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University of Pittsburgh    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
 
  Nov 23, 2024
 
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Computational Biology, BS


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Computational Biology Requirements


Computational biology is a growing field of study in the life sciences. This major, which is administered by the Department of Biological Sciences in the Dietrich School and the Department of Computer Science in the School of Computing and Information, trains students in the computer programming, laboratory techniques, and other skills they will need to succeed in graduate school and in the workforce. This major requires completion of 64 credits of coursework, detailed as follows.

Students may declare a major in Computational Biology after completing the following courses or their equivalents with a letter grade of C or higher.

Transfer students who have finished these requirements prior to admission to the University of Pittsburgh are asked to complete one term of course work, including at least one BIOSC course that counts toward the major, before declaring within the Dietrich School. Transfer students applying to the School of Computing and Information who have finished these requirements prior to admission to the University of Pittsburgh may be admitted directly into the major - note, transfer application requirements for SCI are outlined in the Catalog under “Admission Requirements and Procedures  .”

Biological Sciences courses


All of the following courses are required for the major.

Capstone course


Students must choose one of the following capstone courses.

Co-requisite Mathematics and Statistics courses


Both of the following courses are required for the major.

Additional Requirements


Writing (W) requirement

Dietrich School students must complete at least one W-course in the major. BIOSC 1630 - COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY SEMINAR  meets this requirement.

Grade requirements

All courses offered by the Departments of Biological Sciences and Computer Science plus the elective course must be completed with a letter grade of C or better.

Co-Requisite courses

Students must complete co-requisite courses in the departments of Mathematics, Statistics, and Chemistry with an overall average of C or better, with the exceptions of CHEM 0110 GENERAL CHEMISTRY 1  and CHEM 0120 GENERAL CHEMISTRY 2 . Students must earn letter grades of C or better in each of these classes.

Honors

A Dietrich School student may achieve honors in the Department of Biological Sciences by meeting these requirements:

  1. Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25;
  2. Complete a faculty-supported research project; and
  3. Complete an Honors Thesis. Details about the required thesis are available at www.biology.pitt.edu/undergraduate/advising-and-support/honors.

A School of Computing and Information student may achieve honors in the Department of Computer Science by meeting these requirements:

  1. Maintain a minimum overall GPA of 3.25; and
  2. Maintain a major GPA (CS and Biological Science courses) of 3.5; and
  3. Complete an additional major elective course with a grade of A.
Satisfactory/No Credit option

Only one core course required for the major (BIOSC/CS courses and the elective) may be taken on an S/NC basis. Co-requisite courses may be taken on an S/NC basis subject to School limitations.Please check with your School for specific information on S/NC grades.

Restrictions
  • Independent study and independent research credits do not count toward the major. The Departments of Biological Sciences and Computer Science encourages students to seek out these experiences in order to enhance their education.

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