UT Dallas 2026 Graduate Catalog

School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Graduate Programs in Biological Sciences

Programs and Objectives

The Graduate Programs in Biological Sciences provide advanced training in molecular and cell biology, forming the foundation of modern biological and biomedical sciences.

  • Master of Science degree in Molecular and Cell Biology (Thesis Track): Intended for students seeking hands-on research experience and problem-solving skills in molecular and cell biology.
  • Master of Science degree in Molecular and Cell Biology (Non-Thesis Track): Designed for students aiming to deepen their understanding of modern biology without pursuing laboratory-based careers. This track also supports students preparing for admission to professional schools.
  • Master of Science degree in Biotechnology (Thesis Track): Prepares students seeking hands-on research experience and problem-solving skills in biotechnology and biomedicine, and to assist current professionals in advancing their career opportunities.
  • Master of Science degree in Biotechnology (Non-Thesis Track): Designed for students aiming to deepen their understanding of biotechnology and biomedicine without pursuing laboratory-based careers, and to assist current professionals in advancing their career opportunities.
  • The Doctor of Philosophy degree in Molecular and Cell Biology: Designed for students with strong research potential . The program emphasizes critical and analytical thinking to stay current with rapid advancements in biological and biomedical sciences.

Graduates of the MS and PhD are equipped for academic careers in colleges, universities, and professional schools (including medical and dental schools), as well as for roles in industrial, hospital, public health, and environmental, and government laboratories and organizations.

Specializations

Graduate students in the UT Dallas Department of Biological Sciences can engage in research across a broad spectrum of disciplines, including Biochemistry & Biophysics, Genomics, Systems & Computational Biology, Microbiology, Molecular & Cell Biology, and Pathobiology, with emphases in cancer, neurobiology, and infectious disease.

First-year MS and PhD students in Biological Sciences programs begin with a core curriculum that emphasize foundational knowledge in: biochemistry, quantitative biology, molecular biology, and cell biology. After completing the core curriculum, students may pursue advanced coursework in any of the above areas. Elective courses are available to all qualified students, as recommended by their supervising committees. During the first-year, PhD students are required to participate in laboratory research rotations. By the second year, PhD students in Molecular and Cell Biology begin conducting research under the supervision of one or more faculty members in Biological Sciences. Students in the MS Biotechnology program also complete a laboratory-based course as part of their core requirements.

Admission Requirements

For full participation in the Graduate Program in Molecular and Cell Biology, the student should have a good background in calculus, general physics, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and general biology, including genetics and cell biology. Entering students not having this background may be required to take some additional coursework in their first year or in the summer immediately preceding entry. Students intending to do research in computational biology should have some background in mathematics and in programming. Admission is competitive.

Degree Requirements

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

Upon satisfactory completion of the core courses (and, for PhD candidates, a favorable evaluation following the spring semester as described below), a supervising committee is appointed for each student (except non-thesis MS students) based upon mutual agreement between student, research mentor and faculty. The supervising professor, possibly with the advice of the supervising committee will help plan an elective course curriculum. The supervising committee will oversee the student's research and thesis or dissertation.

Master of Science in Biotechnology

30 semester credit hours minimum

Degree Objectives

The MS degree in biotechnology is intended to prepare students for careers in biotechnology and biomedicine and to assist currently employed professionals in enhancing their career opportunities.

Biotechnology captures the exciting possibilities provided by the decoding of the human genome and by advances in bioanalytical instrumentation, and the field is projected for continued rapid growth. The MS in Biotechnology is designed so that students may enter the program with a wide range of prior disciplinary backgrounds, prepare for and take the four core courses, and, by choice from a wide range of approved electives, tailor the remainder of the degree program to their career aspirations. In this manner, students may develop areas of additional depth in fields such as:

  • molecular and cell biology
  • chemistry
  • engineering and computer science
  • health care policy
  • management and business administration

The MS in Biotechnology is administered by the Department of Biological Sciences. Students seeking further information or advisement should contact the Biological Sciences Department office or advisors.

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.
  • A resume or CV.

Deadline: Please take note of regular application deadlines. All complete application files received by the deadline will be reviewed for general admission into the program. Students are accepted for the fall and spring semesters.

  • Fall Deadline - May 1
  • Spring Deadline - October 1

First-round Scholarship Deadline: For first-round consideration for assistantships and scholarships, complete application files must be received by the following deadlines:

  • Fall Deadline - December 15
  • Spring Deadline - August 31

Applications submitted or completed after the deadline may be reviewed for admission only if spaces remain within the upcoming cohort and will be reviewed in order by the date the application file became complete.

Department 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

Core Courses

The core curriculum for the MS in Biotechnology program consists of four courses:

BIOL 6684 Biotechnology Laboratory

BIOL 5375 Genes to Genomes

BIOL 5381 Genomics

BIOL 5410 Biochemistry

BIOL 5420 Molecular Biology

BIOL 5440 Cell Biology

BIOL 5460 Quantitative Biology

BIOL 6373 Proteomics

Enrollment Guidelines:

  • BIOL 6684 is a skills-based course. Students must demonstrate adequate laboratory skills before enrolling.
  • Priority enrollment in BIOL 6684 is given to students in the MS in Biotechnology program.
  • BIOL 6684 should only be taken after completing the other core courses. Instructor and Program Director consent is required for core courses taken out of this sequence.

Program Policies

The program is open to all students who hold a bachelor's degree, although those with laboratory science, mathematics, computer science, or engineering degrees are particularly encouraged to apply. In general, students will not be admitted to the MS in Biotechnology program if they require more than two courses in order to be ready to take the core courses.

Every student admitted to the MS in Biotechnology program shall consult with the program advisor(s) and develop a mutually agreed degree plan. All requests for deviations from the degree program described in this catalog shall be discussed first with a program advisor, who will forward the request to the Committee on Biotechnology for decision.

There are no formal prerequisites for most of the core courses, and a student, after obtaining consent from the program advisor, may attempt one or more core courses. However, the level of the BIOL core courses is such that most students will want to have mastered the material in the following courses:

General Chemistry (two semesters, with lab), Organic Chemistry (two semesters, with lab)

BIOL 2311 Introduction to Modern Biology I (with workshop)

BIOL 3461 Biochemistry I

or BIOL 6452 Modern Biochemistry I

BIOL 3401 Genetics

or BIOL 6431 Molecular Genetics

BIOL 3402 Eukaryotic Molecular and Cell Biology

or BIOL 6456 Eukaryotic Molecular and Cell Biology

Students who elect to prepare and defend a thesis must satisfy the MS thesis procedures specified by the department of their thesis supervisor.

Elective Courses

As a general rule, any UT Dallas graduate course that is approved by the advisor as being relevant to the student's tailored degree plan may be taken as an elective for the Biotechnology MS program. Students should consult the program advisor for the current list of recommended electives.

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

Professor of Insruction Emeritus: Scott Rippel

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: Please take note of regular application deadlines. All complete application files received by the deadline will be reviewed for general admission into the program. Students are accepted for the fall and spring semesters.

  • Fall Deadline - May 1
  • Spring Deadline - October 1

First-round Scholarship Deadline: For first-round consideration for assistantships and scholarships, complete application files must be received by the following deadlines:

  • Fall Deadline - December 15
  • Spring Deadline - August 31

Applications submitted or completed after the deadline may be reviewed for admission only if spaces remain within the upcoming cohort and will be reviewed in order by the date the application file became complete.

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)

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 and BIOL 5460 (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.

Master of Science in Molecular and Cell Biology

30 semester credit hours minimum

Degree Objectives

All students seeking the Master of Science degree in Molecular and Cell Biology must satisfactorily complete a total of at least 30 graduate semester credit hours, which must include four of the following core courses:

BIOL 5375 Genes to Genomes

BIOL 5381 Genomics

BIOL 5410 Biochemistry

BIOL 5420 Molecular Biology

BIOL 5440 Cell Biology

BIOL 5460 Quantitative Biology

BIOL 6373 Proteomics

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.
  • A resume or CV.

Deadline: Please take note of regular application deadlines. All complete application files received by the deadline will be reviewed for general admission into the program. Students are accepted for the fall and spring semesters.

  • Fall Deadline - May 1
  • Spring Deadline - October 1

First-round Scholarship Deadline: For first-round consideration for assistantships and scholarships, complete application files must be received by the following deadlines:

  • Fall Deadline - December 15
  • Spring Deadline - August 31

Applications submitted or completed after the deadline may be reviewed for admission only if spaces remain within the upcoming cohort and will be reviewed in order by the date the application file became complete.

Department 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

Core Courses

Students in the Molecular and Cell Biology MS program can choose any four of the following core courses:

BIOL 5375 Genes to Genomes

BIOL 5381 Genomics

BIOL 5410 Biochemistry

BIOL 5420 Molecular Biology

BIOL 5460 Quantitative Biology

BIOL 5440 Cell Biology

BIOL 6373 Proteomics

MS students intending to submit a thesis must, in addition to the core courses specified above, satisfactorily complete a further 20 semester credit hours of Biology courses which includes

BIOL 6193 Colloquium in Molecular and Cell Biology

BIOL 8V01 Research in Molecular and Cell Biology

BIOL 6V98 Thesis

and a minimum of 3 semester credit hours of general electives for which a letter grade is assigned.

The remainder of the semester credit hours usually reflects experimental research but may also be based on literature research as determined by mutual agreement of the student and Supervising Committee. For MS (thesis) students, the maximum number of Pass/Fail credits allowed within the 30 semester credit hour minimum is 10 semester credit hours.

MS (non-thesis) students must, in addition to the core courses specified, satisfactorily complete a minimum of four general elective courses in Biology (for which a letter grade is assigned) for a minimum of 9 semester credit hours, up to 11 semester credit hours of special electives, and/or, with approval of the graduate advisor, other graduate courses. For non-thesis MS students, the maximum number of Pass/Fail credits allowed within the 30 semester credit hour minimum is 11 semester credit hours.

Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular and Cell Biology

75 semester credit hours minimum beyond the baccalaureate degree

Degree Objectives

All PhD students must satisfactorily complete a total of at least 75 semester credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree, including two of four core courses:

BIOL 5410 Biochemistry

BIOL 5420 Molecular Biology

BIOL 5460 Quantitative Biology

BIOL 5440 Cell Biology

In the first year, PhD candidates must perform two laboratory rotations, and take

BIOL 6V02 The Art of Scientific Presentation

BIOL 6193 Colloquium in Molecular and Cell Biology

At the end of the first year, students are evaluated based upon performance in the core classes, laboratory rotations, and performance as teaching assistants (if applicable). Students who pass this evaluation must complete the following courses in their second year and two graded electives (for which a letter grade is assigned) before graduation.

BIOL 6398 The Art of Scientific Writing

BIOL 6252 Current Research in Molecular Biology

Students must also pass a written and oral qualifying examination by the end of year two to be eligible to continue in the PhD program.

A dissertation defense will be conducted after the dissertation has been written. All students are required to have accepted for publication a minimum of one manuscript in an internationally recognized, peer-reviewed scientific journal. There is no foreign language requirement.

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.
  • A resume or CV.

Deadline: Please take note of doctoral application deadlines. All complete application files received by the deadline will be reviewed for general admission into the program. Students are accepted for the fall semester only.

  • Fall Deadline - December 15

Department 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

Certificates

Graduate Certificate in Genomics

12-13 semester credit hours

A Graduate Certificate in Genomics is offered by the Department of Biological Sciences in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

The graduate certificate program in Genomics will provide the students with advanced, broad knowledge of Genome Science and conceptual and practical understanding of major approaches in genomic analyses.

Completion of the certificate will enable students to critically evaluate primary research literature in genomics, to perform analyses of genomic data, make critical interpretation of genomic data, and communicate relevant findings from genomic analyses.

Students will also become familiar with modern high performance computation systems used for Genomics.

Admission Requirements

The Graduate Certificate in Genomics is open to any applicant. Applicants must submit the University's general admission requirements to complete their application file.

Deadline: Please take note of regular application deadlines. All complete application files received by the deadline will be reviewed for admission. Students are accepted for the fall, spring, and summer semesters.

  • Fall Deadline - May 1
  • Spring Deadline - October 1
  • Summer Deadline - March 1

Applications submitted or completed after the deadline may be reviewed for admission only if spaces remain within the upcoming cohort and will be reviewed in order by the date the application file became complete.

Certificate Requirements

Required Courses: 9 semester credit hours

BIOL 5381 Genomics

BIOL 5382 Applied Genomics

BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics2

Electives: 3-4 semester credit hours

Choose one from the following:

BIOL 5420 Molecular Biology

BIOL 5460 Quantitative Biology

BIOL 6315 Epigenetics

BIOL 6355 The Nucleus

BIOL 5312 Programming in the Biological Sciences for Graduate Students

BIOL 6385 Computational Biology3

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.

2. MATH 6341 or BMEN 6387 can substitute for BIOL 5376

3. MATH 6343 or BMEN 6389 can substitute for BIOL 6385

Updated: 2026-07-08 12:48:13 v17.15bac8