The request to revise Professional Science Masters in Bioinformatics
Date: January 2, 2015
To: College of Computing & Informatics
From: Office of Academic Affairs
Approved On: December 2, 2014
Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Summer 2015
Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.
Catalog Copy
Bioinformatics and Genomics
- Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
- M.S. in Bioinformatics
- Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics Applications
- Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics Technology
Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics
bioinformatics.uncc.edu
Chair
Dr. Lawrence Mays
Program Directors
Dr. Dennis Livesay, Ph.D. Program
Dr. Cynthia Gibas, Professional Science Master’s and Graduate Certificate Programs
Graduate Faculty
Cory Brouwer, Associate Professor
Xiuxia Du, Assistant Professor
Anthony Fodor, Associate Professor
Cynthia Gibas, Professor
Jun-tao Guo, Associate Professor
Daniel Janies, Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics
Dennis Livesay, Associate Professor
Ann Loraine, Associate Professor
Weijun Luo, Research Assistant Professor
Lawrence Mays, Professor
Jessica Schlueter, Assistant Professor
Shannon Schlueter, Assistant Professor
Susan Sell, Professor
Wei Sha, Research Assistant Professor
Mindy Shi, Assistant Professor
ZhengChang Su, Associate Professor
Jennifer Weller, Associate Professor
Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
The Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB) is granted for planning, execution, and defense of original research resulting in significant contributions to the discipline’s body of knowledge. Moreover, the BCB Ph.D. program also requires didactic coursework to prepare the student for research success. Student progress is primarily assessed by: (a) satisfactory coursework performance, (b) the Qualifying Examination, (c) the Dissertation Proposal, and (d) the Dissertation Defense. Courses and the Qualifying Examination are used to ensure that the student has sufficient breadth of knowledge. The Dissertation Proposal is used to ensure that the scope of dissertation research is important, that the plan is well thought out and that the student has sufficient skills and thoughtfulness needed for success. The Dissertation Defense is used to assess the outcomes of the dissertation research, and whether or not the plan agreed upon by the Dissertation Committee has been appropriately followed.
Didactic Curriculum
In consultation with their Academic Advisor and/or Program Director, students must take an appropriate selection of the following Gateway Courses. For example, an incoming student with a Computer Science background would be expected to take 8100 and 8101, but not 8111.. All students must complete the Core Courses prior to taking the Qualifying Examination. Each Ph.D. student must complete two Research Rotations in the first year. Each Research Rotation provides a semester of faculty supervised research experience to supplement regular course offerings. Graduate Research Seminar is taken every semester until the semester following advancement to candidacy. Finally, many additional Elective Courses are available, but are not explicitly required.
Gateway Courses
BINF 8100 Biological Basis of Bioinformatics (3)
BINF 8101 Energy and Interaction in Biological Modeling (3)
BINF 8111/8111L Bioinformatics Programming I/Bioinformatics Programming I Laboratory (3/0)
Core Courses
BINF 8200/8200L Statistics for Bioinformatics/Statistics for Bioinformatics Laboratory (3/0)
BINF 8112/8112L Bioinformatics Programming II/Bioinformatics Programming II Laboratory (3/0)
BINF 8201/8201L Molecular Sequence Analysis/Molecular Sequence Analysis Laboratory (3/0)
BINF 8202/8202L Computational Structural Biology/Computational Structural Biology Laboratory (3/0)
Research Rotations
BINF 8911 Research Rotation I (2)
BINF 8912 Research Rotation II (2)
Graduate Research Seminar
BINF 8600 Bioinformatics Seminar (1)
Qualifying Examination
Prior to defining a research topic, students are required to pass a Qualifying Examination to demonstrate proficiency in bioinformatics and computational biology, as well as competence in fundamentals common to the field. The Qualifying Examination must be passed prior to the fifth semester of residence. It is composed of both written and oral components that emphasize material covered in the Core Courses listed above.
Dissertation Proposal
Each student must present and defend a Ph.D. Dissertation Research Proposal after passing the Qualifying Examination within ten semesters of entering the Program. The Dissertation Proposal defense will be conducted by the student’s Dissertation Committee, and will be open to faculty and students. The proposal must address a significant, original and substantive piece of research. The proposal must include sufficient preliminary data and a timeline such that the Dissertation Committee can assess its feasibility.
Dissertation
Each student must complete a well-designed original research contribution, as agreed upon by the student and Dissertation Committee at the Dissertation Proposal. The Ph.D. Dissertation is a written document describing the research and its results, and their context in the sub-discipline. The Dissertation Defense is a public presentation of the findings of the research, with any novel methods that may have been developed to support the conclusions. The student must present the Dissertation and defend its findings publicly, and in a private session with the Dissertation Committee immediately thereafter.
M.S. in Bioinformatics
A unique master’s degree merging the biological sciences and computer technology, the Professional Science Master’s (PSM) program leading to the M.S. in Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary program at the intersection of the disciplines of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, Computing and Informatics, and Engineering. It is expected that students entering the program will have completed an undergraduate major in either a life science or a quantitative discipline. The degree requires additional training and demonstrated competence in both life sciences and scientific programming. The PSM program is structured to provide students with the skills and knowledge to develop, evaluate, and deploy bioinformatics and computational biology applications. The program is designed to prepare students for employment in the biotechnology sector, where the need for knowledgeable life scientists with quantitative and computational skills has exploded in the past decade.
Additional Admission Requirements
In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, the following are required for study toward the M.S. in Bioinformatics:
Under most circumstances, students admitted to the program will have:
- A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, or another related field that provides a sound background in life sciences, computing, or both.
- A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale) and 3.0 in the major.
- A minimum combined score of 300 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE, and acceptable scores on the analytical and discipline-specific sections of the GRE.
- A combined TOEFL score of 220 (computer-based), 557 (paper-based), or 83 (Internet-based) is required if the previous degree was from a country where English is not the common language.
- Positive letters of recommendation.
Degree Requirements
The M.S. in Bioinformatics degree requires a minimum of 40 34 graduate credit hours, and a minimum of 36 30 credit hours of formal coursework. A minimum of 24 credit hours presented toward an M.S.in Bioinformatics must be from courses numbered 6000 or higher. A maximum of 6 hours of graduate credit may be transferred from other institutions.
Total Hours Required
The PSM program requires 40 34 post-baccalaureate credit hours. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this program, which is designed to provide students with a common graduate experience during their professional preparation for the M.S. in Bioinformatics degree, all students will be required to take a general curriculum that includes a two-year sequence of courses as described below:
Core Requirements
Gateway Course
The Gateway courses are intensive graduate-level courses designed to provide accelerated training in a second discipline that complements the student’s undergraduate training. Students entering the program are expected to have achieved proficiency in either Biological Sciences or Computing, and to take the Gateway course that is appropriate for their background. For students entering from computing backgrounds, BINF 6100 (Biological Basis of Bioinformatics), should be chosen, while students entering from biological science backgrounds should choose BINF 6111/6111L (Bioinformatics Programming I/ Bioinformatics Programming I Laboratory).
Core Bioinformatics Courses
Gateway courses prepare students for the required Core courses. All students must take BINF 6101 (Energy and Interaction in Biological Modeling), BINF 6112/6112L (Bioinformatics Programming II/Bioinformatics Programming II Laboratory), BINF 6200/6200L (Statistics for Bioinformatics/Statistics for Bioinformatics Laboratory), BINF 6201/6201L(Molecular Sequence Analysis/Molecular Sequence Analysis Laboratory), BINF 6203/6203L (Genomics/Genomics Laboratory), and BINF 6211/6211L (Design and Implementation of Bioinformatics Databases/Design and Implementation of Bioinformatics Databases Laboratory). All students must also take either BINF 6203/6203L (Genomics/Genomics Laboratory) or BINF 6202/6202L (Computational Structural Biology/Computational Structural Biology Laboratory). A student who has previously taken a course with a syllabus that closely follows one of the course courses may test out of the core requirement by passing a written exam, and may then substitute an advanced elective for the required core course.
The Gateway Courses
courses are The department offers two intensive graduate-level courses designed to provide accelerated training in a second discipline that complements the student’s undergraduate training. Students entering the program are expected to have achieved proficiency in either Biological Sciences or Computing, and without preparatory coursework in computing or biology may need to to take the Gateway course that is appropriate for their background. These courses are not required core courses for all students, but are designed to satisfy core course prerequisites for students who have not encountered the material presented in a previous course. For students entering from computing backgrounds, BINF 6100 (Biological Basis of Bioinformatics), should be chosen, while students entering from biological science backgrounds should choose BINF 6111/6111L (Bioinformatics Programming I/ Bioinformatics Programming I Laboratory).
Professional Preparation Requirement
Students are required to take at least 6 credit hours of electives designed to prepare them to function effectively and ethically in a professional environment. All PSM in Bioinformatics students are required to enroll in BINF 6152 (Program and Professional Orientation) (1credit), BINF 6151 (Professional Communications) (1credit) and BINF 6153 (Career Development) (1credit). The remaining PLUS credits may be chosen from a list of recommended electives, which include BINF 5171 (Business of Biotechnology), BINF 5191 (Biotechnology and the Law), PHIL 6050 (Research Ethics), and ITIS 6362 (Information Technology Ethics, Policy, and Security). Additional elective choices that may fulfill this requirement can be identified by the student and the PSM Executive Committee.
Electives
The remaining 6 credit hours of formal required coursework can be completed in satisfied by elective coursework courses. The PSM Graduate Coordinator, in conjunction with the Executive Committee, will review the student’s plan of study each semester.
Bioinformatics Electives
Any courses with BINF numbers, with the exception of Fundamentals Gateway courses , which require approval, are open to PSM students seeking to complete their coursework requirements.
Recommended Electives Offered By Other Departments
A wide range of graduate courses in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Software and Information Systems, Health Informatics, and other departments programs may be appropriate electives for PSM in Bioinformatics students. As course offerings change frequently, the Bioinformatics Program maintains a list of current recommended electives, which can be found online at bioinformatics.uncc.edu.
Elective Clusters
Students are encouraged to choose their electives with a topical focus that reflects their scientific and career interests. Courses from one of the following recommended clusters of advanced electives can be selected, or the student can design his or her own elective focus with the approval of the PSM Executive Committee.
Genomic Biology Cluster
BINF 6205 Computational Molecular Evolution (3)
BINF 6350/6350L Biotechnology and Genomics Laboratory/Biotechnology and Genomics Hands on Laboratory (3/0)
BINF 6310/6310L Advanced Statistics for Genomics/Advanced Statistics for Genomics Laboratory (3/0)
BINF 6318 Computational Proteomics and Metabolomics (3)
Modeling and Simulation Cluster
BINF 6202/6202L Computational Structural Biology/Computational Structural Biology Laboratory (3/0)
BINF 6204 Mathematical Systems Biology (3)
BINF 6210 Machine Learning for Bioinformatics (3)
BINF 6311 Biophysical Modeling (3)
Computing and Technology Cluster
BINF 6210 Machine Learning for Bioinformatics (3)
BINF 6310/6310L Advanced Statistics for Genomics/Advanced Statistics for Genomics Laboratory (3/0)
BINF 6380/6380L Advanced Bioinformatics Programming/Advanced Bioinformatics Programming Laboratory (3/0)
BINF 6382/6382L Accelerated Bioinformatics Programming/Accelerated Bioinformatics Programming Laboratory (3/0)
Other Requirements
Bioinformatics Seminar and Internship
In addition to 33 30 hours of formal coursework, students are required to enroll in the Bioinformatics Program seminar (BINF 6600) for at least one semester (1 credit hour) and to enroll in either Principles of Team Science (BINF6399), internal or external internship (BINF 6400) or a faculty-supervised original research project leading to a thesis (BINF 6900).
Grade Requirements
An accumulation of three C grades will result in suspension of the student’s enrollment in the graduate program. If a student makes a grade of U in any course, enrollment in the program will be suspended.
Amount of Transfer Credit Accepted
A maximum of 6 credit hours of coursework from other institutions will count toward the M.S. in Bioinformatics degree requirements. Only courses with grades of A or B from accredited institutions are eligible for transfer credit.