The Bioinformatics PhD program primarily admits students through the Integrated Life Sciences (ILS, ils.uga.edu/) and Integrated Plant Sciences (IPS, ips.uga.edu/) programs, and we encourage students interested in the PhD in Bioinformatics to apply to one of these programs. Most students enter the Bioinformatics PhD program through the ILS, which serves as an entry portal for several PhD programs in life sciences, including bioinformatics. Students enrolled in the ILS spend only the fall semester in the ILS while taking lab rotations and then choose their PhD advisor and join one of the participating PhD programs. Students with interest in bioinformatics who are not admitted to ILS are automatically considered for admission directly to IOB, so there is no need to apply to both ILS and Bioinformatics programs. The IPS operates in a similar way as the ILS but it is specific for students with interest in plant sciences. For additional information about the bioinformatics program, please visit iob.uga.edu/masters-phd/.
Degree Type: Doctoral
Degree Program Code: PHD_BINF
Degree Program Summary:
The Institute of Bioinformatics educates and prepares graduate students to attain mastery and leadership in bioinformatics research and its applications to contribute to the advancement of this new interdisciplinary field. Graduate students pursue research-oriented programs of study leading to the Ph.D. or M.S. degrees. Graduate students matriculating in this program will be directed and mentored by faculty members from multiple departments and disciplines. The research in the Institute of Bioinformatics covers a wide spectrum of bioinformatics research in the areas of microbial, fungal, plant, and animal genomics, structural genomics, biomedical (e.g., cancer) genomics, glycogenomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and pharmacological informatics, using computational, statistical, and experimental technologies.
The overall mission of the bioinformatics graduate degree program is to train and mentor students as responsible scientists to join the workforce of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, private and government research labs, and academia. The institute offers Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. The major portion of the graduate degree involves dissertation research, typically specializing in one of many different areas of bioinformatics and related sciences. More details about the scope of this research can be found at our website: www.bioinformatics.uga.edu/research.php.
While in the program, students will fulfill all the requirements of the Graduate School for the Ph.D. degree. Student progress in the program will be monitored by the Graduate Coordinator and the IOB Graduate Committee. Upon arrival at the university, students will be assigned a curriculum advisor for guidance and mentoring. Because this program is interdisciplinary, students will be advised to take prerequisite courses in areas where the student does not have the necessary background. Students will select their major professor and establish an advisory committee by the end of their first year in the program. The major professor must be a full member of the IOB and the Graduate Faculty. The advisory committee must consist of the major professor and at least three other faculty members. At least two members of the advisory committee must be full or associate members of the IOB. The advisory committee will also be composed of representatives of both the biological and the quantitative sciences. At least one member of the advisory committee will represent the student’s focused area of study e.g. computer science, plant biology, microbiology, etc., from outside the institute. This member of the committee will provide input from outside bioinformatics and insure that the program of study is consistent with the practices of the most related outside discipline. The advisory committee will meet with the students no less than once a year and will be responsible for mentoring the student’s research and training, approving the student’s program of study, administering the written and oral comprehensive examination, approving the subject for the dissertation, approving the completed dissertation, and approving the student’s defense of his or her research. Students will take their comprehensive examinations at the beginning of their third year under the supervision of the major professor under the Graduate School guidelines.
Successful candidates for the bioinformatics Ph.D. degree then typically concentrate on their research projects, and, after completing their research, they write a dissertation and defend it at a final oral examination.
Locations Offered:
Athens (Main Campus)
College / School:
Institute of Bioinformatics
Department:
Institute of Bioinformatics
Graduate Coordinator(s):
Phone Number:
