Bioinformatics

Masters of Science in Bioinformatics: Admission and Curriculum

Admission

Students apply to the Masters Program in Bioinformatics through the School of Biology. Applicants may be admitted to the program with undergraduate backgrounds and a BS or BA in Science or Engineering. Applicants are expected to have completed the general GRE with the verbal score at least 500 and the quantitative at least 700 (1200 or better combined). The analytical writing score is expected to be 4.5 or better. GPAs have ranged between 3.3 and 4.0. Admission to the program will be based on recommendation made by a faculty committee. The annual application deadline is March 1st for admittance for the following Fall. To apply, use the Admissions office online form. When using this form, please check Biology as your major and indicate Bioinformatics as your research interest. Also, you may complete a pre-application to determine if you qualify.

Program Requirements

Total credit hours required
Course hours at 6000 or higher required
Maximum number of P/F course hours required
Number of transfer credit hours allowed
Minimum GPA required at completion

37 semester hours
21 semester hours
3 semester hours
6 semester hours
2.7

The student is not permitted to receive transfer credits for undergraduate courses taken as requirements for his (her) BS degree completion.
A student must be registered in school in term of graduation.

Course of Study

The Masters in Bioinformatics is a three-semester program of 37 semester hours. The course work spans the areas of Biology, Biochemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science.

Recommended Sequence of Courses

Semester I	Semester II
BIOL, BME, CHEM, CS or MATH Recommended Electives 6 hours	Molecular Evolution (BIOL 8803)* 3 hours
Introduction to Computing Concepts in Bioinformatics (CS 4710)* 4 hours	Genomics and Applied Bioinformatics (BIOL 8803C)* 3 hours
Modeling and Dynamics (MATH 6705)* 3 hours	Introduction to Probability and Statistics (MATH 3215)* 3 hours
Modeling and Dynamics (MATH 6705)* 3 hours	Introduction to Database Systems (CS 4400)* 3 hours
Semester III	Other Recommended Courses
Bioinformatics (BIOL 7023) 3 hours	Certifications: Students may also earn a graduate certificate in the Management of Technology (MOT). The management of technology domain provides a deep understanding of the drivers of organizational performance in a global marketplace impacted by rapidly changing technology. Please see the certificate programs page for more details. Recommended electives are listed below.
Introduction to Graph Theory (MATH 4022) or Recommended Elective 3 hours
Visualization Methods for Science and Engineering (CS 6485) 3 hours
Drug Design and Discovery (CHEM 6583) or Recommended Elective or Special Problems Research 3 hours

* Core courses – permission of the program coordinator required to make substitutions for these courses in the program of study

Prerequisites

Principles of Biology (an introductory course)
Computer Programming (at least one semester, equivalent to CS 1301)
Organic Chemistry (an introductory course)
Calculus (one year, equivalent to MATH 1501, 1502)
Physics (one year)

Timetable for Professional M.S. Degree in Bioinformatics

FORM or ACTION	DEADLINE
Prepare and submit professional resume to the Bioinformatics Program Coordinator	January 15 of the first year in the program
Register with Co-op Office*	Two weeks before registration ends for Co-op semester
Apply for summer internships (outside or inside Georgia Tech)	Varies with sponsor, deadlines begin as early as December for the summer of the following year
File approved M.S. Program of Study (pink form with 3 copies) and Degree Petition to the Bioinformatics Program Coordinator	Registrar's Deadline. Typically within the semester preceding the semester of graduation, e.g., July 2 for a December 2003 graduation.

*Students MUST be registered for the term they will work as Co-ops. Students should pre-enroll with the Co-op office in the spring semester if they wish to work as a Co-op or intern during the summer, and then register for summer semester Co-op once they have received an offer letter. Please inform prospective employers that you must have the letter of offer BEFORE the registration period ends - Friday of the first week of classes.

Recommended Elective Courses (1-3 credit hours each)

(more information on these courses can be found on the courses page)

Bioinformatics & Computational Biology courses:
BIOL 4400 Experimental Design and Statistical Methods in Biology
BIOL 4755 Mathematical Biology
BMED 7027/BIOL 8802 Topics in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology

Biology & Biochemistry courses:
BIOL 4608/6608 Prokaryotic Molecular Genetics
BIOL 4668/7668 Eukaryotic Molecular Genetics
BIOL 4478 Biophysics
BIOL 6612 Advanced Bacterial Metabolism
BIOL 7913 Advances in Microbiology
BIOL 7914 Advances in Bacteriology
BIOL 7963 Advances in Molecular Biology
BIOL 7964 Advances in Genetics
BIOL 880X Special Topics – various, especially Cancer Biology, Molecular Evolution, Macromolecular Modeling
BIOL 8901 Special Problems Research (variable credit hours)
CHEM 6501 Biochemistry I
CHEM 6572 Macromolecular Structures
CHEM 6573 Molecular Biochemistry
CHEM 6581 Protein Crystallography
CHEM 8901 Special Problems

Biomedical Engineering Courses
BMED 6779 Bioprocess Engineering
BMED 6780 Medical Image Processing
BMED 6788 Legal Issues in Biomedical Engineering
BMED 6789 Technology Transfer in Biomedical Engineering
BMED 8901 Special Problems

Mathematics & Computer Science courses
MATH 3012 Applied Combinatorics
MATH 4221 Stochastic Processes I
MATH 4280 Intro to Information Theory
MATH 6014 Graph Theory
MATH 6266 Linear Statistical Models
MATH 6262 Statistical Estimation
MATH 6267 Multivariate Statistical Analysis
MATH 6761 Stochastic Processes I
MATH 6762 Stochastic Processes II
MATH 7016 Combinatorics
MATH 7018 Probabilistic Methods in Combinatorics
MATH 8900 Special Problems
CS 4500 Theory II
CS 4600 Introduction to Intelligent Systems
CS 4640 Machine Learning
CS 6230 High Performance Parallel Computing
CS 6300 Software Development Process
CS 6310 Software Architecture and Design
CS 6320 Software Requirements Analysis and Specifications
CS 6330 Software Generation, Testing and Maintenance
CS 6411 Object-Oriented Database Models and Systems
CS 6455 User Interface Design and Evaluation
CS 6480 Computer Visualization Techniques
CS 6505 Computability, Algorithms and Complexity
CS 6550 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
CS 6660 Intelligent Agents
CS 6705 Applications of Artificial Intelligence
CS 7001 Overview of Graduate Studies in Computing
CS 7450 Information Visualization
CS 7510 Graph Algorithms
CS 7610 Modeling and Design
CS 7645 Numerical Machine Learning
CS 8901 Special Problems