Updated November 14, 2024
Curriculum update: CSE 15L (2 units) will be replaced with CSE 29 (4 units) in Spring 2024. A new updated version of CSE 30 will be offered Fall 2024. For students admitted in FA24, to accommodate the two additional units for CSE 29, the current Technical Elective requirement will be replaced by a two unit Computer Science and Engineering (LD) elective.
Biomolecular data is rapidly transforming Modern Biology into a computational and data science. This one-of-a-kind major provides an opportunity for students to understand the sources of biomolecular data, instruments that generate the data, and the computational methods--- algorithms, machine learning, statistics, and databases---used to analyze the data and make biological discoveries. It is intended for students who would like to pursue careers in academia, healthcare, biotechnology, and data science companies.
The explosion in biological knowledge spawned by the various genome projects has created entirely new fields and industries, and a need for trained computational biologists who are familiar with biology, mathematics, and computer sciences. The computer science and engineering department offers rigorous, interdisciplinary training in the new and rapidly evolving field of bioinformatics.
Bioinformatics refers to advanced computational and experimental methods that model the flow of information (genetic, metabolic, and regulatory) in living systems to provide an integrated understanding of the system properties of organisms.
This interdisciplinary major also is offered by the Division of Biological Sciences and the Department of Bioengineering
Degree Plan Checklist:
- BS Computer Science with Specialization in Bioinformatics Checklist (Fall 2024 Curriculum)
- All major requirements must be taken for a letter grade AND passed with a C- or better (with the exception of CSE 91, CSE 95, 197, 198, and 199).
- A maximum of 4 units of special studies coursework may count from the following: CSE 197, 198, 199, 199H, ENG 100D, ENG 100L
- BS Computer Science with Specialization in Bioinformatics Checklist (Fall 2023 Curriculum)
- All major requirements must be taken for a letter grade AND passed with a C- or better (with the exception of CSE 91, CSE 95, 197, 198, and 199).
- A maximum of 4 units of special studies coursework may count from the following: CSE 197, 198, 199, 199H, ENG 100D, ENG 100L
- BS Computer Science with Specialization in Bioinformatics Checklist (Fall 2022 Curriculum)
- All major requirements must be taken for a letter grade AND passed with a C- or better (with the exception of CSE 91, CSE 95, 197, 198, and 199).
- A maximum of 4 units of special studies coursework may count from the following: CSE 197, 198, 199, 199H, ENG 100D, ENG 100L
- BS Computer Science with Specialization in Bioinformatics Checklist (Fall 2021 Curriculum)
- All major requirements must be taken for a letter grade AND passed with a C- or better (with the exception of CSE 95, 197, 198, and 199).
- A maximum of 4 units of special studies coursework may count from the following: CSE 197, 198, 199, 199H, ENG 100D, ENG 100L
- BS Computer Science with Specialization in Bioinformatics Checklist (Fall 2020 Curriculum)
- All major requirements must be taken for a letter grade AND passed with a C- or better (with the exception of CSE 95, 197, 198, and 199).
- A maximum of 4 units of special studies coursework may count from the following: CSE 197, 198, 199, 199H, ENG 100D, ENG 100L
- BS Computer Science with Specialization in Bioinformatics Checklist (Fall 2019 Curriculum)
- All major requirements must be taken for a letter grade AND passed with a C- or better (with the exception of CSE 95, 197, 198, and 199).
- A maximum of 4 units of special studies coursework may count from the following: CSE 197, 198, 199, 199H, ENG 100D, ENG 100L
- BS Computer Science with Specialization in Bioinformatics Checklist (Fall 2018 Curriculum)
- All major requirements must be taken for a letter grade (with the exception of CSE 95, 197, 198, and 199).
- A maximum of 4 units of special studies coursework may count from the following: CSE 197, 198, 199, 199H, ENG 100D, ENG 100L
CS27 Prerequisite Flow Chart: Updated August 2020
Four Year Plans:
-
Academic Planning Worksheet (link to copy a Google Sheet): blank worksheet for students to be able to create a sample long term plan which can be brought to an advising meeting
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Sample Plans By College: sample long term plan that includes college requirements
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Sample 4-year Plan (Fall 2022 Curriculum):
| Year | Fall | Winter | Spring |
|---|---|---|---|
|
First Year |
CSE 8A*1 MATH 20A CHEM 6A LDE |
CSE 8B or CSE 11*1 CSE 20*2 MATH 20B CHEM 6B |
MATH 20C BILD 1 CSE 12 CSE 29 |
|
Second Year |
CSE 30 CSE 21*3 CHEM 40A*4 or CHEM 41A BILD 4 |
CSE 100 CHEM 40B or CHEM 41B or BENG 120*5 MATH 18
|
CSE 101 BILD 3 PHYS 2A
|
|
Third Year |
BICD 100 BIMM 100 CSE Elective*6
|
BIMM 101 MATH 186 BIBC 102
|
CSE 182 CSE Elective*6
|
|
Fourth Year |
BENG 183 CSE Elective*6 CSE Elective*6 |
CSE 181 CSE Elective*6
|
CSE 185 CSE Elective*6
|
*1: Students who do not have programming experience should begin with the two-track course: CSE 8A (take CSE 8B in the second quarter). Students who have programming experience may begin with CSE 11 (take CSE 12 and CSE 29 in the second quarter).
*2: CSE 20 is not required for major requirements but recommended to complete for CSE 21 prerequisites. If you want to bypass the CSE 20 to enroll in CSE 21, please submit an EASy request.
*3: CSE 21 may be substituted with MATH 154 or MATH 184. This is a manual update an advisor needs to make. Send a message through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) *Effective Winter 2023: CSE 21 may be substituted with MATH 154 or MATH 184 or MATH 188*
*4: CHEM 140A taken before Fall 2017 is equivalent to CHEM 40A Fall 2017 and after
*5: CHEM 40B or CHEM 41B or BENG 120 is not required for major requirements, but must be completed for BIMM 100/BIBC 102 prerequisites.
*6 CSE Electives: Students are permitted to take any of these pre-approved courses to fulfill their CSE Elective requirements. Please note that courses on this list may not automatically populate in the correct area of a student's degree audit. In order to update the audit, please contact the CSE major advisors through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC).
Major restrictions - The following majors may NOT double major or minor in CSE:
- Any majors that fall under the Jacob's School of Engineering
- Data Science majors (DS25)
- Math-Computer Science majors (MA30)
Transfer Students:
Transfer students are in a special situation where the credits they come in with vary vastly from one student to another. To assist transfer students with their long term plans for completing major requirements, we have created different long term plans with different entry points depending on the CSE credits students typically come in with. These plans only include CSE major requirements, for questions regarding your college and university requirements please check with your college.
*These plans only focus on CSE coursework. For a list of all CSE Major requirements (including math and general science courses needed), please see the BS Computer Science with Specialization in Bioinformatics Checklist above.
- Incoming Computer Science with a Specialization in Bioinformatics (CS27) majors with transfer credit for CSE 11, CSE 12, and CSE 20, click here for a sample long-term plan.
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Fall Quarter - First Year Winter Quarter - First Year Spring Quarter - First Year CSE 21 CSE 30 CSE 100 CSE 29 CHEM 40A or CHEM 41A CHEM 40B or CHEM 41B or BENG 120 CHEM 6B BILD 3 BILD 4 LDE MATH 186 Fall Quarter - Second Year Winter Quarter - Second Year Spring Quarter - Second Year BICD 100 CSE 181 CSE 182 BIMM 100 BIMM 101 CSE 185 CHEM 114A BENG183 CSE Elective CSE 101 Fall Quarter - Third Year Winter Quarter - Third Year CSE Elective CSE Elective CSE Elective CSE Elective *Transfer Students may take CSE 29 and CSE 30 concurrently during first Fall Quarter
- Incoming Computer Science with a Specialization in Bioinformatics (CS27) majors with transfer credit for CSE 11, CSE 12, CSE 20, and CSE 30, click here for a sample long-term plan.
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Fall Quarter - First Year Winter Quarter - First Year Spring Quarter - First Year CSE 21 CSE 100 CSE 101 CSE 29 CHEM 40A or CHEM 41A CHEM 40B or CHEM 41B or BENG 120 CHEM 6B BILD 3 BILD 4 LDE MATH 186 Fall Quarter - Second Year Winter Quarter - Second Year Spring Quarter - Second Year BICD 100 CSE 181 CSE 185 BIMM 100 BIMM 101 CSE 182 CHEM 114A BENG183 CSE Elective Fall Quarter - Third Year Winter Quarter - Third Year CSE Elective CSE Elective CSE Elective CSE Elective