Classes and the Bioinformatics Curriculum
The curriculum for the Biomedical Informatics program has been revised for the 2011-2012 academic year. The new degree requirements can be found at the Stanford Bulletin. Please note, new versions of the Bulletin are usually released at the end of Summer Quarter (August) every year.
List of courses in biomedical informatics - The Biomedical Informatics section in Explore Courses.
Grades - Enroll in all courses which will be used for a degree requirement for a grade. Some courses are offered pass/fail only. Contact the instructor or TA at the beginning of the quarter and inform them that you will need a letter or email sent to the Student Services Officer. The letter or email should be addressed to the BMI program, refer to you by name and state that "had this course [Insert course title or course number] been offered for a grade, [Your Name] would have earned [insert grade]"
Graduate level courses - Students are advised that graduate courses must be numbered 200 and above to count towards the degree requirements. With the permission of the executive committee, exceptions may be granted for courses numbered 100 to 200. The examples shown below and throughout this website have been reviewed by the committee and have received approval. Courses with numbers below 100 are never allowed to count towards graduate degree requirements. If a class is cross-listed between two or more departments, use the Biomedin class code to determine if a class is graduate level. If you sign up for the class, please use the biomedin class code.
Minimum unit requirements - All degree candidates must complete the requirements in the core curriculum. Masters candidates are required to complete the core curriculum and a minimum of 45 units. Depending on the student's background, completion of the core curriculum may require either more or less than 45 units. Co-terminal masters candidates should make an appointment with Mary Jeanne Oliva to review the dual requirements for the undergraduate and graduate degrees.
PhD candidates must complete the core curriculum plus additional units for a total of 54 units.
All students who plan on devoting 50% time to courses and 50% time to research will need to enroll for 10 units exactly. If you are short a few units, you may enroll for Biomedin 299 Directed Reading and Research.
Waivers - Candidates who have already taken courses in the core curriculum at Stanford or equivalent courses at other institutions should discuss this with their academic advisor during the first quarter of matriculation. Generally, requests for course waivers are submitted in November of every year. Submit your request for all course waivers in your first year.
Minimum units of formal coursework - a minimum of 27 units of formal coursework is expected for the MS and PhD.
Required Courses - The courses required for the BMI degree are listed in the BMI section of Explore Degrees. (The complete BMI course listing is in the Stanford Bulletin Explore Courses.) This is the official version of the requirements. Please note that the Stanford Bulletin is updated once a year prior the the upcoming academic year. Departmental webpages, emails and handouts may be more up to date. You will receive notification about revisions via the internal mailing lists. When in doubt, contact the BMI executive committee for clarification.
Faculty Designation - Some courses (BIOMEDIN 299, 801 and 802 in particular) have faculty designations. You must sign up for these courses using your advisor's section number.
