BIG PhD Track

Overview

The Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics (BIG) PhD track is an interdisciplinary program that trains future leaders in the field of bioinformatics and genomics. Our mission is to provide our graduate students with the tools to conduct original research in the development of novel computational approaches to address fundamental questions in biomedical research and its application to medicine. Our program draws on three significant strengths of the local academic environment: the breadth of talented investigators at Harvard Medical School and its affiliated hospitals and research institutes; the rich variety of quantitatively-oriented courses in bioinformatics and genomics offered at Harvard and MIT; and national leadership of BIG faculty in genome-scale disease research, including harnessing of genomic approaches to clinical applications.

The BIG pre-doctoral curriculum includes the following: 1) courses in fundamentals of genetics and molecular biology, taken alongside graduate students in the biological sciences; 2) statistics and machine learning, with focus on their applications to population studies, clinical medicine and basic biology; 3) survey of the larger scope of biomedical sciences, including medical informatics and translational medicine.

For more information about the BIG program, please see https://bigphd.hms.harvard.edu/

Apply

For information on the application process, please see the Admissions site for the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The application deadline is December 1.