Computational Biology Degree Plan

First year BME students take 12 credit hours in the fall and spring, and 6 credit hours in the summer. In subsequent years they are enrolled in 9 credit hours in fall and spring, and 6 credit hours in the summer. Typically, didactic course work is completed in the first two years, and in subsequent years students are enrolled for research, seminars or journal clubs totaling full-time enrollment equivalency.

Advancement of the student to Ph.D. candidacy is dependent upon passing the qualifying examination (Exam I), which generally takes place in the second year. A typical degree plan for students with a research focus in Computational Biology is shown below.

Additional Advanced Elective courses can be taken with permission from the student’s research supervisor.

• First Year

  TERM	Half/Full	TITLE	CREDIT HOUR	TOTAL CREDIT HOURS/TERM
  Summer	1st Week Aug	Biology for Non-Biologist Boot camp	2	Semester Total: 2
  Fall	1st Half	Core Curriculum - Genes	2
  Fall	1st Half	Core Curriculum - Proteins	2
  Fall	2nd Half	Core Curriculum - Cells	2
  Fall	2nd Half	Mathematical Foundations of Quantitative Biology I	2
  Fall	Full	Professionalism, Responsible Conduct of Research, and Ethics I	1
  Fall	Full	Laboratory Rotations	3	Semester total: 12
  Spring	1st Half	Mathematical Foundations of Quantitative Biology II	2
  Spring	2nd Half	Quantitative Biology	1.5
  Spring	Last two weeks	Software Engineering for Research Computing	3
  Spring	Full	Professionalism, Responsible Conduct of Research, and Ethics II	1
  Spring	Full	Laboratory Rotations	4.5	Semester total: 12
  Summer	1st two weeks	Software Engineering for Research Computing	3	Semester total: 6
  Summer	Full	Research	3

• Second Year

  TERM	Half/Full	TITLE	CREDIT HOUR	TOTAL CREDIT HOURS/TERM
  Fall	Full	Current Topics in Computational Biology	1
  Fall	Full	Works in Progress in Biomedical Engineering	1
  Fall	Full	BME Exam 1 Preparation Course	1
  Fall	Full	Machine Learning	3
  Fall	Full	Research	3	Semester total: 9
  Spring	Full	Current Topics in Computational Biology	1
  Spring	Full	Works in Progress in in Biomedical Engineering	1
  Spring	Full	BME Exam I (Qualifying Exam)	1
  Spring	Full	Dissertation Research	6	Semester total: 9
  Summer		Dissertation Research	6	Semester total: 6

• Third Year and Beyond

  TERM	Half/Full	TITLE	CREDIT HOUR	TOTAL CREDIT HOURS/TERM
  Fall	Full	Current Topics in Computational Biology	1
  Fall	Full	Works in Progress in Biomedical Engineering	1	Semester total: 9
  Fall	Full	Dissertation Research	7
  Spring	Full	Current Topics in Computational Biology	1
  Spring	Full	Works in Progress in Biomedical Engineering	1
  Spring	Full	BME Exam II (Dissertation Proposal, Year 3)	1
  Spring	Full	Dissertation Research	6-7	Semester total: 9
  Summer		Dissertation Research	6	Semester total: 6

Minimum Credit Hours for Ph.D. = 102