BS in Bioinformatics
The bioinformatics major at Loyola provides students with the training and opportunities to become leaders in this ground-breaking discipline, with career advancement and post-graduate possibilities for years to come. Loyola's BS Bioinformatics Program will prepare you with:
- technical skills at the interface of biology, computer science, chemistry and statistics;
- biological and chemical laboratory techniques;
- computer programming capabilities;
- statistical techniques to analyze results from laboratory experiments and computer outputs; and
- an understanding of key problems, proposed solutions, and future challenges of the bioinformatics field.
Degree Requirements
The following degree requirements are for students who have declared the BS Bioinformatics Major after Spring 2020. For students who declared prior to this time, please see archived class schedules.
Biology Fundamental Courses
BIOL 101 General Biology (3 credits)
BIOL 282 Genetics (3 credits)
BIOL 283 Genetics Lab (3 credits)
Chemistry Fundamental Courses
For incoming freshmen or Bioinformatics majors that have not previously enrolled in any Chemistry courses:
CHEM 160: Chemical and Structural Properties
CHEM 180: Chemical Reactivty I
CHEM 240: Chemical Reactivity II
CHEM 260: Quantitative Methods in Chemistry
CHEM 361: Biochemistry
For students that have already pursued their Chemistry requirements, please follow the previous track:
CHEM 101: General Chemistry A (3 credits)
CHEM 102: General Chemistry B (3 credits)
CHEM 223: Organic Chemistry A (3 credits)
CHEM 224: Organic Chemistry B (3 credits)
CHEM 361: Biochemistry (3 credits)
This course sequence ends in Spring 2025. Please note that these courses may not be substituted by the new sequence of courses.
Computer Science Fundamental Courses
COMP 141 Intro to Computing Tools (3 credit hours)
MATH 215 Intro to Programming (3 credit hours)
COMP 231 Data Structures & Algorithms (3 credit hours)
Math/Stats Fundamental Courses
MATH 131 Applied Calculus I (3 credits)
MATH 132 Applied Calculus II (3 credits)
STAT 335 Intro to Biostatistics (3 credits)
Bioinformatics Fundamental Courses
BIOL 388 Bioinformatics (3 credits)
BIOL 387 Genomics or BIOL 392 Metagenomics (3 credits)
COMP 383 Computational Biology (4 credits)
STAT 337 Quantitative Bioinformatics (3 credits)
BIOI 397 Bioinformatics Survey or BIOI 398 Bioinformatics
Internship or BIOI 399 Bioinformatics Research (1+ credit)
Bioinformatics Electives (2 required)
BIOI 365 Exploring Proteins or CHEM 365 Proteomics (3 credits)
BIOL 390 Molecular Biology Lab (4 credits)
COMP 353 Database Programming or COMP 379 Machine Learning (3 credits)
Honors in Bioinformatics
Graduating seniors recognized with departmental honors, Honors in Bioinformatics, excel not only in their coursework but also in their contributions to the scientific community. Students earning Honors in Bioinformatics have:
- an overall GPA ≥ 3.5, and
- presented their research at a peer-reviewed conference (area, national or international non-undergraduate meeting) or co-authored a peer-reviewed publication.
(*Note, GPA requirement must be fulfilled the semester prior to commencement, e.g. Fall semester for Spring commencement. Conference approval rests with the Program Director.)
Sample Course Schedules
These course schedules display how students may complete the bioinformatics major in addition to their university Core requirements in four years of study:
The bioinformatics major at Loyola provides students with the training and opportunities to become leaders in this ground-breaking discipline, with career advancement and post-graduate possibilities for years to come. Loyola's BS Bioinformatics Program will prepare you with:
- technical skills at the interface of biology, computer science, chemistry and statistics;
- biological and chemical laboratory techniques;
- computer programming capabilities;
- statistical techniques to analyze results from laboratory experiments and computer outputs; and
- an understanding of key problems, proposed solutions, and future challenges of the bioinformatics field.
Degree Requirements
The following degree requirements are for students who have declared the BS Bioinformatics Major after Spring 2020. For students who declared prior to this time, please see archived class schedules.
Honors in Bioinformatics
Graduating seniors recognized with departmental honors, Honors in Bioinformatics, excel not only in their coursework but also in their contributions to the scientific community. Students earning Honors in Bioinformatics have:
- an overall GPA ≥ 3.5, and
- presented their research at a peer-reviewed conference (area, national or international non-undergraduate meeting) or co-authored a peer-reviewed publication.
(*Note, GPA requirement must be fulfilled the semester prior to commencement, e.g. Fall semester for Spring commencement. Conference approval rests with the Program Director.)