Program and Requirements
Bioinformatics students use computers to identify where the genome for HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) is most likely to recombine.
Overview
Undergraduate study in BCBio is jointly administered by the Department
of Computer Science, the Department
of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, and the Department
of Mathematics. The undergraduate B.S. degree is offered through the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The required course work and associated electives provide students with the foundation in basic life sciences, computer science, mathematics, statistics, chemistry, and physics that is essential for professions involving modern biological/biomedical sciences. As part of these courses students develop skills in problem solving, critical thinking, writing, research-related activities in the biological
sciences. The communications and English proficiency requirements of the LAS college are met by Engl 150, 250 or 250H, and an additional English writing course chosen from Engl 309 or Engl 314. The lowest grade acceptable in Engl 150, 250 or 250H is C-. The average of all courses in the major must be 2.0 or higher. The major must contain at least 8 credits in ISU courses numbered 300 or above and in which the student's grade is C or higher.
BCBio Curriculum Requirements
In addition to basic degree requirements listed in the Curriculum in Liberal
Arts and Sciences, (www.las.iastate.edu/academics/generaleducation)
BCBio majors must satisfy the following requirements:
A. Complementary Courses for the BCBio Major
1. Chem (177, 177L, 178) or (201, 201L) and Chem 331.
2. Phys 221.
3. Stat 330, 341 and 430.
4. Biol 211, 211L, 212, 212L and 314.
B. Core Courses Within the BCBio Major
1. Gen 313, 313L and 411.
2. Com S 227, 228, 363, and 330 (or Cpr E 310).
3. Math 165, 166, 265 and (307 or 317).
4. BCBio 110, 211, 401, 402.
5. BCBio 490 or 491 (3 cr)
C. Bioinformatics Support Electives
3-9 credits to be chosen from the following list:
BCB 495, 539, 542, 548, 549, 550, 551, 593, 594, 596, 597
Physics 222
BBMB 404, 405
Biology 315, 423, 462, 465, 472
Genetics 340, 410
Statistics 342, 402, 416, 432
Com S and Cpr E courses at the 300 level and above
Math (266 or 267), 304, 314, 385, 471, 481
Sample Four-Year Program:
This four-year program assumes that the student has met the LAS Foreign
Language Requirement by taking 3 years of one language during high school.
It also assumes that the humanities and social science classes (www.las.iastate.edu/academics/generaleducation)
are selected to satisfy simultaneously the U.S. Diversity and International
Perspective requirements (www.iastate.edu/~registrar/courses/div-ip-guide.html).
First Year
Fall Semester
BCBIO 110 (BCBIO Orientation)
Mathematics 165 (Calculus I)
Chemistry 177, 177L (General Chemistry)
Biology 211, 211L (Principles of Biology I)
English 150 (Critical Thinking & Communication)
Library 160
Spring Semester
Mathematics 166 (Calculus II)
Chemistry 178 (General Chemistry)
Biology 212, 212L (Principles of Biology II)
Humanities choice
Social science choice
Second Year
Fall Semester
Statistics 104 or 105 (Introduction to Statistics)
Mathematics 265 (Calculus III)
Chemistry 331 (Organic Chemistry)
Genetics 313 (Principles of Genetics), 313L
English 250 (Written, Oral, Visual, Electronic Communication)
Spring Semester
BCBIO 211 (Introduction to Bioinformatics and Computational Biology)
Statistics 330 (Probability and Statistics for Computer Science)
Computer Science 227 (Introduction to Object-oriented Programming)
Biology 314 (Principles of Molecular Cell Biology
Humanities/social science choice
Third Year
Fall Semester
Computer Science 228 (Introduction to Data Structures)
Physics 221 (Introduction to Classical Physics I)
Statistics 341 (Introduction to Theory of Probability and Statistics I)
Bioinformatics support elective
Humanities/social science choice
Spring Semester
Computer Science 363 (Introduction to Database Management Systems)
Genetics 411 (Molecular Genetics)
Statistics 430 (Empirical Methods for Computer Science)
Mathematics 307 (Matrices and Linear Algebra)
Humanities/social science choice
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
BCBIO 401 (Fundamentals of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology I)
Computer Science 330 (Discrete Computational Structures) (or Cpr E 310)
English 314 (Technical Communication)
Humanities/social science choice
Elective
Spring Semester
BCBIO 402 (Fundamentals of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology II)
BCBIO 490 (Independent Study) or BCBIO 491 (Team Research Projects)
Bioinformatics support elective
Elective
Humanities/social science choice
