About the Bachelor of Science in Computational Biology
All undergraduates accepted to the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon are able to choose between the computational biology major and three other existing majors - computer science, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interaction. For more information on the different majors, plese visit the School of Computer Science Undergraduate Programs Overview.
Success in computational biology requires significant technical knowledge of fundamental computer science as well as a broad biological intuition and general understanding of experimental biology. However, most importantly, it requires students who can integrate their knowledge by making connections between the two fields.
As much as any other field, making the interdisciplinary connections required to truly integrate biological and computational knowledge often requires a student to conduct research. We encourage undergraduate research, with our faculty very willing to supervise undergraduate research for credit.
Students completing the proposed major will be ideally prepared for Ph.D. programs in any of a range of biomedical areas, including Computational Biology, Systems Biology, or Quantitative Biology. Students who choose to complete pre-med requirements will be very well-prepared to attend medical school; the next generation of physicians will need to better understand the computational approaches needed for automated medical testing, automated medical imaging, and the revolution in personalized medicine.
There is also a significant industry demand for excellent computational biology students, in biotech firms, biomedical research, as well as in pharmaceutical research. Both established companies and startups struggle to find employees with the correct skillset, and our students will be able to take advantage of the fact that an undergraduate computational biology major has the rigorous training required to handle the challenges of modern research that is not provided by any of our peer institutions.
Degree Requirements
Students entering Fall 2020
Students completing the Bachelor of Science in Computational Biology follow certain policies that apply to all SCS students; please consult the SCS policies page for a complete listing of these expectations.
Students must complete a minimum of 360 units for the degree in computational biology.
| Math/Stats Core | ||
| 21-122 | Integration, Differential Equations, and Approximation | 10 |
| 15-151 | Mathematical Foundations for Computer Science (or 21-127 if not offered) | 10 |
| 36-218 | Probability Theory for Computer Scientists | 9 |
| or 36-226 | Introduction to Statistical Inference | |
| or 36-326 | Mathematical Statistics (Honors) | |
| or 15-260 | Statistics and Computing | |
| 21-241 | Matrices and Linear Transformations | 9-10 |
| or 21-242 | Matrix Theory | |
| Total Units |
38-39 |
|
| General Science Core |
|
|
| 09-105 | Introduction to Modern Chemistry I | 10 |
| or 09-107 |
Honors Chemistry: Fundamentals, Concepts and Applications |
|
| 33-121 |
Physics I for Science Students |
12 |
| 33-141 |
Physics I for Engineering Students |
|
| Total Units | 22 | |
| Biological Core | ||
| 03-121 | Modern Biology | 9 |
| or 03-151 | Honors Modern Biology (if seats available) | |
| 03-221 | Genomes, Evolution, and Disease: Introduction to Quantitative Genetic Analysis | 9 |
| or 03-220 | Genetics (if 03-221 not offered) | |
| 03-232 |
Biochemistry I (Students taking 03-231, including pre-med students, will take organic chemistry as a prerequisite, which will satisfy a biology elective requirement) |
9 |
| or 03-321 |
Biochemistry I |
|
| 03-320 |
Cell Biology |
9 |
| Total Units | 36 | |
| Computer Science Core | ||
| 07-128 |
Freshman Immigration Course (This course may be replaced by 03-201 or 03-202 if, and only if, 15-128 is not offered) |
1 |
| 15-122 |
Principles of Imperative Computation |
10 |
| 15-251 |
Great Ideas in Theoretical Computer Science |
12 |
| 15-351 |
Algorithms and Advanced Data Structures (Students taking 15-150 and 15-120 as prerequisites for 15-451 may apply these courses as CS electives) |
12 |
| or 15-451 |
Algorithm Design and Analysis |
|
| 10-315 |
Introduction to Machine Learning (SCS Majors) |
12 |
| Total Units | 47 | |
| Computational Biology Core | ||
| 02-251 |
Great Ideas in Computational Biology (or 02-250 if not offered) |
12 |
| 02-261 |
Quantitative Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory (Computational Biology majors must take 12 unit version of this course) |
12 |
| or 03-343 |
Experimental Techniques in Molecular Biology |
|
| 02-402 |
Computational Biology Seminar |
3 |
| 02-510 |
Computational Genomics |
12 |
| 02-512 |
Computational Methods for Biological Modeling and Simulation |
12 |
| Total Units | 51 | |
| Major Electives | ||
| 02-3xx | CB Electives at 300 level or above (includes 03-445/03/545 if research is computational) | 18-24 |
| 03-3xx | Biology electives at 300 level or above (09-217 or 42-202 also count as biology electives) | 9-12 |
| xx-3xx | School of Computer Science electives at 300 level or above | 18-24 |
| Total Units | 45-60 | |
| General Education (Humanities and Arts) | ||
| Expectations for Humanities & Arts courses are shared between the Computer Science and Computational Biology undergraduate programs. For specific courses that may be used to satisfy each elective, please see the SCS General Education Requirements page. | ||
| 76-101 | Interpretation and Argument | 9 |
| or 76-102 | Advanced First Year Writing: Special Topics | |
|
or two of: 76-106, 76-107, 76-108 |
Writing Minis | |
|
Elective Cognition, Choice, and Behavior |
9 | |
|
Elective Economics, Political, and Social Institutions |
9 | |
|
Elective Cultural Analysis |
9 | |
|
Non-technical Electives (x3) |
27 | |
|
Total Units |
63 | |
|
|
||
| Free Electives | ||
| A free elective is any Carnegie Mellon course. However, a maximum of 9 units of Physical Education and/or Military Science (ROTC) and/or Student-Led (StuCo) courses may be used toward fulfilling graduation requirements. | ||
| Free Electives | 29-54 | |
| Total Units | 29-54 | |
| Computing | ||
| 99-101 | Computing @ Carnegie Mellon | 3 |
| Total Units | 3 | |
Last Updated: August 2020
Sample Course Sequence for Computational Biology Majors
The following is an example four-year course sequence for computational biology majors matriculating in fall 2019 or later. Note that our suggested courses during the first year fall are aligned with the sample course sequence for Computer Science majors. All students interested in computational biology should take 02-251 (Great Ideas in Computational Biology) in addition to 03-121 (Modern Biology) during the spring of their first year.
First Year
Fall
| Units (45 total) | ||
| 07-128 | Freshman Immigration Course | 1 |
| 15-122 | Principles of Imperative Computation | 10 |
| 15-131 | Great Practical Ideas for Computer Scientists (optional) | 2 |
| 15-151 | Mathematical Foundations for Computer Science | 10 |
| 21-122 | Integration and Approximation | 10 |
| 99-101 | Computing @ Carnegie Mellon | 3 |
| 76-101 | Interpretation and Argument | 9 |
Spring
| Units (52 total) | ||
| 02-251 | Great Ideas in Computational Biology | 12 |
| 03-121 | Modern Biology | 9 |
| 09-105 | Introduction to Modern Chemistry I | 10 |
| xx-xxx | Humanities and Arts Elective | 9 |
| 15-351 | Algorithms and Advanced Data Structures | 12 |
Second Year
Fall
| Units (48 Total) | ||
| 02-261 | Quantitative Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory | 9 |
| 03-221 | Genomes, Evolution, and Disease: Introduction to Quantitative Genetic Analysis | 9 |
| 33-121 | Physics I for Science Students | 12 |
| 36-218 | Probability Theory for Computer Sciences | 9 |
| xx-xxx | Humanities and Arts Elective | 9 |
Spring
| Units (43 Total) | ||
| 02-xxx | Computational Biology Elective | 12 |
| 03-232 | Biochemistry I | 9 |
| 15-251 | Great Ideas in Theoretical Computer Science | 12 |
| 21-241 | Matrices and Linear Transformations | 10 |
Third Year
Fall
| Units (48 Total) | ||
| 02-512 | Computational Methods for Biological Modeling and Simulation | 9 |
| 03-320 | Cell Biology | 9 |
| 10-315 | Introduction to Machine Learning (SCS Majors) | 12 |
| xx-xxx | School of Computer Science Elective | 9 |
| xx-xxx | Humanities and Arts Elective | 9 |
Spring
| Units (42 Total) | ||
| 02-402 | Computational Biology Seminar | 3 |
| 02-510 | Computational Genomics | 12 |
| 03-xxx | Biology Elective | 9 |
| xx-xxx | School of Computer Science Elective | 9 |
| xx-xxx | Humanities and Arts Elective | 9 |
Fourth Year
Fall
| Units (39 Total) | ||
| 02-xxx | Computational Biology Elective | 12 |
| xx-xxx | Humanities and Arts Electives | 9 |
| xx-xxx | Free Elective | 9 |
| xx-xxx | Free Elective | 9 |
Spring
| Units (36 Total) | ||
| xx-xxx | Humanities and Arts Elective | 9 |
| xx-xxx | Free Elective | 9 |
| xx-xxx | Free Elective | 9 |
| xx-xxx | Free Elective | 9 |
The Undergraduate Research Pledge
Many of our current and prospective undergraduate students are enthusiastic about research experiences, and these opportunities tend to be sparse at many other universities.
To help our students fulfill their research dreams, the faculty of the Computational Biology Department have announced the Undergraduate Research Pledge. Every undergraduate students majoring in computational biology will be guaranteed at least one semester of undergraduate research for credit, which can count toward the degree as an elective course in computational biology.
Students meeting the educational requirements may also wish to complete an honors thesis in computational biology. Successful completion of an honors thesis allows for a student to graduate with honors from the School of Computer Science.
To explore the types of research projects that our faculty lead, check out our faculty research page, which contains short profiles of our faculty’s work. More details about research logistics, as well as examples highlighting existing student research, will be posted here as they become available.
