Undergraduate Program

BS in Biological Sciences: Computational Biology (BCB) Track

We require students to maintain a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) in the major, excluding allied field courses. See the advising page for information on how to declare your major, who your program advisor is, double majors, double degrees, petitioning for exceptions and more.

To begin the major declaration process for BS in Biological Sciences: Computational Biology, please use this link to access our departmental form.

Want to learn about computational biology? See the Larracuente Lab’s blog post on computational biology to learn about the field and about what computational biologists do.

Major Requirements

Students planning to major in the biological sciences should take BIOL 110L and 111L (or 112L and 113L), and CHEM 131-132 in their first year, and BIOL 198 or 190 and CHEM 203/207 in the fall of their second year.

Introductory Courses (Three Courses)

One of the following:

• BIOL 110L: Principles of Biology I with Lab
• BIOL 112L: Perspectives in Biology I with Lab (pre-requires AP biology exam score of 4 or 5)

One of the following:

• BIOL 111L: Principles of Biology II with Lab
• BIOL 113L: Perspectives in Biology with Lab I (pre-requires AP biology exam score of 4 or 5)

One of the following:

• BIOL 190/198P: The Human Genome
• BIOL 198/198P: Principles of Genetics

Advanced Courses (Seven to Eight Courses)

• STAT 190 (formerly CSC 262): Introduction to Statistical Methodology

Or

• STAT 180 (formerly STAT 212): Introduction to Applied Statistical Methodology + STAT 216 Applied Statistics Methods

And:

• BIOL 253L: Computational Biology with Lab

Plus one of the following:

• CSC 171: Introduction to Computer Science
• CSC 161: Introduction to Programming

And:

• BIOL 257L: Applied Genomics with Lab

Plus one of the following biology electives:

• BIOL 202: Molecular Biology
• BIOL 205: Evolution
• BIOL 243: Eukaryotic Gene Regulation
• BIOL 250 or 250L: Introduction to Biochemistry
• BIOL 252: Principles of Biochemistry
• BIOL 263: Ecology
• BIOL 267: Human Evolutionary Genetics (Will not be offered spring 2026)

Plus one of the following computational electives:

• CSC 172: Data Structures and Algorithms
• CSC 240: Data Mining
• BIOL 219L: Genomics of Quantitative Traits with Lab
• BIOL 259L: Applied Population Biology
• DSCC 201: Tools for Data Science (only open to non-DSCC majors in the spring)

Plus one additional elective from either the biology or computational electives listed above.

Diversification Elective (One Course)

One 200-level course outside of the BCB major track, chosen from the BCB diversification electives list.

Ancillary Requirements (Seven Courses with Indicated Labs)

Both of the following general chemistry courses:

• CHEM 131: Chemical Concepts I with Lab*
• CHEM 132: Chemical Concepts II with Lab*

One of the following organic chemistry I courses:

• CHEM 203/207: Organic Chemistry I with Lab*
• CHEM 171/173: First Year Organic Chemistry I with Lab

One of the following physics I courses:

• PHYS 113: General Physics I with Lab*
• PHYS 121: Mechanics with Lab
• PHYS 141: Mechanics (Honors) with Lab

One of the following calculus I courses:

• MATH 141: Calculus I
• MATH 161: Calculus I*
• MATH 171Q: Honors Calculus

One of the following calculus II courses:

• MATH 142: Calculus II
• MATH 162: Calculus IIA*
• MATH 172Q: Honors Calculus II

And:

• MATH 150: Discrete Mathematics