Master of Science in Biotechnology: Bioinformatics
This program has been designated a Professional Science Master's Degree through the Council of Graduate Schools.
Bioinformatics Specialization
This specialization covers a broad range of subjects (for example, biostatistics, databases and data structures, algorithms, gene expression analysis, and PERL) at the interface of molecular biology and computational science.
Career Path
The Master of Science program in biotechnology serves a number of careers at the entry-, mid-, or high-level positions, depending on the prior level of experience of the candidate.
Graduates of the bioinformatics specialization, depending on their background, can find positions such as:
- Bioinformatics Analyst
- Bioinformatics Specialist
- Computational Biologist
- Biological Database Specialist
- Instructor
Master of Science in Biotechnology Course Requirements
Recommendations
- Students who wish to improve their graduate writing skills may take COMM 600, Academic Writing for Graduate Students (3).
- It is strongly recommended that BIOT 601, Introduction to Molecular Biology (3), be taken by students without a background in molecular biology.
Core Required Courses
UCSP 615 Orientation to Graduate Studies at UMUC (0), to be taken within the first 6 credits of study.
- BIOT 640 Societal Issues in Biotechnology(3)
- BIOT 630 Introduction to Bioinformatics (3)
- BIOT 645 Bioprocessing and the Business of Biotechnology (3)
- BIOT 643 Techniques of Biotechnology (3)
- PMAN 634 Foundations of Project Management (3)
* BTMN 670 must be taken after completion of 27 credits of study.
Core Rules
- BIOT 640 must be taken as the first program course.
- All core courses with the BIOT designator must be completed before starting any specialization.
Specialization - Bioinformatics (BIFS) Required Courses
- BIFS 613 Statistical Processes for Biotechnology (3)
- BIFS 617 Advanced Bioinformatics (3)
- DBST 651 Relational Database Systems (3)
- BIFS 618 Java for Biotechnology Applications (3)
- BIFS 619 Gene Expression Data Analysis (3)
- BIFS 614 Data Structures and Algorithms (3)
Capstone Course
BTMN 670 Capstone in Biotechnology (3)
Specialization Rules
- BIFS 617 is a prerequisite to BIFS 618 and BIFS 619.
Recommendations
- It is strongly recommended that students without a background in statistics take STAT 200.
Note: Some course titles and numbers were revised beginning with the fall 2007 semester. If you began your program prior to fall 2007 and have chosen to follow the pre-fall 2007 curriculum, please refer to the pre-fall 2007 Study Plan to determine your degree requirements.
