Program Overview

Academic Program Guide

Computational Biology (Computer Science)

The Computational Biology program is an interdisciplinary major that aims to provide a top-notch educational program for students interested in the areas of computational biology and bioinformatics. This program seeks to achieve two goals:

1. to develop an understanding of the issues associated with developing biologically meaningful computational models,
2. to give students the broad-based education that is needed to create a set of models directed towards solving a practical biomedical problem.

Program Details

• The program is available only at the main campus in Tallahassee, FL, and is not available via Online/Distance Learning.
• The program is designed to be completed in four years, with a sample schedule provided to help students build a full schedule each term.
• The General Education and Elective courses must be selected to satisfy all area and multicultural requirements unless the program meets these requirements with major courses.
• Milestones are courses and special requirements necessary for timely progress to complete a major. Missing milestones will result in one of two types of map registration stops.

Sample Schedule and Required Milestones by Term

Term 1

• Sample Schedule:
  • ENC1101 Freshman Composition (3 hours)
  • MAC1140 Pre-Calculus Algebra (3 hours)
  • MAC1114 Analytic Trigonometry (3 hours)
  • CHM 1045 General Chemistry I and CHM1045 Lab (4 hours)
• Required Milestones:
  • Complete ENC1101 ( C minus)
  • Complete 1st GE Mathematics ( C minus)

Term 2

• Sample Schedule:
  • ENC2135 Research, Genre, and Context (3 hours)
  • MAC2311 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I (4 hours)
  • CHM1046 General Chemistry II and CHM1046 Lab (4 hours)
  • GE Core Social Science (3 hours)
  • Elective (3 hours)
• Required Milestones:
  • Complete ENC2135 ( C minus)
  • Complete MAC1140 ( C minus)

Term 3

• Sample Schedule:
  • Oral Communication Competency (3 hours)
  • COP 3363 Introduction to C++ for majors or COP3014 Programming I (3 hours)
  • GE Core Humanities/Cultural Practice (3 hours)
  • Elective (3 hours)
• Required Milestones:
  • Complete CHM1045 and CHM1045 Lab ( C minus in each)

Term 4

• Sample Schedule:
  • BSC2010 Biological Science I and BSC2010 Lab (4 hours)
  • COP 3330 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Generic Programming I (3 hours)
  • COP3353 Intro to UNIX (if COP 3014 is taken instead of COP 3363) (1 hour)
  • MAD2104 Discrete Mathematics (3 hours)
  • GE History (3 hours)
• Required Milestones:
  • Complete MAC2311 ( C minus)
  • Complete CHM1046 and CHM1046 Lab ( C minus in each)
  • Complete BSC2010 ( C minus)

Term 5

• Sample Schedule:
  • STA2171 Statistics for Biology (4 hours)
  • BSC2011 Biological Science II and BSC2011 Lab (4 hours)
  • CDA3100 Computer Organization I (3 hours)
  • Ethics course (3 hours)
• Required Milestones:
  • Complete COP3363 or COP3014 ( C minus)
  • Complete BSC2011 ( C minus)
  • Civic Literacy requirement

Term 6

• Sample Schedule:
  • Foreign Language (1-4 hours)
  • COP4530 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Generic Programming II (3 hours)
  • PCB3063 Genetics (3 hours)
  • Elective (3 hours)
• Required Milestones:
  • Complete COP3330 ( C minus)
  • Complete PCB3063 ( C minus)
  • Start Foreign Language

Term 7

• Sample Schedule:
  • Foreign Language II (4 hours)
  • GE Humanities/Cultural Practice (3 hours)
  • Elective (3 hours)
  • Elective (3 hours)
  • Elective (3 hours)
• Required Milestones:
  • Complete COP4530 ( C minus)
  • Complete Pre-Graduation checks

Term 8

• Sample Schedule:
  • Foreign Language III (4 hours)
  • Elective (3 hours)
  • Elective (3 hours)
  • Elective (3 hours)
• Required Milestones:
  • Apply for Graduation in the first two weeks

Employment Information

• Salary Information: Refer to the National Association of Colleges and Employers or the Occupational Outlook Handbook provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Representative Job Titles Related to this Major:
  • Computational Biologist
  • Bioinformatics Specialist
  • Biotechnologist
  • Pharmaceutical/Medical Researcher
  • Forensic Scientist
  • Molecular Medicine Specialist
  • Comparative Genomics Scientist
  • Genetic Engineer
  • Human Geneticist
  • Genome Analyst
  • Programmer
  • Systems Analyst
  • Software Engineer
  • Data Processing System Manager
  • Network Administrator
• Representative Employers:
  • Pharmaceutical Companies
  • Healthcare Providers
  • Medical Laboratories
  • Biotechnology Companies
  • Law Enforcement Agencies
  • Colleges and Universities
  • State and Federal Government
  • Software Development Companies