Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2026-05-01 | - |
| 2026-09-01 | - |
| 2027-05-01 | - |
| 2027-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
Overview
The Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD) is an interdisciplinary program that combines the application of computer technology to the management and analysis of biological data. The result is that computers are being used to organize data generated from experiments into databases, develop new algorithms and software, and use this software for the interpretation and analysis of the data into meaningful biological information. For the past ten years, our PhD program has been training students to organize, visualize, analyze and interpret biological data. Students have access to world-renowned bioinformaticians at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and the BC Cancer Agency, and have exposure to the latest technologies to develop their skills.
Strategic Program Objectives
- To build on British Columbia's reputation and excellence in bioinformatics.
- To integrate bioinformatics into basic biology to further current research excellence in other life science sectors of the province.
- To foster collaborations locally, nationally, and internationally.
Program Structure
The major requirement for the Ph.D. is completion of a research dissertation meeting the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies requirements. There are no specific course requirements for the Ph.D. degree program apart from the dissertation. However, the student's Ph.D. dissertation committee has the prerogative to impose course requirements where course deficiencies are perceived.
All doctoral students are required to successfully complete a comprehensive examination, which consists of an oral and written component within the first 36 months of study. All students are required to present a Bioinformatics graduate program seminar upon completion of their program, and before their dissertation defense.
A student's committee for the doctorate will consist of the dissertation supervisor and three others. The supervisor and at least one other member must be members of the Bioinformatics graduate program.
Quick Facts
- Faculty: Faculty of Science
- Academic Unit: Bioinformatics Program
- Specialization: Bioinformatics
- Mode of delivery: In person at UBC Vancouver
- Program Components: Dissertation
- Tuition (First Year): Domestic: $5,626.02 | International: $9,883.98
- Median Funding: 50% of students receive $37,714 or more funding per year in the first 4 years, before tuition and fees
Admission Information & Requirements
Minimum Academic Requirements
The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:
- Canada or the United States
- International countries other than the United States
Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.
English Language Test
Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.
Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:
- TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based
- Overall score requirement: 100
- Reading: 22
- Writing: 21
- Speaking: 21
- Listening: 22
- IELTS: International English Language Testing System
- Overall score requirement: 7.0
- Reading: 6.0
- Writing: 6.0
- Speaking: 6.0
- Listening: 6.0
Prior Degree Requirements
Students admitted to the Ph.D. degree program normally possess an M.Sc. degree in Bioinformatics or a related area, with clear evidence of research ability or potential.
Document Requirements
- CV
- Official transcripts
- Three letters of reference
- Official English exam scores (if required)
Deadlines
- Program Name: Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
- Intake: May 2026
- Canadian Applicant Deadline: 30 November 2025
- International Applicant Deadline: 30 November 2025
- Program Name: Doctor of Philosophy in Bioinformatics (PhD)
- Intake: September 2026
- Canadian Applicant Deadline: 15 January 2026
- International Applicant Deadline: 15 January 2026
Research Information
Program Components
Students who secure an NSERC-CREATE scholarship will undertake a 3-4 month internship that may be local, within Canada, or at an international University or Institution.
Facilities
Bioinformatics faculty are spread throughout the UBC campus, as well as off-campus at the BC Cancer Research Centre or hospital research labs and Institutions.
Tuition & Financial Support
Tuition
- Fees | Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat | International
- Application Fee | $118.50 | $168.25
- Tuition *
- Installments per year | 3 | 3
- Tuition per installment | $1,875.34 | $3,294.66
- Tuition per year (plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%) | $5,626.02 | $9,883.98
- Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible) | | $3,200.00 (-)
- Other Fees and Costs
- Student Fees (yearly) | $1,144.10 (approx.)
- Costs of living | Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.
Financial Support
Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e., based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e., based on your financial situation) opportunities.
Program Funding Packages
All students accepted by a faculty member and enrolled in the program will be paid a minimum stipend of $24,300/year.
Funding Statistics
Based on the criteria outlined below, 35 students within this program were included in this study because they received funding through UBC in the form of teaching, research, academic assistantships, or internal or external awards with a mean of $35,856 and a median of $37,714.
Career Outcomes
12 students graduated between 2005 and 2013. Of these, career information was obtained for 12 alumni (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016):
- RI (Research-Intensive) Faculty: typically tenure-track faculty positions (equivalent of the North American Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor positions) in PhD-granting institutions
- TI (Teaching-Intensive) Faculty: typically full-time faculty positions in colleges or in institutions not granting PhDs, and teaching faculty at PhD-granting institutions
- Term Faculty: faculty in term appointments (e.g., sessional lecturers, visiting assistant professors, etc.)
Sample Employers in Higher Education
- McGill University
- Stanford university
- University of California - Santa Cruz
- Harvard University
- Simon Fraser University
- University of California - Los Angeles
Sample Employers Outside Higher Education
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
- Vancouver Prostate Centre
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute
- Omicia
- Scripps Research Institute
Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education
- Postdoctoral Fellow (3)
- Independent Scientist
- Senior Director of Bioinformatics
- Assistant Professor
Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats
ENROLMENT DATA
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | 24 | 22 | 36 | 33 | 27 |
| Offers | 5 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 4 |
| New Enrolment | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 4 |
| Total Enrolment | 52 | 49 | 47 | 44 | 42 |
Completion Rates & Times
This program has a graduation rate of 91% based on 25 students admitted between 2011 - 2014. Based on 16 graduations between 2020 - 2023 the minimum time to completion is 4.1 years and the maximum time is 8.88 years with an average of 6.1 years of study.
Research Supervisors
Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program
All applicants need firm commitment from a supervisor prior to applying.
Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors
These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program-specific.
List of Faculty Members with Full Supervisory Privileges
- Accili, Eric (molecular mechanisms responsible for cellular pacemaking behavior)
- Adams, Keith (Molecular evolution, genome evolution, and gene expression)
- Aparicio, Samuel (Breast cancer, genome sequencing)
- Bashashati, Ali (Artificial Intelligence; Computational Pathology; Cancer Genomics; Computational Biology; Digital Pathology; Image Processing; Machine Learning; Ovarian Cancer; Signal Processing; Multi-modal Learning; Artificial Intelligence, Computational Pathology, Cancer Genomics, Computational Biology, Digital Pathology, Image Processing, Machine Learning, Ovarian Cancer, Signal Processing, Multi-modal Learning)
- Birol, Inanc (bioinformatics, computational biology, genomics, transcriptome analysis, next-generation sequencing, cancer, Bioinformatics, sequence assembly, transcriptomics, gene regulation networks, high-throughput informatics for big data)
- Bohlmann, Joerg (plant biochemistry, forestry genomics, forest health, conifers, poplar, bark beetle, mountain pine beetle, natural products, secondary metabolites, terpenes, floral scent, grapevine, Conifer genomics Forest health genomics Mountain pine beetle, fungus, pine interactions and genomics Chemical ecology of conifer, insect interactions)
- Bouchard-Cote, Alexandre (machine/statistical learning; mathematical side of the subject as well as in applications in linguistics and biology)
- Brooks-Wilson, Angela (cancer families; cancer genetics; genetic susceptibility; human genetics; longevity; Super seniors; Cancer families, Cancer genetics, Genetic susceptibility, Human genetics, Longevity, Super seniors)
- Carlsten, Christopher (Environment and Respiratory Diseases)
- Cembrowski, Mark Steven (Mechanisms of memory in the brain; Anxiety; Big Data; Bioinformatics; Cell types; Computation; Fear; Genetics; modeling; Neural circuits; neuroscience; Neuroscience of memory; PTSD; RNAseq; Mechanisms of memory in the brain, Anxiety, Big data, Bioinformatics, Cell types, Computation, Fear, Genetics, Modeling, Neural circuits, Neuroscience, Neuroscience of memory, PTSD, RNAseq)
- Cherkasov, Artem (Computational Drug Discovery; Artificial Intelligence; Computational Chemistry; Machine Learning; Cancer Research; Prostate Cancer; Digital Biology; Prostate Cancer; Computational Drug Discovery, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Chemistry, Machine Learning, Cancer Research, Prostate Cancer, Digital Biology, Prostate Cancer)
- Cohen Freue, Gabriela (statistical genomics (focus in proteomics), robust estimation and inference, linear models with endogeneity)
- Collins, Colin (translational genomics where mathematics, genomics, computer science, and clinical science converge in diagnostics and therapeutics)
- Condon, Anne (Algorithms; Molecular Programming; Algorithms, Molecular Programming)
- Coombs, Daniel (Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases; Cell biophysics; Disease models; Epidemiology; Immune cell signalling; Mathematical biology; Mathematics; Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases, Cell biophysics, Disease models, Epidemiology, Immune cell signalling, Mathematical biology, Mathematics)
- Daley, Denise (Asthma; Complex Trait Genetics; Epigenetics; gene-gene and gene-environment interactions; Genetic Diseases; genetic epidemiology; Genetics of Aging; statistical genetics; Susceptibility Genes; Asthma, Complex Trait Genetics, Epigenetics, Gene-gene and gene-environment interactions, Genetic Diseases, Genetic epidemiology, Genetics of Aging, Statistical genetics, Susceptibility Genes)
- Dao Duc, Khanh (combine mathematical, computational and statistical tools to study fundamental biological processes; regulation and determinants of gene expression and translation; Machine Learning for Biological Imaging and Microscopy; Database development and management; Biological and Artificial Neural Networks for geometric representation; Combine mathematical, computational and statistical tools to study fundamental biological processes, Regulation and determinants of gene expression and translation, Machine Learning for Biological Imaging and Microscopy, Database development and management, Biological and Artificial Neural Networks for geometric representation)
- de Boer, Carl (Gene regulation; Gene regulation)
- Dennis, Jessica (Complex Trait Genetics; genetic epidemiology; statistical genetics; Psychiatric conditions; neurodegenerative disease; Precision Health; Administrative health data; Electronic health records; Machine Learning; Complex trait genetics, Genetic epidemiology, Statistical genetics, Psychiatric conditions, Neurodegenerative disease, Precision health, Administrative health data, Electronic health records, Machine learning)
- Ding, Jiarui (Bioinformatics; Computational Biology; Machine Learning; Probabilistic Deep Learning; single-cell genomics; visualization; Cancer biology; Computational Immunology; Food Allergy; neuroscience; Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Machine Learning, Probabilistic Deep Learning, Single-cell Genomics, Visualization, Cancer Biology, Computational Immunology, Food Allergy, Neuroscience)
- Finlay, B Brett (Infectious agents, bacteria, microbial infections and how humans react to it)
- Frangou, Sophia (the study of the human brain in health and disease; the study of the human brain in health and disease)
- Friedman, Jan Marshall (Use of advanced genome sequencing technology in the diagnosis of genetic disease; Development of improved bioinformatics methods to identify disease-causing genomic variants; Characterization of local genetic ancestry from genomic data; Clinical genomics; Birth defects epidemiology; Clinical teratology; Use of advanced genome sequencing technology in the diagnosis of genetic disease, Development of improved bioinformatics methods to identify disease-causing genomic variants, Characterization of local genetic ancestry from genomic data, Clinical genomics, Birth defects epidemiology, Clinical teratology)
- Garbi, Rafeef (Artificial Intelligence; Biomedical Engineering; Biomedical Technologies; Computer Vision; Deep Learning; image analysis; Imaging; Machine Learning; Medical Image Computing; Artificial Intelligence, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Technologies, Computer Vision, Deep Learning, Image Analysis, Imaging, Machine learning, Medical Image Computing)
- Greenblatt, Ethan
Sample Thesis Submissions
- Single cell characterization of transformed follicular lymphoma
- Deciphering gene regulatory networks underlying cell differentiation using computational approaches
- Computational methods for the analysis of large-scale single-cell data
- Development of small molecule inhibitors of protein nucleic acid interactions with the use of computer-aided drug discovery tools
- Application of machine learning and language models in health and biological sciences
- Machine learning for antimicrobial peptide discovery and design
- Use of long-read sequencing for variant detection and diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders
- Computational interrogation of proteoform dynamics in pediatric cancer
- Guiding future genomics research through machine learning: functional DNA analysis and benchmarking
- Supervised dimensionality reduction applications in identifying cognitive correlates of psychiatric symptoms and extracting low-dimensional EEG signals to study the effects of tACS
- Phylogenetic inference of the transmission and migration dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1 in Canada
- Preservation and detection of dynamic transcriptional regulatory signals in gene co-expression analysis
- Meta-analysis strategies for inference of transcriptional regulatory targets
- Machine learning in transcriptome analysis using long RNA sequencing data
- Machine learning algorithms in flow cytometry data analysis
- Copy number variation in metastatic cancer: methods and analysis of somatic copy number variation in advanced human cancers
Related Programs
Same specialization
- Master of Science in Bioinformatics (MSc)
Further Information
Specialization
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics combines computational and biological disciplines.
Program Website
graduate-and-postdoctoral-studies/degree-programs/bioinformatics
Faculty
Faculty of Science
Academic Unit
Bioinformatics Program
Program Identifier
VGDPHD-CS
Classification
Natural sciences » Computer and information sciences » Bioinformatics
Program Enquiries
Still have questions after reviewing this page thoroughly? Contact the program.
