Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Graduate School New Brunswick
 
About The University
Graduate Study at the University
Other Graduate Study at the University
Degree Programs Available
Admission
Tuition and Fees
Financial Aid
Student Services
Academic Policies and Procedures
Degree Requirements
Programs, Faculty, and Courses
Course Information
African Studies 016
Agricultural Engineering
Alcohol Studies 047
Animal Sciences 067
Anthropology 070
Art History 082
Arts, Visual and Theater
Asian Studies 098
Atmospheric Science 107
Biochemistry 115
BioMaPS 118 (Programs in Quantitative Biology)
Program
Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
Graduate Courses
Biomedical Engineering 125
Bioresource Engineering 127
Biotechnology 126
Cell and Developmental Biology 148
Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology
Ceramic and Materials Science and Engineering 150
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering 155
Chemistry 160
Civil and Environmental Engineering 180
Classics 190
Cognitive Science 185
Communication, Information and Library Studies 194
Communication Studies
Comparative Literature 195
Computer Science 198
Curatorial Studies
Ecology and Evolution 215
Economics 220
Education 300
Educational Psychology; Educational Theory, Policy, and Administration; Learning and Teaching
Electrical and Computer Engineering 332
Engineering Geophysics
English, Literature In (English 350, Composition Studies 352)
English as a Second Language 356
Entomology 370
Environmental Change, Human Dimensions Of 378
Environmental Sciences 375
Food and Business Economics 395
Food Science 400
French 420
Geography 450
Geological Sciences 460
Geospatial Information Science 455
German 470
History 510
Human Resource Management
Industrial and Systems Engineering 540
Industrial Relations and Human Resources 545
Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program 554
Italian 560
Labor and Employment Relations
Library Studies
Linguistics 615
Literature and Language 617
Literatures in English
Mathematics 640, 642
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 650
Mechanics 654
Medicinal Chemistry 663
Medieval Studies 667
Meteorology
Microbiology and Molecular Genetics 681
Molecular and Cell Biology 695
Molecular Biophysics 696
Molecular Biosciences
Music 700
Music
Neuroscience 710
Nutritional Sciences 709
Oceanography 712
Operations Research 711
Packaging Science and Engineering
Pharmaceutical Science 720
Pharmacology, Cellular and Molecular 718
Pharmacy
Philosophy 730
Physics and Astronomy 750
Physiology and Integrative Biology 761
Planning and Public Policy 970
Plant Biology 765
Plant Pathology
Plant Science and Technology
Political Science 790
Psychology 830
Psychology, Applied and Professional
Public Health 832
Public Policy
Quaternary Studies 841
Russian, Central and East European Studies 859
Social Work 910
Social Work: Administration, Policy and Planning, and Direct Practice
Sociology 920
Spanish 940
Statistics and Biostatistics 960
Theater Arts
Toxicology 963
Urban Planning, City and Regional
Visual Arts
Wireless Communications Certificate
Women's and Gender Studies 988
Research Centers, Bureaus and Institutes
Administration
Governance of the University
Divisions of the University
Camden Newark New Brunswick/Piscataway
Catalogs
  Graduate School-New Brunswick 2005-2007 Programs, Faculty, and Courses BioMaPS 118 (Programs in Quantitative Biology) Program  

Program

During the half-century since the elucidation of the structure of DNA, there has been a remarkable increase in the rate of biological discovery. Making sense of the ever-increasing amount and scope of biological information-at levels of complexity ranging from molecules, through assemblies of molecules, to cells-requires sophisticated mathematical and computational tools outside the realm of mainstream biology. The BioMaPS program seeks to train a new generation of scientists who will be able to use these tools to achieve a new level of understanding of biology. The graduate program will be administered under the umbrella of the BioMaPS Institute for Quantitative Biology, the goal of which is to foster interdisciplinary research and education at the interface between Biology and the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (BioMaPS).

The BioMaPS graduate program's curriculum, course prerequisites, and admission requirements have been designed to serve the needs of students with diverse backgrounds, particularly those with quantitative training in the physical, mathematical, and computer sciences. The BioMaPS program allows the enrollment of interdisciplinary students who do not fit naturally into any traditional graduate program but who show a strong interest and/or aptitude for interdisciplinary biology research. These students enroll directly into BioMaPS and must satisfy BioMaPS requirements. Another option for interdisciplinary study currently under development will be the special, parallel "bio-tracks" in traditional programs that will prepare students for biology-driven research. The parallel tracks will strengthen connections with traditional disciplines whose intellectual traditions and technical body of knowledge have many times been the driving force for technical developments and novel experimental tools in interdisciplinary research. Parallel tracks will substitute a number of credits (yet to be determined) of the Ph.D. program requirements with biology and BioMaPS courses and, as a rule, students will work on a thesis under the supervision of one of the BioMaPS faculty with expertise in the traditional discipline.

The BioMaPS graduate curriculum involves three types of courses: background courses, core courses, and electives.

Background Courses. These provide basic introductions to (1) chemistry and biochemistry (3 credits); (2) molecular biology, cell biology, and genetics (3 credits); and (3) laboratory methods of modern biology research (2 credits). The basic courses (1) and (2) are meant for mathematical and physical science and engineering students with insufficient chemistry or biology backgrounds to enroll into graduate courses offered by the molecular biosciences program. They assume no prior training in chemistry and biology, and will provide the chemical and biological foundations needed to understand biological systems. The laboratory methods course will provide a hands-on approach to modern biology techniques and is required of students planning to focus on theoretical research.

Core Courses. These are specifically designed interdisciplinary courses that survey particular BioMaPS areas and are meant to transition students into research at the forefront of the field. These courses cover a broad range of topics, i.e., protein structure; biophysics of molecular assemblies; algorithms in bioinformatics; simulation techniques; biochemical and genetic networks; signaling, data mining, and pattern recognition; mathematical modeling and control theory.

Electives. Courses are taught by BioMaPS teaching faculty within traditional doctoral programs that expose students to the techniques and scientific standards of traditional disciplines, many of which form the basis of technical and computational developments in BioMaPS research. Students can select electives with the approval of their advisory committee from virtually all graduate courses offered by life-science, mathematical and physical sciences, computer science, and engineering programs at Rutgers and UMDNJ including biochemistry, biomedical engineering, cell and developmental biology, chemical and biochemical engineering, chemistry and chemical biology, computer science, mathematics, mechanical and aerospace engineering, mechanics, microbiology and molecular genetics, cellular and molecular pharmacology, physics and astronomy, and statistics.


 
For additional information, contact RU-info at 732/932-info (4636) or colonel.henry@rutgers.edu.
Comments and corrections to: Campus Information Services.

© 2005 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved.