Bioinformatics, Graduate Certificate

Overview

Bioinformatics Mission Statement

The mission of the Bioinformatics Certificate Program is to train post-baccalaureate students in interdisciplinary techniques required to generate, analyze, and interpret complex biologically derived data sets. Departments from across the university participate. A cohesive curriculum provides essential training in bioinformatics and computational biology.

Program Structure

The Certificate requires completion of 16 graduate level course credit hours. A required capstone project demonstrates mastery of bioinformatics technologies. A minimum of 12 credit hours must be at the 5000 level or above.

Nine credit hours are from the core areas of life science, statistics, math, and computer science. Student preference will guide the selection of a 3-credit hour elective course approved by the Program Committee.

Admissions

To enroll in the Graduate Certificate program, students are required to have a bachelor’s degree preferably in computer science, statistics, mathematics, life sciences or related fields. Students can participate in this certificate program while concurrently enrolled in an M.S. or Ph.D. degree program.

Admission forms can be obtained by following the prompt to the Bioinformatics Certificate as a degree choice through the OSU Graduate College portal. 

Primary Student Learning Outcomes

• To understand terminologies, technologies, and concepts used in the analysis of data related to genomes and genome structures.
• To acquire cross-disciplinary knowledge and independently design bioinformatics projects and organize collaborators of appropriate expertise across the core disciplines of life sciences, computer sciences, and statistics.
• To develop a set of skills including text mining/formatting, basic statistics, basic programming script, and use of genomic information and databases appropriate to their long-term employment.

Coursework

REQUIRED Foundation Courses (4 hours )

• MICR 5203 Bioinformatics (3)
• BIOC 5930 Bioinformatics Capstone Project (1)

SELECTED Interdisciplinary Courses (9 hours selected)
Life Sciences Core Courses

• BIOC 6820 Mass Spectrometry Workshop (1-2)
• BIOC 6733 Functional Genomics (3)
• BIOC 5102 Molecular Genetics (2)
• BOT 5553 Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis
• ANSCI R. programming in animal sciences (1)
• BOT 5110-365 Phylogenomics (1)
• BOT 5110 Biostatistics
• MICR 5543 Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics: 3
• MICR 6223 Molecular Environmental Microbiology and Ecology (3)
• BIOC 6823 Quantitative Methods in Omics (3)

Statistics Core Courses

• STAT 6013 Genetic Statistics (3)** 
• STAT 5013 Stat Experimenters I (3)
• STAT 5023 Stat Experimenters II (3)
• STAT 5093 Statistical Computing (3) 

**PREFERRED, others must be approved by the Advisory Committee

Computer Science Core Courses

• CS 5423/5433 Principles of Database Systems/BigData Management Systems (3)
• CS 5070 Data Structures and Algorithms for Bioinformatics (3)

Math and Engineering Core Courses

• MATH 6590 Appl. of Parallel Computing (1)
• CHE 5753 Applied Numerical Computing (3)

Elective Courses (3 hours required)
Graduate-level course approved by the Bioinformatics Certificate Program Committee.

WORKSHOPS (Highly encouraged)

• The Carpentries Genomics 
• The Carpentries Python 
• The Carpentries Perl
• The Carpentries R
• The Carpentries MySQL

Admissions Requirements and Deadlines

Graduate students enrolled at OSU who are planning to graduate in the Spring semester have an application deadline of March 1, of the graduating year.

Graduate students enrolled at OSU who are planning to graduate in a Summer semester have an application deadline of June 1 of the graduating year.

Graduate students enrolled at OSU who are planning to graduate in a Fall semester have an application deadline of October 1, of the graduating year.

Required Documents

• Application
• Application Fee
• Official Transcript(s)
• GRE Scores
• TOEFL Scores (if applicable)
• Curriculum Vitae or Resume
• Personal Statement of why you are interested in our program at OSU and goals for the program
• A Letter of Recommendation from your major professor if you are currently in a graduate program at OSU, and a Copy of your Plan of Study if you are currently in a graduate program at OSU

Cost and Assistance

Cost for on-campus enrollment