Does anyone know of heavy math based quantitative biology programs?

Momwaitingfornew
Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:39:44 +0000

I know that in some neuroscience departments, research can be done entirely on the computer (called computational or quantitative neuroscience, or a variation) by building “neurons” or systems through math and computer science. Students take the normal sequence of graduate neuroscience classes because they need the advanced knowledge of the field, and then, as an elective, they take quantitative biology. I don’t know the best places for this kind of research, but I’d guess MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Berkeley simply because of their reputation for quantitative studies.

PhD programs don’t emphasize courses the way an undergraduate education does. You gain advanced breadth in the field through courses, but you achieve depth through your research. Most programs will allow you to supplement your knowledge with relevant courses – for instance, you could probably take a couple of graduate level math courses – but don’t expect to take many courses beyond those required to pass the general exams.

As you know, computational biology is more computer science than pure math, although obviously you need to know math to do advanced work in computer science.