Computing Science and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Joint Major

OVERVIEW

The School of Computing Science and the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry offer this joint major program. This degree combines computer science, statistics, mathematics, and engineering to study and process biological data.

Students obtain foundational knowledge in molecular biology and biochemistry with a focus on genomics and bioinformatics, plus the computational skills to manage and exploit massive quantities of information and data for applications in research, biotechnology and health sciences.

Graduates are equipped to pursue careers in medicine (e.g. application developer), medical research, or event bioinformatics - an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data.

school School of Computing Science

description Joint Major

calendar_month 4 years

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Program at-a-glance

This blended degree will allow stuents to explore the intersections of computing science and molecular biology and biochemistry.

Upon succesful completion of introductory courses, students will have the option to explore advanced topics in one of our core areas, including: Artificial intelligence, Visual and interactive computing, Computing systems, Information systems, Programming languages, and Theoretical computing.

BY THE END OF YOUR DEGREE:

have mastered the fundamentals of comparative genomics, identification and activity of functional elements in genomes
understand the use of, and theory behind, bioinformatic software and algorithms for the analysis of macromolecular data
utilized large data bases and simulation

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What You’ll Learn

This four-year Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) program is taught at SFU’s Burnaby campus. If you want to explore the connections between computing and molecular biology and biochemistry, between computation and the health sciences, then you will be interested in this program. Understand the complex relationship between technology and the human body.

Below are some core topics and themes explored in this program:

Programming Languages And Software

The increased size and complexity of many software products and solutions requires better languages and supporting software to help bring them to market.

BIOMEDICAL COMPUTING

The principles involved in using computers for data acquisition, real-time processing, pattern recognition and experimental control in biology and medicine.

Geonomics and Bioinformatics

Students will use and experiment with bioinformatics software and databases utilized in genomics and bioinformatics research in hands-on labs.

Career possibilities

The world is changing rapidly and so is the full range of career opportunities that await. Armed with the necessary knowledge and skills, graduates pursue careers in jobs such as:

Atmospheric Engineer
Bioinformatician
Biomechanician
Biological Data Scientist

Computational Biologist
Database Programmer
Gene Analyst
Protein Analyst

Researcher
Scientific Curator
Technician/Field Analyst

Further Program Information

Discover more details about this program on our 'current students' pages:

How to Apply

Learn more about admission requirements, entry pathways, and how to apply!

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