UT Dallas 2025 Graduate Catalog

School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Graduate Programs in Biological Sciences

Master of Science in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

36 semester credit hours minimum

Mathematics Faculty

Professors: Juan E. González, Tae Hoon Kim, Kelli Palmer, Lawrence J. Reitzer, Donal Skinner, Stephen Spiro, Li Zhang, Michael Qiwei Zhang

Associate Professors: Joseph Boll, Nicole De Nisco, Nikki Delk, Tian Hong, Faruck Morcos, Duane D. Winkler, Zhenyu Xuan

Assistant Professors: Nicholas Dillon, Xintong Dong, Lin Jia, Purna Joshi, Brandon Kim, Erica Sanchez, Darshan Sapkota, Yuki Shindo, Jon Sin

Professors Emeriti: Hans Bremer, Lee A. Bulla, Rockford Draper, Donald M. Gray

Associate Professors Emeriti: Gail A. M. Breen, Dennis L. Miller

Clinical Professor: David Murchison, Eberhard Voit

Professors of Instruction: Mehmet Candas, Elizabeth Pickett, Uma Srikanth

Associate Professors of Instruction: Meenakshi Maitra, Jing Pan, Eva Sadat, Subha Sarcar, Michelle Wilson, Zhuoru Wu, Wen-Ho Yu

Assistant Professors of Instruction: Stephanie Boyd, Andy Cheshire, Anne Davenport, Matthew Esparza, Amy Jo Gomez, Yi Huang, Li Liu, Simbarashe Mazambani, Iti Mehta, Ritu Mishra, Ramesh Padmanabhan, Narges Salamat

Research Associate Professor: Ru-Hung Wang

Lecturer: Kathleen McRoy

Mathematics Faculty With Research Interests in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology: Swati Biswas, Yan Cao, and Min Chen

Biology Faculty

Professors: Juan E. González, Tae Hoon Kim, Kelli Palmer, Lawrence J. Reitzer, Donal Skinner, Stephen Spiro, Li Zhang, Michael Qiwei Zhang

Associate Professors: Joseph Boll, Nicole De Nisco, Nikki Delk, Tian Hong, Faruck Morcos, Duane D. Winkler, Zhenyu Xuan

Assistant Professors: Nicholas Dillon, Xintong Dong, Lin Jia, Purna Joshi, Brandon Kim, Erica Sanchez, Darshan Sapkota, Yuki Shindo, Jon Sin

Professors Emeriti: Hans Bremer, Lee A. Bulla, Rockford Draper, Donald M. Gray

Associate Professors Emeriti: Gail A. M. Breen, Dennis L. Miller

Clinical Professor: David Murchison, Eberhard Voit

Professors of Instruction: Mehmet Candas, Elizabeth Pickett, Uma Srikanth

Associate Professors of Instruction: Meenakshi Maitra, Jing Pan, Eva Sadat, Subha Sarcar, Michelle Wilson, Zhuoru Wu, Wen-Ho Yu

Assistant Professors of Instruction: Stephanie Boyd, Andy Cheshire, Anne Davenport, Matthew Esparza, Amy Jo Gomez, Yi Huang, Li Liu, Simbarashe Mazambani, Iti Mehta, Ritu Mishra, Ramesh Padmanabhan, Narges Salamat

Research Associate Professor: Ru-Hung Wang

Lecturer: Kathleen McRoy

Biological Sciences Faculty With Research Interests in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology: Faruck Morcos, Zhenyu Xuan, Hyuntae Yoo, and Michael Q. Zhang

Program Objective

The Master of Science program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology is an interdisciplinary program offered jointly by the Departments of Mathematical Sciences and Biological Sciences, with the former serving as the administrative unit. By combining coursework from the disciplines of Biology, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics, it caters to the growing demand of a new breed of scientists who have expertise in all these disciplines. In addition to coursework, the program also provides opportunities to gain practical experience by getting involved in research with faculty members.

A successful applicant to the program is expected to have a Bachelor's degree in Biology, Mathematics, Statistics, or in another science/engineering discipline, and must have completed at least one semester of Calculus. Additional coursework in one or more of the disciplines of Biology, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics is desirable but is not required.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the University's general admission requirements, applicants are required to submit the following materials as part of their application file for holistic admission consideration:

  • Three letters of recommendation.
  • A statement of purpose/essay.

Deadline: For first-round consideration for assistantships and scholarships, the application must be complete by December 15 for the upcoming Fall term and August 31 for the upcoming Spring term. Applications may be accepted for later rounds also, see Graduate Admissions for additional deadlines.

Degree Requirements

The University's general degree requirements are discussed on the Graduate Policies and Procedures page.

The MS program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology requires completion of at least 36 semester credit hours. The program offers a choice between two tracks. Track 1 is designed for students with a general background in science/engineering, whereas Track 2 is designed for students with a strong background in biology. To build further expertise, both tracks offer a choice of three elective groups, namely, Computer Science oriented, Statistics oriented, and Biology oriented elective groups. Both also offer opportunities for research. Students are expected to choose a track and an elective group based on their backgrounds and interests in consultation with the Graduate Advisor for the program.

Track 1 (MS)

I. Core: 15 semester credit hours

BMEN 6374 Genes, Proteins and Cell Biology for Engineers

BIOL 5385 Computational Molecular Evolution

CS 5303 Computer Science I

MATH 5303 Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra

STAT 5351 Probability and Statistics I (for Elective Group 2)

or STAT 5353 Probability and Statistics for Data Science and Bioinformatics (for Elective Groups 1 and 3)

II. Elective Groups (Choose one elective group)

Elective Group 1 (Computer Science Oriented): 15 semester credit hours

CS 5343 Algorithm Analysis and Data Structures1

MATH 6312 Combinatorics and Graph Theory

MATH 6341 Bioinformatics

or BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics

MATH 6346 Medical Image Analysis

AND one of the following:

CS 6307 Introduction to Big Data Management and Analytics for non CS-Majors

CS 6314 Web Programming Languages

CS 6360 Database Design

CS 6375 Machine Learning

Elective Group 2 (Statistics Oriented): 18 semester credit hours

STAT 5352 Probability and Statistics II

STAT 6337 Advanced Statistical Methods I

STAT 6338 Advanced Statistical Methods II

STAT 6340 Statistical and Machine Learning

MATH 6341 Bioinformatics

or BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics

MATH 6346 Medical Image Analysis

Elective Group 3 (Biology oriented): 15 semester credit hours

MATH 6341 Bioinformatics

or BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics

MATH 6345 Mathematical Methods in Medicine and Biology

MATH 6346 Medical Image Analysis

AND two of the following:

BIOL 5375 Genes to Genomes

BIOL 5381 Genomics

BIOL 6315 Epigenetics

BIOL 6373 Proteomics

BIOL 6385 Computational Biology

or BMEN 6389 Computational Biology

or MATH 6343 Computational Biology

III. Research or Elective(s) or a Combination Thereof
  • Elective Group 1: 6 semester credit hours
  • Elective Group 2: 3 semester credit hours
  • Elective Group 3: 6 semester credit hours

Track 2 (MS)

I. Core: 14 semester credit hours

BIOL 5410 Biochemistry

BIOL 5420 Molecular Biology

STAT 5351 Probability and Statistics I (for Elective Group 2)

or STAT 5353 Probability and Statistics for Data Science and Bioinformatics (for Elective Groups 1 and 3)

MATH 5303 Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra

II. Elective Groups (Choose one elective group)

Elective Group 1 (Computer Science oriented): 18 semester credit hours

CS 5303 Computer Science I

CS 5343 Algorithm Analysis and Data Structures1

MATH 6312 Combinatorics and Graph Theory

MATH 6341 Bioinformatics

or BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics

MATH 6346 Medical Image Analysis

AND one of the following:

CS 6307 Introduction to Big Data Management and Analytics for non CS-Majors

CS 6314 Web Programming Languages

CS 6360 Database Design

CS 6375 Machine Learning

Elective Group 2 (Statistics oriented): 18 semester credit hours

STAT 5352 Probability and Statistics II

STAT 6337 Advanced Statistical Methods I

STAT 6338 Advanced Statistical Methods II

STAT 6340 Statistical and Machine Learning

MATH 6341 Bioinformatics

or BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics

MATH 6346 Medical Image Analysis

Elective Group 3 (Biology oriented): At least 18 semester credit hours

MATH 6341 Bioinformatics

or BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics

MATH 6346 Medical Image Analysis

MATH 6345 Mathematical Methods in Medicine and Biology

3 semester credit hour Elective Course

AND two of the following:

BIOL 5375 Genes to Genomes

BIOL 5381 Genomics

BIOL 6315 Epigenetics

BIOL 6373 Proteomics

BIOL 6385 Computational Biology

or BMEN 6389 Computational Biology

or MATH 6343 Computational Biology

BIOL 5385 Computational Molecular Evolution

BIOL 5312 Programming in the Biological Sciences for Graduate Students

III. Research or Elective(s) or a Combination Thereof

All Elective Groups: 4 semester credit hours

Other Requirements

  • For a PhD bound student in the Department of Biological Sciences, BIOL 5440 Cell Biology and BIOL 5460 Quantitative Biology (or an equivalent) are required. This requirement can be fulfilled by taking these courses as 'electives' in the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology program.
  • Electives must be approved by the Graduate Advisor of the program.
  • Substitutions for required courses may be made if approved by the Graduate Advisor of the program and the Head of the Mathematical Sciences Department.
  • A student may choose to write an MS thesis under the supervision of a faculty member. The thesis project can count for 3 to 6 semester credit hours of electives towards the required 36 hours, in accordance with University policies. The thesis must be approved by the Head of the Mathematical Sciences Department. Once the thesis project is completed, the student must successfully defend it before his/her thesis committee.

1. Students who have not taken the CS 5333 Discrete Structures prerequisite for CS 5343 Algorithm Analysis and Data Structures should consult with their Graduate Advisor from the Mathematical Sciences Department to determine eligibility.

Updated: 2025-06-18 16:23:53 v4.a863fa