Curriculum and Requirements

This 30-credit hour program combines interdisciplinary coursework with diverse, hands-on laboratory research.

You will gain the experience and knowledge needed to explore your own research through a required master’s thesis or project.  

We strongly recommend that you identify an available faculty member and their lab before applying to our program. Our program administrator is available to guide you through the process of finding a lab.

Year 1

Fall (12-14 crs.)

  • BMS 501 Cell Biology I, 4 credits
  • GGB 502 Essentials of Genetics and Genomics, 3 credits
  • BCH 503 Biochemical Principles
  • GGB 701 Research, 1-3 credits

Spring (12-14 crs.)

  • BCH 519 Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, 3 credits
  • GGB 701 Research, 1-12 credits
  • GGB 607 Presentation Seminar, 1 credit

1 - 2 Electives

  • GGB/MIC/BCH 611 Advanced Microbial Genetics, 2 credits OR
  • BCH 508 Gene Expression, 2 credits OR
  • EEH 674 Fundamentals of Genetic Epidemiology, 3 credits OR
  • STA 525 Stats for Bioinformatics, 3 credits

Year 2

Fall (3-11 crs.)

  • GGB 701 Research, 1-6 crs

Electives, 0-6 credits

  • GGB/BCH 512 Developmental Genomics and Stem Cell Biology, 3 credits OR
  • BCH/MIC 406/506 - The Human Microbiome, 2 credits OR
  • BCH/MIC 607 DNA Replication and Repair, 2 credits OR
  • BIO 450/550 Human Evolutionary Genomics, 3 credits OR
  • PHC 509 Pharmacogenomics in the Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2 credits (offered in even years) OR
  • PHC 517 Pharmacogenomics, 2 credits

Spring (3-6 crs.)

  • GGB 607 Presentation Seminar, 1 credit
  • GGB 701 Research, 1-6 crs.
  • Electives and Special Topics, 0-6 crs.

Elective and Special Topic Courses

  • BCH 507 Protein Structure and Function, 2-3 credits
  • BCH 508 Gene Expression, 2 credits
  • BCH 607 DNA Replication and Repair, 2 credits
  • BIO 426/526 Human Genetic Diseases
  • BIO 450/550 Human Evolutionary Genomics, 3 credits
  • BIO 502 Advanced Cell and Developmental Biology I, 4 credits
  • BIO 556 Evolutionary Genetics, 3 credits
  • CSE 536 Computational Biology, 3 credits
  • CSE 601 Data Mining and Bioinformatics, 3 credits
  • CSE/BMI 577 Processing of Strings and Sequences
  • EEH 674 Fundamentals of Genetic Epidemiology, 3 credits
  • MIC 512 Fundamentals of Immunology, 2 credits
  • MIC 603 Viruses and Cancer, 2 credits
  • MIC 607 DNA Replication and Repair, 2 credits
  • MIC 627 Molecular Parasitology, 2 credits
  • NRS 521 Neuroscience Intro 2, 4 credits
  • NRS 524 Quantitative Neuroanatomy, 4 credits
  • ORB 510 Saliva and the Oral Microbiome, 2 credits
  • PGY 505 Cell and Membrane Physiology, 4 credits
  • PGY 607 Cellular and Molecular Basis of Disease, 3 credits
  • PHC 509 Pharmacogenomics in the Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2 credits
  • PHC 517 Pharmacogenomics, 2 credits
  • PMY 527 Modern Approaches to Drug Discovery, 2 credits
  • PMY 627 Target Organ Toxicity, 2 credits
  • STA 509 Statistical Genomics, 3 credits
  • STA 525 Stats for Bioinformatics, 3 credits
  • STA 545 Statistical Data Mining, 3 credits
  • STB 530 Mathematics and Physics Topics for Structural Biologists, 2 credits

You may also elect other GGB courses or 500-600-level courses in computer science, biostatistics, neuroscience, microbiology and biology, with permission from your adviser and the program.