Professional MS: Internship in industry required;
Research MS: rotation in a laboratory required, thesis
encouraged. PhD: 68 credits required with two full
research rotations the first year, preliminary exam and
dissertation.

Theory of protein folding, including structure,

thermodynamics, and kinetics; statistical and computational
methods for analysis of high-throughput genomic and
proteomic expression data, intracellular proteases, theoretical
and computational topics at the interface between structural
molecular biology and physical chemistry, finding genes
involved in behavioral and neurological and psychiatric
diseases

74. University of
Minnesota

75. University of
Missouri - Kansas
City

76. University of
Nebraska

minor is available to
masters (M.A. and M.S.)
and doctoral students

BS in Biology w/
Bioinformatics
Emphasis; M.S. in
Computer Science w/
Bioinformatics
Emphasis; PhD in
Informatics w/
Bioinformatics Emphasis

MS in Pathology and
Microbiology with
Special Track in
Bioinformatics, PhD in
Pathology and
Microbiology with
Special Track in
Bioinformatics

Bioinform
atics
Program
through
the
Rackham
Graduate
School.
Departmen
t of
Laboratory
Medicine
and
Pathology

BS:
Departmen
t of
Biology;
MS, PhD:
School of
Computin
g&
Engineerin
g:
Departmen
t of
Computer
Science &
Electrical
Engineerin
g
Departmen
t of
Pathology
&
Microbiol
ogy at
University
of
Nebraska
Medical
Center
(UNMC),
with
support
from the

Minor requires core courses, 9 credits for master's, 15

credits for doctoral minor.

BS: Biology or CS degree requirements combined with

the mathematics, chemistry and physics components
(see course url) MS: Thesis and non-thesis option
(both must satisfy all common requirements). Thesis
option: 27 hours of approved coursework, complete a
minimum of 3 hours Research and Thesis, complete a
minimum of 9 hours in the emphasis area; contact a
thesis adviser in the semester in which the student
completes 12 hours of graduate work, present masters
thesis, pass a general oral examination Non-thesis: 36
hours of approved coursework, 12 hours in the
emphasis area; contact an adviser after completing 12
hours of graduate work to complete the program of
study. PhD: The amount of work required for the Ph.D.
depends on the students level of preparation. Requires
qualifying and comprehensive exams.
MS: Eleven foundation biology, computational
sciences courses, core biological sciences,
computational sciences, electives and independent
study. PhD: Similar course requirements, with
addition of comprehensive exam and thesis

Pharmacology: molecular genetic mechanisms of DNA repair

and recombination in mammalian cancer cells; Computer
Science: complex, scientific databases; Animal Science:
quantitative genetics, including statistical analysis for mapping
disease genes and quantitative trait loci, Laboratory Medicine
and Pathology: bioinformatics tools; Biochemistry, Molecular
Biology and Biophysics: using and developing functional
genomics tools, others at
http://www.binf.umn.edu/faculty.html
.
Biological data mining, Intelligent software agents in biology,
Modeling biological systems, Parallel Computation,
Algorithms, Computational Geometry, Cryptosystem Design,
Computer Security, Network Security, others listed at
http://www.csee.umkc.edu/student/info/csi-phd-info-f05n.pdf

No information available on specific research interests

77. University of North

Carolina at Chapel
Hill

78. University of
Pennsylvania

MS Certificate of
Specialization, PhD
Certificate of
Specialization

BS Biology, Computer
Science, or Mathematics
w/ computational
biology/bioinformatics
Concentration, MS in
Biotechnology (MB)

departmen
ts of
Computer
Science
and
Informatio
n Systems
and
Quantitati
ve
Analysis
in the
College of
Informatio
n Science
and
Technolog
y at
University
of
Nebraska
at Omaha
(UNO)
MS:
School of
Informatio
n and
Library
Science;
PhD:
Bioinform
atics and
Computati
onal
Biology
(BCB)
Training
Program
(affiliated
with the
Carolina
Center for
Genome
Sciences
BS:
Departmen
ts of
Biology,
Computer
and

MS Certification: 48 required hours for a MLS/MIS

with completion of a significant project in the area of
bioinformatics, and coursework in Biostatistics: 3
credit hours minimum, Biological Sciences: 6 credit
hours minimum; PhD Specialization: Two research
rotations, one semester of teaching, bioinformatics
core classes, and research presentation required in
addition to completing PhD requirement in
participating department (over 20 partipcating
departments). Possible internships.

Digital libraries, new methods of electronic scholarly

communications, information seeking behavior of
bioinformatics researchers, computer human interfaces to
support information seeking of scholarly information;
computational and experimental methods to design proteins,
physical nature of interactions between atoms, molecules,
cells, and organisms; motor proteins and transcriptional
regulation; High-performance computing: algorithms,
programming languages, compilers and architectures; data
mining. Others at http://bcb.unc.edu/bcbresearch.html

MS: eleven courses: six core courses and five courses

from the bioinformatics track; PhD: Three research
rotations (3-4 credit units total), Eight courses
consisting of both core lectures and electives (8 credit
units total), One semester-long seminar that focuses on
reading and discussing primary literature, Any

No information available on website about specific research

interests, did note that activities of the participating academic
units in GCB are enhanced through association with two
additional units: the Penn Center for Bioinformatics (PCBI),
which provides a focus for bioinformatics and genomics
research and service to Penn, and the Penn Genomics Institute,

w/Concentration, PhD in
Genomics and
Computational Biology

79. University of
Pittsburgh

Certification, MS in
Biomedical Informatics
w/Concentration, PhD in
Biomedical Informatics

Informatio
n Science
(CIS), and
Mathemati
cs, MS:
multiple
participati
ng
departmen
ts( Biology
,
Chemistry,
Genetics,
Computer
and
Informatio
n Science,
Chemical
Engineerin
g and
Bioengine
ering)
from the
School of
Arts and
Sciences
and the
School of
Engineerin
g and
Applied
Science;
PhD:
mulitple
participati
ng
departmen
ts,
program
administer
ed by the
Biomedica
l Graduate
Studies
(BGS)
office
Center for
Biomedica
l
Informatic

combination of additional rotations, courses, seminars,

or independent study for a total of 20 credit units over
four semesters and two summers. Exam and
dissertation.

established to provide intellectual leadership in studying

genomes as a whole and undertaking large-scale analysis of
gene products by integrating associated disciplines at Penn.

MS: 36 credit hours, required core courses, electives,

oral examination and thesis. PhD: 72 credits (54
credits of coursework and 18 dissertation credits
following admission to candidacy) required core

Bioinformatics, Clinical Trials , Consumer Health Informatics,

Health Information System Evaluation, Machine Learning in
Biomedical Informatics, Modeling and Simulation of Clinical
and Biomedical Processes, Natural Language Processing

80. University of South

w/Concentration,
Biomedical Informatics
Certificate Program
MS

Florida

81. University of
Southern California

82. University of

PhD in Computational
Biology and
Bioinformatics

MS, PhD

Tennessee at
Knoxville

83. University of Texas Austin

84. University of Texas El Paso

PhD track in
Bioinformatics and
Computational Biology

Professional MS

s
Administe
red by the
Departmen
t of
Biochemis
try and
Molecular
Biology in
the
College of
Medicine
with other
participati
ng
departmen
ts
The
Departmen
t of
Biological
Sciences
( Molecula
r and
Computati
onal
Biology
Section)
Genomic
Science
and
Technolog
y Graduate
School at
UT-K w/
Oak Ridge
National
Laboratori
es
Graduate
Program in
Cell and
Molecular
Biology
Departmen
ts of
Biological

courses, electives, oral examination and thesis.

Certificate: 15 credit hours (includes 2-3 credit
research project)
41 credits, with 9 core classes and a thesis or internship

(NLP) of Clinical Textual Documents, Patient Safety, Public

Health Surveillance (details at
http://www.cbmi.pitt.edu/content/research.htm)
Structure, function and regulation of endothelial nitric oxide
synthase; Biosynthesis of molybdopterin in eukaryotes;
molecular biology of polyisoprenol biosynthesis; Structure
and function of metalloenzymes and flavoproteins;
Regulation of transcriptional activation and intra-cellular
signaling; tumor immunology.

60 credits and thesis.

Statistical analysis of microarray data and related

technologies, the study of protein-protein interactions and
protein function prediction combining different sources of
biological data, and a genomic polymorphism survey of
Arabidopsis.

MS: Similar requirements with thesis at end. PhD: 26

credits minimum, with thesis.

High-throughput genome sequence production; highthroughput sequence analysis tools and pipelines; wholegenome gene finding, gene and protein modeling, and genome
annotation; advanced bioinformation systems and laboratory
information systems; applications of high-performance
biocomputing; and computational research in molecular
biology

Bioinformatics track: core courses (listed at

http://www.icmb.utexas.edu/cmb/prospective/curriculu
m.asp) and 3 elective courses chosen from approved
list, participation in a journal club each year for the
second through fourth years, not necessarily for credit,
and thesis.
2 years, consists of 40-41 graduate hours of courses in
the computational, mathematical, and life sciences;
also requires a summer practical work experience

RNA biology, Plant molecular biology, systems and syntheic

biology

DNA sequence assembly and analysis; ecology and phylogeny;

microarray and proteomics data analysis; RNA and protein
structure prediction.

85. University of the

BS, MS (The program i

Sciences at
Philadelphia

Sciences,
Chemistry,
Computer
Science,
and
Mathemati
cal
Sciences.
Program in
Bioinform
atics

internship in the public or private sector; Thesis is an

option but not a requirement for this degree

22 credits core courses, electives beyond that and

completion of an independent project over a period of
two semesters. The student will take primary
responsibility for a practical programming problem in
Bioinformatics, typically the creation of software
needed to fulfill a specific real-life need. This
independent work will be conducted at the site of an
industrial or academic partner of the USP
Bioinformatics program
MS: 30 semester hours (23 of formal coursework, 7 of
research leading to thesis), completion of thesis, comp
exam after the first year of
study
PhD:
40 semester hours of formal coursework, written/oral
comp exam after 1st year, 14 semester hours of
research work, dissertation, completion of written/oral
qualifying exams after completion of coursework;
Certificate: 15 total hours required certificate

No specific research mentioned on website.

86. University of Utah

MS/PhD in Medical
Informatics with a
Bioinformatics track,
Certificate Program
(beginning 8/2006,
specific requirements and
guidelines will be posted
on department website as
they become available.)

Departmen
t of
Medical
Informatic
s

87. University of

All degrees from

Computation and
Informatics in Biology
and Medicine (CIBM)
Training Program: PhD
with an emphasis in
bioinformatics; Pre- and
post-doctoral candidates

Computati
on and
Informatic
s in
Biology
and
Medicine
Training
Program
(CS,
Biochemis
try,
Statistics,
Genetics,
Chemical
and
Biological
Engineerin
g, etc.)

PhD: Completion of a minor outside one's home dept.

(12 credits), 3 classes in Bioinformatics/Biostatistics, 3
Biological classes, 3 CS classes, one-semester course
in Scientific Ethics; Pre and Post docs: 9 credits
minimum plus a course in Scientific Ethics

Machine learning and bioinformatics; algorithms for data

mining and machine learning, and their applications to
biomedical data; Relation of the three-dimensional structure
and dynamics of proteins to their biological functions;
information extraction from on-line biomedical text

Capstone Certificate
Program in
Bioinformatics (For UW-

Departmen
t of
Biostatisti

12 credits (3 required classes, one elective). The

program typically can be completed in 1-2 years.

Collaborative projects include pharmacophore discovery for

drug design, automated systems that collaborate with humans
in knowledge discovery, automated methods for extracting

Wisconsin-Madison

88. University of
Wisconsin-Madison

Computational statistical methods for analysis and display of

complex genetic data with emphasis in graphical modeling and
Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, and the development of
scalable Parallel Genetic Algorithms for Bioinformatics;
genomic studies pertaining to breast cancer, prostate cancer,
Intracranial Aneurysm / Osteoporosis / Asthma / Depression,
Aging/Longevity

89.

Madison post-doctoral
fellows and employees of
Madison-area companies
working in molecular
biology who are
interested in
bioinformatics training),
Graduate Certificate
Program in
Bioinformatics
B.S. in Molecular
University of
Biology &
Wisconsin-Parkside
Bioinformatics

90. Vanderbilt
University

91. Virginia
Commonwealth
University

92. Virginia Polytechnic

Institute

93. Wright State

University

MS in Biomedical
Informatics and PhD
Concentration

BS, Master (non-thesis,

professional degree), MS
(thesis), BS/MS
Accelerated Program
(All degrees in
bioinformatics)

cs and
Medical
Informatic
s

information from the biomedical literature and the use of

computer technologies in the home-care for patients with
complex health problems.

Biology
Departmen
t

120 credits required

Role of proteolysis in prokaryotic physiology; enriching

science education for all through technology;
molecular mechanisms that control plant gene expression;
molecular systematics of vertebrates; ecology and evolution
of West Indian vertebrates; island biogeography

Vanderbilt
University
Medical
Center's
Program in
Biomedica
l
Informatic
s
Center for
the Study
of
Biological
Complexit
y

Amount of formal coursework will vary depending on

student prior background and concentration area: MS:
27-40 credits required with thesis. PhD: 33-46 credits
with teaching experience and thesis

Clinical terminology systems, medical informatics, machine

learning, genetic expression of cancer genes. List at
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/dbmi/bmigradprog/faculty.html
#faculty

BS: Life Sciences General Education Requirements,

specific training in the Collateral Coursework and in
the Bioinformatics Core Curriculum (40 credits), and
focused training in the areas of Biology/Genomics,
Computational Science or Quantitative/Statistical
Bioinformatics through track-specific courses; M
Biof.: 35 credits; Programs give choices among 3
different tracks: Biology/Genomics, Computational
Science, Quantitative/Statistical
Students choose a primary track from four specialty
tracks: life sciences, computer science, statistics and
mathematics. Also complete core courses and
dissertation research project, and additional focused
research experiences may be required.

No specific research available on webpage

PhD in Genetics,
Bioinformatics and
Computational Biology

Program in
Genetics,
Bioinform
atics, and
Computati
onal
Biology

BS in Computer Science
w/Bioinformatics option,
BS in Biology
w/Bioinformatics option
MS in CS (course of
study can be designed to
include computational
aspects of

Departmen
t of
Computer
Science &
Engineerin
g,
Departmen
t of

CS: 195 credit hours required. Bio: 200 credit hours

required MS: 48 credit hours (including 12 credit
hours toward thesis)

Molecular modeling and protein structure and function,

genomic sequence analysis from an evolutionary perspective,
bioinformatic and imaging approaches to antiviral drug
discovery, biomolecular electrostatics, protein folding and
dynamics, microarray transcription data, computational
methods for use in air quality modeling. See
http://www.grads.vt.edu/academics/programs/gbcb/faculty.htm
l for others.
Protein binding interactions, comparative protein structure
modeling, drug lead screening by region-based regression for
QSAR analysis, data mining of three-dimensional protein
structure information, repetitive elements as time-series
genomic data., molecular visualization, forensic analysis of
DNA evidence data

Bioinformatics)

94. Yale University

PhD - Computational
Biology and
Bioinformatics Program

Biological
Sciences
Combined
Program in
the
Biological
&
Biomedica
l Sciences

Completion of 9 courses encompassing the following

core areas: computational biology and bioinformatics,
biological sciences, and informatics; graduate seminar
on research ethics, multiple research rotations, CBB
seminar series , two semesters as a teaching assistant,
qualifying exam (oral portion includes questioning on
dissertation prospectus), and work in lab of thesis
advisor.

Computational approaches to functional and

integrative genomics, theoretical molecular biology
and computational algorithms, computational
analysis of macromolecular structures,
heterogeneous database design and information
integration

http://ils.unc.edu/informatics_programs/doc/Bioinformatics_2006.html

Genetics / Genomics / Bioinformatics

Ranked in 2014, part of Biological Sciences
Genetics and genomics courses examine heredity and DNA and, in bioinformatics, computer programs are used to analyze this genetic
information. These are the best science schools for genetics / genomics / bioinformatics.
Specialty
Genetics / Genomics / Bioinformatics

Biochemistry / Biophysics / Structural Biology

Cell Biology

Ecology / Evolutionary Biology

Genetics / Genomics / Bioinformatics

Immunology / Infectious Disease

Microbiology

Molecular Biology

Neuroscience / Neurobiology
Rank

1Tie

School name
Harvard University
Boston, MA

1Tie

Stanford University
Stanford, CA

3Tie

University of CaliforniaBerkeley
Berkeley, CA

3Tie

University of Washington
Seattle, WA

Washington University in St. Louis

St. Louis, MO

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Rank

School name
Cambridge, MA

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/genetics-rankings

--If you're interested in sequence analysis (my field, really), there are good people at UCSC, the Broad Institute
(Harvard/MIT), Berkeley, Penn State, and Stanford. That's just what I can think of off the top of my head; there are
definitely more.
--Almost everyone does "sequence analysis".

I'd strongly suggest you ignore the "top schools" question, and examine every bioinformatics program out there (there aren't that many
of them). Focus on programs that suit you and professors who interest you. For example, what kinds of research questions interest
you? Are you more biological, or computational, or mathematical? Interested in biomed or human health questions, then a school with
strong ties with a medical school would be good. Find the program that suits your needs.
Off the top of my head...
UC Santa Cruz
University of Washington (WA)
Washington University in St. Louis (free pre-app!)
MIT

Cornell University (tri-institutional program)

UC San Diego
UC San Francisco (not sure if they actually have a program, but lots of great research)
Iowa State University
Boston University
Boston College (specialty within biology, I think)
Columbia University (Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics)
Duke University
Georgia Tech (my own school)
Rutgers University
Stanford University
posted by Mercaptan at 2:14 PM on May 24, 2007

http://ask.metafilter.com/63344/What-are-the-top-bioinformatics-graduate-universities-in-the-US