The Graduate Training Certificate Program in Computational Molecular Biology (CMB) provides training in central principles of computational biology, including sequence alignment, pattern detection, phylogenetics, protein structure inference, and spectroscopy. Students in this Program must fulfill requirements of the home department or interdisciplinary program, meeting the standards of that department or program, and also fulfill specific requirements of the CMB Program.
Students admitted to the PhD program of any of CMB's member departments are eligible to apply for acceptance to CMB. If accepted, they can pursue the CMB Certificate Program. This involves earning the PhD from their home department, and fulfilling specific additional requirements.
Acceptance to CMB requires demonstration, through either coursework or professional experience, of preparation in biology, computer science, and statistics. Students who are not sufficiently prepared on entry to graduate school are encouraged to take appropriate courses during their first year and re-apply to CMB in their second year.
Students who were already members of the CMB program at the inception of the Certificate Program (Fall 2008) can join the Certificate Program as of that date, as long as they are able to fulfill the requirements.
By arrangement among the participating departments, CMB students may choose thesis advisors outside their own department, and necessary departmental transfers will be arranged to facilitate this. The student's thesis advisor must be a member of CMB.
(1) Students must complete the requirements for the PhD degree from their home department.
(2) Students must participate in CMB community activities: the weekly Fall and Winter CMB Seminar Series, and the annual CMB Symposium. In addition, as a capstone project for the certificate each student must give a Symposium presentation and discussion on some aspect of his or her research. The Symposium provides a chance for the CMB community to offer advice and support, and a way for groups in different disciplines to build collaboration and find areas of mutual interest.
(3) Students must complete 15 units of coursework, 9 of which must be in courses numbered 500 and above, and 9 of which must be in graded courses. Specifically required coursework consists of:
Additional courses may be chosen from the CMB Electives list.