Degree Requirements (students entering Fall 2019)
Students completing the Bachelor of Science in Computational Biology follow certain policies that apply to all SCS students; please consult the SCS policies page for a complete listing of these expectations.
Students must complete a minimum of 360 units for the degree in computational biology.
For Mellon College of Sciences students interested in computational biology who matriculated at Carnegie Mellon before fall 2018, or SCS students who matriculated at Carnegie Mellon before Fall 2019, please go to Previous Catalogs for degree requirements.
| Math/Stats Core | ||
| 21-122 | Integration, Differential Equations, and Approximation | 10 |
| 15-151 | Mathematical Foundations for Computer Science (or 21-127 if not offered) |
10 |
| 36-218 | Probability Theory for Computer Scientists | 9 |
| or 36-226 | Introduction to Statistical Inference | |
| or 36-326 | Mathematical Statistics (Honors) | |
| 21-241 | Matrices and Linear Transformations | 9-10 |
| or 21-242 | Matrix Theory | |
|
Total Units |
38-39 | |
| General Science Core | ||
| 09-105 | Introduction to Modern Chemistry I | 10 |
| or 09-107 | Honors Chemistry: Fundamentals, Concepts and Applications | |
| 33-121 | Physics I for Science Students | 12 |
| or 33-141 | Physics I for Engineering Students | |
| Total Units | 22 | |
| Biological Core | ||
| 03-121 | Modern Biology | 9 |
| or 03-151 | Honors Modern Biology (if seats available) | |
| 03-221 | Genomes, Evolution, and Disease: Introduction to Quantitative Genetic Analysis | 9 |
| or 03-220 | Genetics (if 03-221 not offered) | |
| 03-232 | Biochemistry I (Students taking 03-231, including pre-med students, will take organic chemistry as a prerequisite, which will satisfy a biology elective requirement.) |
9 |
| or 03-231 | Biochemistry I | |
| 03-320 | Cell Biology | 9 |
| Total Units | 36 | |
| Computer Science Core | ||
| 07-128 | Freshman Immigration Course (This course may be replaced by 03-201 or 03-202 if and only if 15-128 is not offered) |
1 |
| 15-122 | Principles of Imperative Computation | 10 |
| 15-251 | Great Ideas in Theoretical Computer Science | 12 |
| 15-351 | Algorithms and Advanced Data Structures (Students taking 15-150 and 15-120 as prerequisites for 15-451 may apply these courses as CS electives.) |
12 |
| or 15-451 | Algorithm Design and Analysis | |
| 10-315 | Introduction to Machine Learning (SCS Majors) | 12 |
| Total Units | 47 | |
| Computational Biology Core | ||
| 02-251 | Great Ideas in Computational Biology (or 02-250 if not offered) |
12 |
| 02-261 |
Quantitative Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory (Computational Biology majors must take 12 unit version of course) |
12 |
| or 03-343 | Experimental Techniques in Molecular Biology | |
| 02-402 | Computational Biology Seminar | 3 |
| 02-510 | Computational Genomics | 12 |
| 02-512 | Computational Methods for Biological Modeling and Simulation | 12 |
| Total Units | 51 | |
| Major Electives | ||
| 02-3xx | CB electives at 300 level or above (Includes 03-445/03-545 if research is computational) | 18-24 |
| 03-3xx | Biology electives at 300 level or above (09-217 also counts as a biology elective) | 9-12 |
| 15-xxx | Computer Science or 10-xxx Machine Learning electives | 18-24 |
| Total Units | 45-60 | |
|
General Education (Humanities & Arts) Expectations for Humanities & Arts courses are shared between the Computer Science and Computational Biology undergraduate programs. For specific courses that may be used to satisfy each elective, please see the SCS General Education Requirements page. |
||
| 76-101 | Interpretation and Argument | 9 |
| or 76-102 | Advanced First Year Writing: Special Topics | |
| or two of: 76-106, 76-107, 76-108 |
(Writing minis) | |
| Elective Cognition, Choice and Behavior | 9 | |
| Elective Economics, Political and Social Institutions | 9 | |
| Elective Cultural Analysis | 9 | |
| Non-technical Electives (x 3) | 27 | |
| Total Units | 63 | |
|
Free Electives A free elective is any Carnegie Mellon course. However, a maximum of nine (9) units of Physical Education and/or Military Science (ROTC) and/or Student-Lead (StuCo) courses may be used toward fulfilling graduation requirements. |
||
| Free Electives | 29-54 | |
| Total Units | 29-54 | |
| Computing | ||
| 99-101 | Computing @ Carnegie Mellon | 3 |
| Total Units | 3 | |
Last updated: July 2019