Bioinformatics MA Program

Admission Requirements
The general college admission requirements must be satisfied. These include the Graduate Record Examination and two letters of recommendation. In addition, the Department requires one semester of Linear Algebra (MATH 260) and one semester of Multivariate Calculus (MATH 250). The Department’s requirements are minimal. They are intended to encourage students without a previous specialization in mathematics to pursue a degree in statistics and applied mathematics.

Additional Admission Requirements
The Bioinformatics track allows students with career plans in the biomedical sciences and without a previous specialization in mathematics to pursue a degree in statistics and applied mathematics. In addition to the above departmental requirements for admission to the MA program in Statistics and Applied Mathematics, it is required that the student have an adequate undergraduate training in biological sciences, chemistry, or related fields, as well as strong computer programming skills. The following track requirements, or their equivalents, are the minimal requirements that the student must meet in order to enter the Bioinformatics track:
1. One semester of introductory biology (BIOL 100 or equivalent)
2. One year of general chemistry (CHEM 102-105 or equivalent)
3. One semester of organic chemistry (CHEM 222 or equivalent)
4. One semester of biological chemistry (BIOL 300 or equivalent)
5. Familiarity with UNIX and database programming (CSCI 132-232 or equivalent)

Degree Requirements
Thirty credits (10 courses)*, from courses chosen as follows:

Core Curriculum** (15 credits, 5 courses)
1. STAT 701 Probability
2. STAT 703 Mathematical Statistics
3. STAT 706 General Linear Models I
4. STAT 716 Data Analysis -or- STAT 717 Multivariate Analysis
5. STAT 739 Bayesian Statistics

Electives (12 credits, 4 courses)
Four graduate courses in biology, chemistry, or related fields. Those must constitute a cohesive curriculum in bioinformatics, and must be approved by the Graduate Bioinformatics Advisor.

Suggested electives in the natural sciences are:
ANTH 790 Biological Anthropology
ANTH 793 Human Evolutionary Genetics
BIOL 700.05 Genetics
BIOL 710.13 Molecular Biology Lecture
BIOL 750.03 Developmental Biology
BIOL 790.49 Computational Molecular Biology
CHEM 698.03 Chemical Genomics

Project (3 credits, 1 course)
STAT 790 Case Seminar. The student, guided by a member of the faculty, prepares a project in bioinformatics. The student presents the results to faculty and students in a seminar during the student's final semester. This replaces the comprehensive examination requirement.

Students must exhibit a working knowledge of two useful computer languages or data analysis packages. This replaces the foreign language requirement.

For further information on the MA in Bioinformatics, please contact Professor Makram Talih: makram.talih@hunter.cuny.edu