BIOL 4200 Introduction to Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is an emerging field at the intersection of biology, mathematics, and computer science. Biologists increasingly use high-throughput methods to generate massive datasets, and bioinformatics harnesses the power and speed of computers to analyze these large datasets. The topics covered in this introductory course include public biological databases, sequence alignment, and analyses of genomes and transcriptomes. Students should have a basic understanding of molecular biology and introductory statistics, and will learn some simple programming skills and how to use a variety of bioinformatics software packages.
Course overview
- Department
- Biology
- School
- MCAS
- Credits
- 3
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Offered
- Every Fall
Catalog details
Requirements fulfilled
- Biology B.A.: 3000-level-or-higher Biology elective options (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Biology B.S.: 3000-level-or-higher Biology elective options (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
- Mathematics B.S.: Natural science, computer science, or economics corequisites (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)
Course evaluations
- Course rating
- 2.56 / 5 · Good
- Instructor rating
- 2.84 / 5 · Good
- Terms evaluated
- 5
| Term | Instructor | Course overall | Instructor overall | Well organized | Clear learning objectives | Intellectually challenging | Helpful assignments | Applicable beyond course | Attendance necessary | Weekly effort | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Peter Clote | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4–6 hrs/week | 9 of 10 |
| Fall 2024 | Peter Clote | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4–6 hrs/week | 9 of 13 |
| Fall 2023 | Peter Clote | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 of 14 |
| Fall 2022 | Peter Clote | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 4–6 hrs/week | 14 of 19 |
| Fall 2021 | Peter Clote | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4–6 hrs/week | 16 of 24 |