Overview
The George Washington University Colombian College of Arts and Sciences: M.S. Program in Genomics and Bioinformatics
About five years ago, The George Washington University's Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Tropical Medicine in cooperation with the Department of Computer Sciences, with participating faculty from The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) together with The Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) and The National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the M.S. Program in Genomics and Bioinformatics in the areas of functional genomics, which provides a basic understanding of genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics.
Genomics and proteomics began to emerge as an intellectual discipline in the early 1990's. These two areas have already revolutionized the biological and biomedical sciences.
New information provided by genomics of primitive organisms has radically altered the industry's understanding about how eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms first diverged. Genomics and proteomics are providing new insights about the biodiversity of life on the planet.
The George Washington University M.S. Program in Genomics and Bioinformatics is offered by the Colombian College of Arts and Sciences in cooperation with the School of Medicine and the Health Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and was one of the first in the U.S. devoted exclusively to important genome-wide approaches to medicine and biology.
An explosion of biological information is being generated from academic, industry, and government labs giving rise to a high demand for professionals with training in this field and who can turn this information into useful knowledge. M.S. Program in Genomics and Bioinformatics graduates have either moved onto advanced Ph.D. programs in biomedical sciences or worked in industrial or academic settings.
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences M.S. Program in Genomics and Bioinformatics Thesis and Non-Thesis Options
The Colombian College of Arts and Sciences offers both a thesis and a non-thesis option for the M.S. Program in Genomics and Bioinformatics. The thesis option for this program strongly emphasizes carrying out a research project, and a large number of faculty are available to provide mentored research for students following this option so that students can gain research experience in a variety of areas.
For additional information, prospective students should contact Dr. Jack Y. Vanderhoek, the program's director, or Dr. Sidney Fu, the program's co-director. The program typically has about 20-25 students in it at any given time.
The M.S. Program in Genomics and Bioinformatics at George Washington University's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences accepts students in both the fall and spring semesters, with application deadlines of August 1 and December 1 respectively (international applicants have earlier deadlines).
In addition to transcripts and letters of recommendation, the GRE exam (general exam only) is required for admission.
The George Washington University
Because The George Washington University is located in Washington, D.C., it offers its graduate students easy access to exceptional supplemental educational opportunities for learning, including easy access to the National Institutes of Health, the Library of Congress, the National Library of Medicine, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of Agriculture.
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the medical schools of Howard and Georgetown are also close by.
