Bioinformatics MS

Study bioinformatics where it started.

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  • Be in demand. Very in demand.

    Bioinformatics is a booming field with excellent career opportunities. BU’s job placement is particularly impressive: 98% of alumni are employed in the field, at an average starting salary of $119,500! We have an extensive alumni network, so you’ll never lack for connections. And our location in Boston—the heart of the industry—puts opportunity at your doorstep.

  • Internships: get experience before you graduate.

    Internship opportunities abound in Boston, the very heart of the bioinformatics industry. BU students are especially coveted. In fact, MS students have completed internships at more than 100 labs, hospitals, universities, and biotech companies, including AstraZeneca, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the BROAD Institute, Novartis, Pfizer, Massachusetts General Hospital and Biogen.

  • We provide financial assistance.

    All full-time MS students in Bioinformatics who request financial aid receive some level of tuition assistance. Merit scholarships provide partial tuition and are awarded at admission without a separate application. They are available to both international students and US citizens who demonstrate excellent academic ability, and enthusiasm and knowledge in the field.

  • Join a dynamic student body in a dynamic city.

    Our MS students are a diverse and close-knit group who regularly attend events, professional workshops, and research seminars together. From our annual retreat to game night to sporting events, there’s something for everyone. Here, you’ll live in one of the world’s great cities: Boston is America’s academic heart, an international hub, and the world’s leading biotechnology center.

An MS with a great ROI

98%

of our alumni are employed in the field

120 total

different internship placements

70%

of our alumni live in the Boston area

$119,500

average starting salary with an MS in Bioinformatics

The BU Master of Science in Bioinformatics

Prepare for cutting-edge industry positions in bioinformatics, data analysis, and computational biology, or for further study at the doctoral level. The program offers great flexibility—you can enroll full-time and earn your degree in as little as 12 months or opt for part-time studies.

Students must complete 32 credits, which consist of core courses plus a choice of advanced electives, which include machine learning, data science, cancer biology and many others. Students demonstrate mastery of the core subject matter through the completion of a 400-hour internship project.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Why BU?

Boston University is a pioneer in bioinformatics.

Our MS program, the first of its kind, was founded in 1999 and remains one of the most respected in the world. We’ve developed a rigorous program flexible enough for pursuing your specific interests, with training in science, engineering, medicine, and ethics of 21st-century cell biology.

The results speak for themselves.

We remain among the top bioinformatics programs with alumni in great demand—98% are employed in the field, 70% of them in the Boston area. It’s no coincidence we also have 100% internship sourcing with positions at more than 100 labs, hospitals, universities, and biotech companies. Among them: BIO-RAD, Boston Childrens Hospital, Finch Therapeutics, Genentech, Illumina, Merck and Takeda.

Tuition assistance is available

to full-time students through merit scholarships and diversity fellowships, which provide partial tuition and require no separate application.

You’ll be part of a dynamic group.

The bioinformatics student body is a diverse, close-knit group both academically and socially. You’re bound to share interests with many of them and you can count on them for support both during your time at BU and throughout your career.

You’ll live and study in Boston.

It’s a revolutionary city, full of history and diversity with international connections. It also happens to be the hub of the biotechnology industry.

Learn More About the Bioinformatics Program

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