IX. Graduate Programs
Bioinformatics
MBNF Program
Admission Requirements
Students will be admitted to the Master of Bioinformatics program from a range of undergraduate programs in the life sciences. Students from undergraduate programs in the physical or computational sciences will be considered for admission if they are considered to have sufficient biological background. Students must begin the Master of Bioinformatics program in a fall semester. To be considered for admission, applicants should meet the minimum requirements of a four-year degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with a minimum 75% average over the last two years of full-time equivalent study.
Space in the program is limited and prospective students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Application details are posted on the program website.
Degree Requirements
A total of 4.0 credits are required, which must include:
| BINF*6110 | [0.50] | Genomic Methods for Bioinformatics |
| BINF*6210 | [0.50] | Software Tools for Biological Data Analysis and Organization |
| BINF*6890 | [0.50] | Topics in Bioinformatics |
| BINF*6970 | [0.50] | Statistical Bioinformatics |
| BINF*6999 | [1.00] | Bioinformatics Master's Project |
The advisory committee and/or the graduate program committee may require additional courses.
Advisory Committee
Students taking the Master of Bioinformatics will have an advisor and a co-advisor. Both the advisor and the co-advisor must be members of the Bioinformatics Graduate Faculty such that one has expertise in the life sciences and the other has expertise in statistics or computing.
Duration of the Program
Students normally take 3 courses per semester for two semesters (3.0 credits) and complete the Bioinformatics Master’s Project (1.0 credit) in a third semester. Therefore, the program typically takes 12 months of full-time study. There is, however, the option to continue the Bioinformatics Master’s Project into a second fall semester, in which case the program will take 16 months of full-time study.