Computer science graduate course-work for bioinformatics research

The following suggestions are made to help masters student in computer science select a program of study which will prepare them with the necessary computational background to investigate the computational aspects of Bioinformatics. A program of study (with a thesis option) must meet the following minimum guidelines (2001 WSU guidelines for Master of Science in Computer Science):

• At least 48 credit hours total

• No more than 12 credit hours of CS 799 (Thesis)

• At least one class from each of the four areas

• At least 12 credit hours of 700-level CS course-work

• A total of at least 20 credit hours of 700-level course-work

A master's program must consist of 48 credit hours. At 4 credit hours for the average class, that is 12 classes. Thus, this is a two year program for students that take 2 classes per quarter. These 12 four-credit hour courses are usually best distributed as follows:

• Any (1) 600-level course from Area 1 - Computer Science Systems

• Any (1) 600-level course from Area 2 - Software

• Any (1) 600-level course from Area 3 - Language

• Any (1) 600-level course from Area 4 - Theory

• Any (3) 700-level CS courses

• Any (2) 700-level courses from any department

• At least (3) CS 799-4 courses (12 credit hours of Thesis)

Recommended WSU Courses, by Area

Area 1 - Computer Science Systems

• CS 607 (3) - Optimization Techniques

• CS 609 (4) - Principles of Artificial Intelligence *

• CS 714 (4) - Machine Learning

Area 2 - Software

• CS 605 (4) - Introduction of Database Management Systems *

• CS 701 (4) - Database Systems and Design I *

• CS 702 (4) - Database Systems and Design II

Area 3 - Languages

• CS 680 (4) - Comparative Languages *

• CS 784 (4) - Programming Languages

Area 4 - Theory

• CS 610 (4) - Theoretical Foundations of Computing

• CS 658 (4) - Applied Graph Theory

• CS 666 (4) - Introduction to Formal Languages

• CS 671 (4) - Algorithms for Bioinformatics *

• CS 740 (4) - Computational Complexity and Algorithm Analysis *

Non-area courses

• CS 711 (4) - Knowledge-based Systems *

• CS 766 (4) - Evolutionary Computing *

• CS 767 (4) - Fuzzy Set Theory

• CS 790 (4) - Data Warehouse

• CS 790 (4) - Data Mining

• CS 790 (4) - Pattern Recognition *

• CS 799 (12) - Thesis or Independent Study ***

• BMS 750 (4) - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I

The *-ed courses, above, are a sample program which should be used as a baseline. Make modifications from the sample program to best suit your needs.