Request to establish a new Bioinformatics Technology Graduate Certificate Program

Date: May 11, 2010
To: College of Computing & Informatics
From: Clarence Greene, Faculty Governance Administrative Assistant
Approved On: March 16, 2010
Implementation Date: 2010

Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.

Catalog Copy

Graduate Certificate Program in Bioinformatics Technology

The purpose of the Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics Technology is to train individuals in method development for analysis of large-scale biological data and modeling of complex biological systems, with a focus on acquiring complementary skill sets in life sciences and in programming, statistical analysis, and database development. The certificate requires fifteen (15) credit hours of coursework. The certificate may be pursued concurrently with a related graduate degree program at UNC Charlotte.

Admission Requirements

For admission into the certificate program, applicants must meet the following requirements:

  1. A bachelor’s degree in related field, including, but not limited to, a life science, physical science, mathematics, or computing discipline.
  2. Practical experience and confidence with computers, for instance use of common web browsers, word processing, plotting, and spreadsheet applications.

Program Requirements

Students will follow one of two pathways through the program, depending on their bachelor’s degree field and previous experience. The following courses make up the required core:

If the bachelor’s degree is in life sciences:

  • BINF – 6200 Statistics for Bioinformatics (3)
  • BINF – 6110 Bioinformatics Programming I (3)
  • BINF – 6111 Bioinformatics Programming II (3)

If the bachelor’s degree is in computing or mathematics:

  • BINF – 6200 Statistics for Bioinformatics (3)
  • BINF – 6100 Biological Basis of Bioinformatics (3)
  • BINF – 6101 Energy and Information in Biological Modeling (3)

One advanced bioinformatics technology course from the following list of electives is required:

  • BINF – 6211 Design and Implementation of Bioinformatics Databases (3)
  • BINF – 6310 Advanced Statistics for Bioinformatics (3)
  • BINF – 6380 Bioinformatics Programming III (3)

One bioinformatics applications course from the following list of electives is required:

  • BINF 6201 – Molecular Sequence Analysis (3)
  • BINF 6202 – Computational Structural Biology (3)
  • BINF 6203 – Genomics (3)

If a student wishes to enter the program having completed coursework that is equivalent to the core course requirements, the core requirements may be waived at the discretion of the certificate coordinator. In this case, the required 15 coursework hours may be selected from the electives listed above, or from other advanced graduate courses offered by the Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics.

Transfer credit may not be applied toward this certificate.

It is suggested that students in the Graduate Certificate Program arrange formal co-mentorship by a Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics faculty member, if the student is concurrently enrolled in another thesis-based degree program on campus and intends to extend or enable their thesis research through the application of bioinformatic methods.