Degree Requirements
The Ph.D. in Bioinformatics is a 90-credit-hour program that includes core courses, research rotations, the choice of a minor, qualifying examinations, and a dissertation.
Prerequisite courses
Students may test out of these.
For students with a biology background:
For students with a computing background:
- K322 Genetics and Molecular Biology and K324 Cell Biology or
- BIOL 507 Molecular Biology
Qualifying courses (15 cr.)
- INFO-B 518 Applied Statistical Methods for Biomedical Informatics (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 519 Introduction to Bioinformatics (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 528 Computational Methods for Analyzing High-Throughput Biological Data (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 529 Machine Learning in Bioinformatics (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 556 Biological Database Management (3 cr.)
Required core courses (12 cr.)
- INFO-B 536 Computational Methods for Biomedical Informatics (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 627 Advanced Seminar I – Bioinformatics (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 637 Advanced Seminar II – Bioinformatics (3 cr.)
- INFO-I 790 Independent Study/Rotation (3 cr.)
Elective core courses (15 cr.)
Choose five:
- INFO-B 585 Analytics of Biomedical Data (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 636 Genomic Data Analytics and Precision Medicine (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 643 Natural Language Processing for Biomedical Records and Reports (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 646 Computational System Biology (3 cr.)
- MGEN-G 788/INFO-I 590 Next Generation Sequencing (3 cr.)
- Other Bioinformatics courses (advisor approval required)
At most, one of the following courses can be counted toward the elective core:
- INFO-B 535 Clinical Information Systems (3 cr.)
- INFO-B 642 Clinical Decision Support Systems (3 cr.)
- Other Health Informatics courses (advisor approval required)
Minor (minimum 12 cr.)
All students will be required to have an appropriate minor outside or partially inside the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering in Indianapolis for a minimum 12.0 credit hours. Minors will be selected with the advisor’s recommendation. Some appropriate minors would include biology, chemistry, cognitive psychology, computer science, information science, or statistics. In all cases, the number of hours to be included in the minor will be consistent with the requirements of the unit granting the minor. Some of the courses included in the minor may also count toward the student’s methodology or other requirements.
Electives
*There are no minimum or maximum credits.
*Students may take other electives (subject to approval) at the graduate level as needed for their specific research.
Written qualifying examination
All students will take a written qualifying examination that covers the core courses (CORE A and B). The examination will be set by a group of faculty who are familiar with the content of the core courses. Examinations will be offered in August. Examinations must be completed by the beginning of the student’s fourth year in the program but can be completed before that time when the core courses are completed. Students who do not successfully complete the examination can retake the examination a second time.
Oral qualifying examination
- The oral examination will take place after the student successfully passes the written examination. Students must pass both the written and oral examination before passing on to candidacy. Only two attempts to pass the oral examination will be allowed.
- The oral examination will be based on the student’s response to the written examination and any material from the core courses.
Dissertation proposal
This is an oral review that covers in-depth knowledge of the student’s primary research area and dissertation proposal. The research proposal for dissertation must be approved by the student’s research committee. That committee may have the same membership as the program committee, or the students may choose different members. The advisor for the dissertation will be a faculty member in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering in Indianapolis and a member of the graduate faculty. At least one of the three members of the committee will be based outside the school. The student will defend the thesis proposal at a public colloquium in the school. The review should be completed within one year after passing the Qualifying Examinations.