Minor in Computational Biology
Important Note: The minor in computational biology is open to undergraduate students in any major outside the School of Computer Science (SCS) at Carnegie Mellon University. If you are an SCS undergraduate who is interested in computational biology, please check out the concentration in computational biology or the undergraduate major in computational biology.
The curriculum and course requirements in the minor are designed to maximize the participation of students from diverse academic disciplines. The program seeks to produce students with both basic computational skills and knowledge in biological sciences that are central to computational biology.
A minor in Computational Biology will position students well for entering the job market and graduate school in this exciting and ever-growing field.
Admission
Students must apply for admission no later than November 30 of their senior years; an admission decision will usually be made within one month. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible in their undergraduate careers so that the advisor of the computational biology minor can provide advice on their curriculum.
To apply, send an email to Dr. Phillip Compeau. Include in your email:
- Full Name
- Andrew ID
- Preferred email address (if different)
- Your class and College/School at Carnegie Mellon
- Semester you intend to graduate
- All (currently) declared majors and minors
- Statement of purpose - describes why you want to take this minor and how it fits into your career goals (maximum 1 page)
- Preposed schedule of courses for the minor (this is your plan, NOT a commitment)
Curriculum
The minor in computational biology requires a total of five courses: 2 core courses and 3 computational biology electives, for a total of 45 units. Apart from pre-requisite courses, students may double-count at most two courses, and no courses can apply to another SCS minor or concentration.
Prerequisites
|
15-112 |
Fundamentals of Programming and Computer Science |
|
or 15-110 |
Principles of Computing |
| 03-151 | Honors Modern Biology |
| or 03-121 | Modern Biology |
Core classes
| 02-250 |
Introduction to Computational Biology |
| or 02-180 and 02181* | Great Ideas in Computational Biology I and Great Ideads in Computational Biology II |
| 02-261** | Quantitative Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory |
| or 02-262 | Computation and Biology Integrated Research Lab |
*02-251 is allowed if 02-180 and 02-181 are not offered.
**03-343 Experimental Techniques in Molecular Biology may be substituted for 02-261 with permission of Minor advisor.
Computational Biology electives (three of the following):
| 02-xxx | Any 02-xxx listed course of at least 9 units 02-300 or above |
Courses in the minor may not be counted towards another SCS minor.
Last updated: August 2024