Ramin Homayouni, PhD
Program Director
Room 402, Smith Chemistry Bldg.
(901) 678-3132

Email: rhomayon@memphis.edu

www.memphis.edu/binf

Master of Science in Bioinformatics

 All graduate students must comply with the general requirements of the Graduate School (see Admissions Regulations, Academic Regulations, and Minimum Degree Requirements) as well as the program requirements of the degree being pursued.

Bioinformatics is an emerging multidisciplinary field which combines mathematical and computer science approaches to solve biological problems. The Master’s in Bioinformatics is designed to train highly skilled individuals with fundamental understanding of computer programming and data structures, statistical analysis of data, as well as genomics and systems biology.

A. Admission Requirements

1. GRE scores are required and are an important factor for admission;
2. Two letters of recommendation;
3. A minimum score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL, or 80 on the internet-based TOEFL (for students whose native language is not English);
4. Undergraduate degree in biology, computer science, or related field with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

B. Prerequisites

1. Satisfactory completion of the following courses (or their equivalents) as determined by the Program Director:
   1. Computer Science
      1. Advanced Data Structures and Algorithms (COMP 3160)
      2. Computer Programming (COMP 4001)
   2. Mathematics
      1. Calculus I and II ( MATH 1321 and 2321)
      2. Discrete Structures (MATH 2701)
   3. Biology
      1. Biochemistry I (BIOL 4511-6511; same as CHEM 4511)
      2. Cell Biology (BIOL 3130)

C. Program Requirements:

Candidates must satisfactorily complete 37 credit hours of graduate course work, 26 hours of which must be 7000 level or higher)  as approved by the Program Advisor and distributed as follows:

1. Major Field Core (13 credit hours):
   BINF 7980 Research Seminar in Bioinformatics
   COMP 6030 Introduction to Algorithms or COMP 7712 Algorithms Implementation and Problem Solving
   COMP 7295 Introduction to Bioinformatics
   MATH 6635 Introduction to Probability Theory
   MATH 7643 Least/Sq/Regr Analysis
2. Biology: 6 credit hours chosen from:
   BIOL 7131 Cell and Molecular Biology
   BIOL 7470 Advanced Bacterial Genetics
   BIOL 7701 Introduction to Genomics & Bioinformatics
   BIOL 7440 Molecular Biology of Cancer
   BIOM 7004 Life Sciences for Biomedical Engineering I
3. Electives: 9-15 credit hours chosen from:
   BIOL 7131 Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology
   BIOL 7704 Problems Genome Science
   BIOM 7110 Biostatistics
   CHEM 6415 Computational Chemistry
   CHEM 7711 Approximate Chemical Modeling Methods
   COMP 6014 Intro to Java Programming
   COMP 6081 Software Development
   COMP 6262 Programming in UNIX
   COMP 6601 Models of Computation
   COMP 7012 Foundations of Software Engineering
   COMP 7115 Database Systems
   COMP 7116 Advanced Database Systems
   COMP 7117 Topics in Database Management Systems
   COMP 7118 Data Mining
   COMP 7212 Operating and Distributed Systems
   COMP 7282 Evolutionary Computations
   COMP 7290 Molecular Computing
   COMP 7612 Foundations of Computing
   COMP 7717 Topics in Algorithm
   COMP 7740 Neural Networks
   COMP 7780 Natural Language Processing
   MATH 6607 Introduction to SAS Programming
   MATH 6636 Intro Statistical Theory
   MATH 7221 Statistical Expression for Analyzing Gene Expression Data
   MATH 7607 Advanced Programming in SAS
   MATH 7641 Analysis of Variance
   MATH 7642 Design of Experiments
   MATH 7643 Regression Analysis
   MATH 7647 Nonparametric Methods
   MATH 7657 Multivariate Methods
   MATH 7660 Applied Time Series Analysis
   MATH 7680 Bayesian Inference
   MATH 7685 Statistical Computing and Simulation
   MATH 7695 Bootstrap and Other Resampling Methods
   MIS 7605 Business Database Systems
4. Thesis: 3 credit hours
   BINF 7996 Thesis or BINF 7992 Bioinformatics Project.

BIOINFORMATICS (BINF)

BINF 7092 - Research (1-6)
Non-traditional setting in which master's students develop research in consultation with the instructor and the program director that will elad to development of Master's Thesis or Project. Two written reports are required per semester. May be repeated for a total of 12 semester hours. NOTE: Credit is not applicable toward Bioinformatics Master's Degree. Grades of S/U, or IP will be given.

BINF 7701 - Intro Genomics/Bioinformatics (3)
Accelerated introduction to molecular and genomic sciences, covering basic concepts of gene and protein structure/ function, genome sequencing and annotation, single nucleotide polymorphism, genetic variation, gene expression, and functional genomics and proteomics. PREREQUISITE: Permission of Instructor.

BINF 7980 - Rsch Sem/Bioinformatics (1)
Current research topics in Bioinformatics.

BINF 7991 - Bioinformatics Internship (1-3)
Supervised practical experience conducted in industrial, academic research or clinical research organizations. The project must be approved by the program director and may be supervised by any faculty in the program. A written report is required. May be repeated for a total of 12 semester hours. NOTE: Credit is not applicable toward Bioinformatics Master's Degree. Grades of S, U, or IP will be given.

BINF 7992 - Bioinformatics Project (3)
Research project conducted in lieu of a Master's thesis under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The project must be approved by the program director and may be supervised by any faculty in the program. A written report and an oral presentation are required for satisfactory completion of the course. Grades of S, U, or IP will be given.

BINF 7996 - Bioinformatics Thesis (1-6)
Supervised research in preparation for advanced degree thesis. May be repeated for up to 6 hours. Grades of S, U, or IP will be given.