Why CS Bio?

 

The joint major in Computer Science and Biology is a program to give students an outlet, within the McGill curriculum, to understand the basics of both computer science and biology and to appreciate the intricacies involved in their joint application. The program trains students in the fundamentals of biology and gives appropriate computational and mathematical maturity to pursue a multidisciplinary career.

A degree in computer science and biology can come in handy in a huge variety of fields/industries. Graduates of the program have gone into a wide range of careers, from big tech companies to medical and other graduate schools. Although not exhaustive, fields such as computational genomics, bioinformatics, computational neuroscience, bio-modelling, and computational anatomy seek those who have an integrated background in both biology and computer science, and the degree does just that. Having skills in computer science and knowledge in biology are great assets to showcase yourself!

The degree also presents a unique opportunity to conduct a research project involving both computer science and biology with COMP 401 “Project in Biology and Computer Science”. You’re given a lot of freedom to find a project and work with a
professor of your choosing (even outside of BIOL and COMP department) as long as it is related.

Choosing the Right Program

 

Within CS/Bio, you have the option between a Joint Major a Joint Honours degree. There’s a lot of overlap between the courses for both degrees, with first year classes being almost exactly the same, so if you’re on the fence you can decide later in the program or try an honours version of the few courses where the program diverges to see how you find it. Both options include an opportunity for you to do a research project. The Honours program is generally more demanding and time consuming than the Major program. In terms of registration, honours students have priority when registering for honours classes, but those in major programs can also register, sometimes with permission of the professor.

In your first few years, regardless of which program you choose, your basic prerequisites will include COMP 204, COMP 250, COMP 206, BIOL 219, MATH 240, and CHEM 212. It should be noted that the honours program does not require you to take honours equivalent MATH courses (although you may on your own accord). If you are interested in interdisciplinary biological research, you are in good luck! BIOL 395 titled “Quantitative Biology Seminar 1,” exposes you to current research in quantitative biology in weekly seminars where a faculty member presents on their research. Here are the key distinctions between the major and honours courses:

  • Honours students need to take COMP 252 rather than COMP 251, where you learn about algorithms and data structures at a greater depth.

  • Honours students will also have to take COMP 402 instead of COMP 401, a two-semester six credit research project applying computational approaches to a biological problem, while the major course COMP 401 is only a semester in duration with three credits.

  • Honours students need to take COMP 561 titled “Computational Biology Methods and Research,” while major students have the option to either take COMP 462 or COMP 561. The difference between the two courses is that COMP 561 has a project requirement for the 1 additional credit you will be receiving.

Overall, both the major and honours program gives you a lot of freedom with what CS courses you want to take. For complementary CS courses, you have the unique freedom to choose 9-12 credits from 300+ level COMP courses with at least 3 credits at the 400+ level. So, you can take what really interests you. If you're ever in doubt about course selection, ask a departmental advisor: they will know a lot more specific information about your program.

Note: BIOL 592, titled “Integrated Bioinformatics,” is not an acceptable complementary course for the Computer Science and Biology program.

Surviving Bio and CS

The advantage of a joint program like CS Bio is that there are lots of different resources from both departments! Trottier 3090 is home to the CS Help Desk for help with your computer science courses, and there are advisors from both departments (Nancy Nelson for biology, and Liette Chin for computer science) to help with course selection and any issues you may have.

Additionally, both departments have a wide variety of cool talks and colloquia. The student societies for computer science (CSUS), biology (MBSU), and integrative biosciences (MIBS) organize and advertise all sorts of events and resources throughout the year. Be sure to subscribe to the CSUS listserv for a heads up on different events in SOCS!

For specific questions, feel free to email the CS/Biology Representative([email protected]) or the VP Academic([email protected]).

Key Courses:  COMP 401 COMP 402 COMP 462 COMP 561