Studying Bioinformatics at The University of Auckland

What is bioinformatics?

Bioinformatics combines the tools and techniques of mathematics, statistics, computer science and biology in order to understand the biology of organisms.


Bioinformatics is now an important aspect of many topics in the biological sciences:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Environmental biology
  • Genomics
  • Health and disease
  • Molecular biology and cell biology

Our goal in the bioinformatics programme

Biological and biomedical research is conducted in a very different manner now in comparison with the 20th Century. The explosion in the availability of genome sequence information for human, animal, plant and micro-organisms has led to the development of several new technologies and computational methods. Scientists require the combined skills of molecular biology and computer science to exploit these data for the various applications. As these disciplines have traditionally been taught separately, there is now a severe world-wide shortage of people with these combined skills, and demand is expected to grow strongly throughout the next several decades as the new technologies are further developed.


Our goal is to provide an environment in which students can gain a broad knowledge of the problems faced by biologists, and of the skills and tools provided by computer scientists, mathematicians and statisticians. We like to think that our graduates can work with both sides, the biologists and the computational scientists, with an understanding of the concepts and languages of each.



Undergraduate study

BSc specialization in Bioinformatics

The details of the regulations regarding this degree are available at the Faculty of Science website.


In the first two years of this degree, you learn the basics of the various sciences contributing to bioinformatics. You will take courses in Biological Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, and Chemistry.


In the third year, you will study more specialised courses in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and you will choose electives from Biological Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, and Immunology.


Why will you study these courses? Each of the courses has been chosen to enable you to answer fundamental questions:


Biological Science

  • how diverse are living systems?
  • how do living systems work?

Computer Science

  • how can we store and manage data?
  • what is the best way to solve a problem?
  • how can we build software?

Mathematics

  • how can we manipulate information symbolically?

Statistics

  • how do we deal with natural and experimental variation?


Postgraduate study

BSc(Hons), PGDipSci and MSc in Bioinformatics

The details of the regulations regarding these qualifications are available at the Faculty of Science website.


These qualifications enable you to gain advanced expertise in aspects of bioinformatics. In addition, the BSc(Hons) and MSc degrees involve research projects. You will need to integrate the knowledge and skills that you have accumulated from the various disciplines, and in doing so gain an understanding of bioinformatics.


PhD

While there is no PhD Bioinformatics qualification, doctoral studies can be undertaken in many topics relating to bioinformatics in one of the departments participating in the programme. See more information on potential research topics, see the Research page for topics and the People page for potential supervising staff.



Careers

A qualification in bioinformatics identifies you as a person with a broad range of skills in the biological and computational sciences. Potential employers include:

  • Universities
  • Crown research institutes
  • Biotechnology companies
  • Medical and Public health organisations
  • Software development companies

In addition to potential employment as a bioinformaticist, you might use your broad expertise in one of the following occupations:

  • Computational biologist
  • Biostatistician
  • Research scientist
  • Epidemiologist
  • Software developer
  • Data analyst
  • Medical statistician
  • Mathematical biologist


Admission and Enrolment

Visit The University of Auckland web page for details on how to apply for admission and to enrol in these programmes.


Contact

Howard Ross
Course Coordinator
Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 86160
Email: h.ross@auckland.ac.nz

Faculty of Science Student Centre
Ground Floor, Building 301
23 Symonds Street
Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 87020
Email: scifac@auckland.ac.nz

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