Course Offerings (GSAS Bulletin)

REQUIRED COURSES

Courses selected for the COB program are selected from participating home departments to provide students with a disciplinary foundation and the breadth of an interdisciplinary approach to science. All COB students, regardless of home department, are required to enroll in four semesters of the COB Research Seminar.

In addition, each student is required to enroll in required courses specific to his/her home department, as listed below. Some of these required courses, as appropriate, may also be used by students as a crossover or elective course. Additional information on these and other courses may be accessed through the Web sites of individual home departments.

Note: COB students whose home department is the Mount Sinai School of Medicine should check their graduate handbook at http://fusion.mssm.edu/gradschool/courses/course.cfm for the description of their required biology core courses (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Core I and Cell Biology: Core II) and possible electives/crossover courses. All COB students may check that site for possible elective/crossover courses.

COB Research Seminar G24.2200  Offered each term, with content varying from semester to semester. Prerequisite: enrollment in the computational biology doctoral program or permission of the instructor. 3 points per term.
The many concerted initiatives in genomics, bioinformatics, biomolecular structure determination, computational neurobiology, and biological imaging and the development of analytical and computational tools have immense ramifications on every aspect of our lives—from health to technology to law. Such developments have evolved from foundations laid by many pioneers in the biochemical sciences and allied fields. This seminar introduces students to emerging disciplines that helped establish the field of computational biology through lectures and readings from the scientific literature, both technical (journal articles) and general (books about science and scientists). It seeks to both familiarize students with the field’s evolution, as well as help students develop a critical eye for conducting research in the field.

BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES (SACKLER INSTITUTE)

Foundations of Cell and Molecular Biology I, II
G16.2001, 2002  Lecture and conference. I offered every fall; II offered every spring. Prerequisites: basic biochemistry and cell biology. 6 points per term.

BIOLOGY

Bio Core 1: Molecules and Cells
G23.1001  4 points.

Bio Core 3: Genes, Systems, and Evolution
G23.1002  4 points.

COMPUTER SCIENCES

Honors Programming Languages
G22.3110  Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. 4 points.

Honors Analysis of Algorithms
G22.3520  Prerequisites: G22.1170 or one semester of undergraduate algorithms, and permission of the instructor. 4 points.

MATHEMATICS

Numerical Methods I, II
G63.2010, 2020  Corequisite: linear algebra. 3 points.

CHEMISTRY

Students select two courses from the following.

Biochemistry I, II
G25.1881, 1882  Prerequisites: college courses in organic chemistry for G25.1881; G25.1881 for G25.1882. 4 points per term.

Statistical Mechanics
G25.2600  4 points.

Biomolecular Modeling
G25.2601  Prerequisite: basic programming experience. 4 points.

CENTER FOR NEURAL SCIENCE

Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Neuroscience
G80.2201  4 points.

Sensory and Motor Systems
G80.2202  4 points.

SAMPLE CROSSOVER AND ELECTIVE COURSES

BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES (SACKLER INSTITUTE)

Principles of Structural Biology
G16.2004  4 points.

Bioinformatics
G16.2604  Prerequisites: a thorough understanding of theoretical and practical aspects of molecular biology and some university-level mathematics and statistics; no prior knowledge of computer programming or computer hardware is necessary. 4 points.

Advanced Topics in Structural Biology
G16.4403  Prerequisite: G16.2004. 4 points.

Fundamental Concepts of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
G16.4404  Prerequisites: calculus, linear algebra, general physics, general chemistry, and electromagnetism I and II (optional). 3 points.

Cryoelectron Microscopy of Macromolecular Assemblies
G16.4408  3 points.

Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging
G16.4409  Prerequisite: G16.4404  6 points.

BIOLOGY

Bioinformatics and Genomes
G23.1127  Prerequisites: calculus I and II, demonstrated interest in computation, and permission of the instructor. 4 points.

Genomics
G23.1128  4 points.

Statistics in Biology
G23.2030  Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisites: college algebra and/or calculus. 4 points.

COMPUTER SCIENCE

Fundamental Algorithms
G22.1170  Prerequisites: at least one year’s experience with a high-level language such as Pascal, C, C++, or Java; knowledge of assembly language; and familiarity with recursive programming methods and with data structures (arrays, pointers, stacks, queues, linked lists, binary trees). 3 points.

Programming Languages
G22.2110  3 points.

Scientific Computing
G22.2112  Prerequisites: multivariate calculus, linear algebra, and basic probability. C/C++ programming very helpful. 3 points.

Machine Learning
G22.2565  Prerequisites: undergraduate course in linear algebra and strong programming skills for implementation of algorithms studied in class. Recommended: knowledge of vector calculus, elementary statistics, and probability theory. 3 points.

Foundations of Machine Learning
G22.2566  3 points.

Special Topics in Computer Science
G22.3033  3 points.

MATHEMATICS

Special Topics in Numerical Analysis
G63.2011  3 points.

Methods of Applied Mathematics
G63.2701  Corequisites: undergraduate advanced calculus, ordinary differential equations, and complex variables. 3 points.

Special Topics in Mathematical Biology
G63.2851, 2852  3 points.

Special Topics in Mathematical Physiology
G63.2855, 2856  3 points.

CHEMISTRY

Mathematical Methods in Chemistry
G25.2626  4 points.

CENTER FOR NEURAL SCIENCE

Mathematical Tools for Neuroscience
G80.2206  Open to doctoral candidates in fields relevant to neural science. Prerequisites: undergraduate calculus and some programming experience. 4 points.

Simulation and Data Analysis 
G89.2233  Prerequisite: a statistics course, G80.2206, or permission of the instructor. 3 points.

Linear Systems
G89.2236  Prerequisite: a semester of calculus or permission of the instructor. 3 points.
Introduction to linear systems theory and the Fourier transform. Intended for those working in biological vision or audition, computer vision, and neuroscience and assumes only a modest mathematical background.