Loyola University Chicago

Bioinformatics

MS in Bioinformatics

Loyola's MS in Bioinformatics program allows you to be in Chicago next to Lake Michigan while also gaining fundamental skills that will help you be an inquisitive scientist. You'll gain:

  • a solid foundation in biological, computational, chemical, and statistical concepts and theory;
  • the facility to interpret primary scientific literature;
  • the capacity to employ statistical and computational methods to investigate and solve problems within the life sciences;
  • the ability to conduct bioinformatics study in industry and/or the research environment; and
  • science-related oral and written communication skills.
Non-thesis

You'll gain real-world experience in an internship environment. In addition, you'll be exposed to a breadth of course-work selected to better prepare you for positions in industry. You will be able to pursue employment, e.g. the biotech industry, research institutions, and government agencies, or further advanced degrees, e.g. PhD or MD programs. 

Thesis

You'll be trained in conducting hypothesis-driven independent research including experimental design, analysis and interpretation of results, as well as scientific writing and presentation. You'll be primed for research positions in the private and public sector or competitive PhD programs.

Degree Requirements

Students pursuing the MS in Bioinformatics must complete 30 credit hours. 

Core Courses (17 credit hours) Required of Both Tracks

BIOL 488 Bioinformatics (3 credits)
BIOI 565 Exploring Proteins  or CHEM 465 Proteomics (3 credits)
COMP 483 Computational Biology (4 credits)
STAT 437 Quantitative Bioinformatics (3 credits)
BIOI 500 Advanced Bioinformatics (3 credits)
BIOI 501 Bioinformatics Seminar (1 credit)

Non-thesis Track (13 credit hours):

4 Bioinformatics Electives (12 credits total)
BIOI 498 Bioinformatics Internship (1 credit)

Thesis Track (13 credit hours)

UNIV 370 Responsible Conduct in Research and Scholarship 2 day workshop (0 credits)
Bioinformatics Elective (3 credits)
BIOI 494 Bioinformatics Research Design (1 credit)
BIOI 499 Bioinformatics Research (8 credits)
BIOI 595 Thesis (1 credit)

Deadlines

Fall enrollment. [MS Non-Thesis or Thesis track]

FEBRUARY 1: Students who wish to be considered for a university stipend and tuition scholarship.

MARCH 15: Review of all other applicants. Students are encouraged to apply prior to this date.

 

Spring enrollment. [MS non-thesis track only]

OCTOBER 15: Review of all applicants. Students are encouraged to apply prior to this date.

 

Application Information

Apply Here: Specify which track (thesis or non-thesis) you wish to pursue. Only applications submitted through this system will be considered.

Candidates for admission must have completed (or are expected to complete prior to the fall term of admission) a bachelors degree with a minimum of a 3.0 GPA.

Prerequisite Coursework (or Equivalent):

  • Genetics
  • Biostatistics
  • Biochemistry
  • Data Structures/Algorithms

Application to Loyola's MS Bioinformatics Program includes the following materials:

  • Official college transcripts
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • A current resume or curriculum vitae
  • A brief (500-1000 word) statement of purpose (Applicants to the thesis track are required to include in this statement Faculty research labs of interest.)

* Students may be accepted conditionally pending completion of lacking prerequisites.
* International students please refer to International Admission for Loyla's English Language Profiency Requirements.

Sample Course Schedules

These course schedules display how students may complete the Bioinformatics MS in two years of study. Please note, that completing coursework/research/internship during the summer semester can potentially expedite completion of the program requirements.