Bachelor of Computing in Computational Biology

Overview

The main objective of this programme is to provide a multidisciplinary education, to produce graduates who would be equally at ease with algorithm design and mathematical and statistical analysis as they would be with biochemistry, biology/genetics, and wet-lab know-how. Besides an opportunity to pursue a career in IT, graduates from the programme will also be equipped for a career in the fast-paced pharmaceutical, biomedical or biotechnology industries. This will help meet the demand of the local market for talents with such skill sets. Moreover, the breadth of instructions will pave the way for good students to pursue graduate studies in Bioinformatics.

Programme Structure

The programme is structured such that both Computing and Faculty of Science students share a common core multidisciplinary curriculum (lower division) in their first two years of study.

The lower division embraces a fundamental body of knowledge in which a computational biologist should be proficient. This body of knowledge consists of the following:
•      Discrete mathematics and combinatorics, i.e., logic, sets, graphs, counting techniques, etc.;
•      Probability and statistics, i.e., sample spaces, random variables, conditioning, distributions, design of experiments, significance tests, statistical inference, etc.;
•      Algorithm design and proficiency in some current programming language, i.e., combinatorial algorithms, algorithmic paradigms, analysis and design, working knowledge of current languages (for example, C, C++, Java) and experience in writing actual nontrivial code;
•      Organic chemistry and biochemistry;
•      Biology and genetics, including a moderate amount of wet-lab experience.

The upper division specialised track trains students in algorithmic design to facilitate the design of computationally efficient software and tools in both centralised and networking environments. Students in this track will pick up skills in software engineering, networking and advanced techniques in algorithmic design. Students may also take modules from the Computational Biology elective list.

Degree Requirements

The Computational Biology programme degree requires at least 160 MCs. Modules are classified as follows (note that every module can only be counted towards satisfying exactly one requirement):

(i)           PROGRAMME REQUIREMENTS (Total of 120/121 MCs)

a.    Common Essentials

CS1010           Programming Methodology17
CS1020           Data Structures and Algorithms I18
CS2010           Data Structures and Algorithms II18
CS2100           Computer Organisation
CS2102           Database Systems
CS2103T         Software Engineering19
CS2105           Introduction to Computer Networks

b.     Major Requirements

Level-1000
CS1231           Discrete Structures
LSM1101         Biochemistry and Biomolecules
LSM1102         Molecular Genetics
MA1101R        Linear Algebra I
MA1102R        Calculus

Level-2000
CS2220            Introduction to Computational Biology
CS2101             Effective Communication for Computing Professionals
Either
LSM2101          Metabolism and Regulation
or
LSM2102           Molecular Biology
or
LSM2103           Cell Biology

Either
LSM2201A        Experimental Biochemistry
or
LSM2202A        Experimental Molecular and Cell Biology 

ST2334             Probability and Statistics20

Level-3000
CS3230            Design & Analysis of Algorithms
LSM3231          Protein Structure and Function
Either
CS3225            Combinatorial Methods in Bioinformatics
or
MA3259            Mathematical Methods in Genomics

Minimum of 8 MCs from the following list21:
CS3103             Computer Networks and Protocols22
Either:
CS3225            Combinatorial Methods in Bioinformatics
or
MA3259            Mathematical Methods in Genomics
CS3240             Human-Computer Interaction
CS3241             Computer Graphics
CS3243             Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
CS3244             Machine Learning

Level-4000
CS4220            Knowledge Discovery Methods in Bioinformatics
LSM4241          Functional Genomics
Either:
CP4101            B. Comp. Dissertation23
Complete 8 MCs by taking modules from CB Elective Course List
or
Complete 20 MCs by taking modules from CB Elective Course List

Computational Biology (CB) Elective Course List 24
CS4221           Database Design
CS4231           Parallel and Distributed Algorithms
CS4235           Computational Geometry
CS4237           Systems Modelling and Simulation
CS4243           Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
CS4244           Knowledge-Based Systems
CS4248           Natural Language Processing
CS5228           Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining
CS5234           Combinatorial & Graph Algorithms
CS5238           Advanced Combinatorial Methods in Bioinformatics
CS5340           Uncertainty Modelling in Artificial Intelligence

(ii)    UNIVERSITY LEVEL REQUIREMENTS

As specified in Section 3.2.1.

(iii)    UNRESTRICTED ELECTIVES

As specified in Section 3.2.1. Students are required to read CM1121 Basic Organic Chemistry, and PC1432 Physics IIE towards partially satisfying Unrestricted Electives. Students are encouraged to take up CP3880 Advanced Technology Attachment Programme (ATAP), and they should seek approval from the Computational Biology coordinator and ATAP coordinator.

Table 2: Summary of degree requirements for B.Comp. (Computational Biology) 

Concurrent Programme with Brown University on Computational Biology

This is a fast-track programme that allows deserving students to obtain the Bachelor of Computing (Computational Biology) from NUS and a Scientiae Magister in Computational Biology in Computer Science from Brown University within five years.