PhD in Bioinformatics
The post-bachelor’s PhD requires a total of 64 course credits, consisting of a combination of lecture, laboratory, and research. The precise course of study will be determined in consultation with faculty advisors and will reflect the student’s background and interest. Although participants in the program will not necessarily take the same set of core courses, all students must demonstrate mastery of core subject matter in biophysical chemistry, biology, and computation/mathematics.
The post-master’s PhD requires 36 credits of coursework, consisting of an appropriate combination of lecture, laboratory, and research, as recommended by the student’s thesis advisor. Other requirements are the same as for the post-bachelor’s PhD.
Required Core Courses (36 cr total)
- CAS BI 552 Molecular Biology I (4 cr)
- ENG BE 562 Computational Biology: Genomes, Networks, Evolution (4 cr)
- ENG BE 768 Biological Database Systems (4 cr)
- ENG BE 777 Computational Genomics I (4 cr)
- ENG BF 752 Legal and Ethical Issues of Science and Technology (4 cr)
- ENG BF 778 Physical Chemistry for Systems Biology (4 cr)
- ENG BF 810 Laboratory Rotation System (1 cr each; 3 total)
- ENG BF 820 Research Opportunities in Bioinformatics (1 cr)
- ENG BF 821 Bioinformatics Graduate Seminar (2 cr each; 4 total)
- ENG BF 690 Bioinformatics Challenge Project (2 cr each; 4 total)
Breadth Electives
- CAS BI 504 Evolution
- CAS BI/CH 527/528 Biochemistry Laboratory I & II
- CAS BI 549 Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
- CAS BI 553 Molecular Biology II
- CAS BI 556 Membrane Biochemistry
- CAS BI 572 Advanced Genetics
- CAS CH 525 Physical Biochemistry
- CAS CS 542 Machine Learning
- CAS CS 549 Pattern Matching and Detection with Applications in Biological Sequence Analysis
- CAS CS 565 Data Mining
- CAS MA 555 Numerical Analysis I
- CAS MA 565 Mathematical Models in the Life Sciences
- CAS MA 581 Probability
- CAS MA 582 Mathematical Statistics
- CAS MA 583 Introduction to Stochastic Processes
- CAS MA 584 Multivariate Statistical Analysis
- CAS MA 614 Statistical Methods II
- CAS MA 684 Applied Multiple Regression and Multivariable Methods
- ENG BE 560 Biomolecular Architecture
- ENG BE 565 Molecular Biotechnology
- ENG BE 566 DNA Structure and Function
- ENG BE 764 Biophysics of Large Molecules
- ENG BF 527 Applications in Bioinformatics
- ENG BF 571 Dynamics and Evolution of Biological Networks
- ENG BF 752 Directed Study in Bioinformatics
- ENG EC 533 Advanced Discrete Mathematics
- ENG EC 534 Discrete Stochastic Methods
- ENG EC 730 Information-Theoretical Design of Algorithms
- ENG EC 761 Information Theory and Coding
- GRS BB 522 Molecular Biology Laboratory
- GRS BI 610 Cellular Aspects of Development and Differentiation
- GRS BI 735 Advanced Cell Biology
- GRS BI 755 Cellular and Systems Neuroscience
- GRS CH 751 Advanced Topics in Physical Chemistry
- GRS CH 752 Advanced Topics and Chemical Physics
- GRS MA 770 Mathematical and Statistical Methods of Bioinformatics
- GRS MB 721 Graduate-Level Biochemistry
- GRS MB 722 Advanced Biochemistry
- GMS PA 600 Introduction to Pathology & Pathophysiology of Disease
- SPH BS 703 Biostatistics
- SPH BS 830 Design and Analysis of Microarray Experiments
- SPH BS 850 Advanced Statistical Methodology for the Computational Biosciences
- SPH BS 855 Bayesian Modeling for Biomedical Research & Public Health
- SPH BS 858 Statistical Genetics I
- SPH BS 859 Applied Genetic Analysis
- SPH BS 860 Statistical Genetics II
Advisors
Upon entry into the Bioinformatics Program, each student will be appointed an Academic Advisor from the Bioinformatics faculty. The advisor will act as the student’s primary academic advisor until the student selects a research advisor(s).
Qualifying Examination
All Boston University graduate students must pass a qualifying exam in order to advance to the level of PhD Candidacy. In the Bioinformatics Program, this exam takes the form of an oral qualifying exam. The goal of the exam is for the student to demonstrate his or her general proficiency in bioinformatics, as well as command of the area(s) in which he or she intends to conduct research.
Each student in the Bioinformatics Program will select a Qualifying Committee (QC) of 4 faculty members in the program, typically by sometime during the first semester of their second year. It is strongly encouraged that the QC include both faculty members with biological/experimental expertise and faculty members with computational expertise. The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) must approve the committee membership and will be an ex-officio member of the committee.
Students must schedule their Qualifying Exam by March 31 of their second year, and must take the exam by June 30. Students who fail to pass the exam on their first try are allowed a second attempt, to be scheduled and completed by the end of the first semester of their third year.
Language Requirement
There is no foreign language requirement for the Bioinformatics degree. However, basic mastery of spoken and written English as determined by oral presentations, written reports, and publishable manuscripts, is a requirement for the PhD.
Thesis
The PhD requires original research and its presentation in a form suitable for publication in an archival journal. Two thesis advisors, one predominantly an experimental researcher and the other predominantly a computational researcher, will guide progress toward the degree. The two thesis advisors and the Qualifying Exam Committee will normally constitute the Thesis Committee. The Thesis Committee will review the student’s progress annually and will also be responsible for judging both the thesis prospectus and the completed thesis.
