Learn how to translate the “big data” generated in biological and health research into knowledge that improves human health.

Major Roadmap

Explore your options — classes, internships, research and study abroad. Find what interests you, discover what you love, and create a major experience that jumpstarts your future using the Bioinformatics Major Guide.

As a Bioinformatics major, you’ll take courses in computer science, computational biology, mathematics, statistics and chemistry. Dive into research and project-based coursework alongside your professors, and present professional-level research as an undergraduate.

Take advantage of the Wild Basin Creative Research Center, an Austin nature preserve managed by St. Edward’s, where Bioinformatics students have conducted research on — for example — the fungal microbiomes of native plants. And connect with Austin’s growing biotechnology industry, where companies are using bioinformatics to develop solutions to problems in agriculture as well as genetic testing and personalized medicine.

What do our graduates do?

Bioinformatics majors go on to a variety of careers and graduate schools from St. Edward’s. Here’s a sample of what our recent graduates are doing.

  • Working at CDK Global and Dell EMC
  • Completing a Computer Science graduate program at the University of California Davis as the Integrated Computational Entomology fellowship recipient
  • Completing the Bioinformatics master’s program at St. Louis University Bioinformatics, as the recipient of the National Science Foundation BITWISE Scholarship
  • Graduate students at Boston University, Saint Louis University, the University of Central Florida and The University of Texas at Dallas

The Thrill of Discovery

Undergraduate research at St. Edward’s connects students with professional mentors, encourages them to take on new challenges and helps some find careers they never imagined. Read about five students, including a Bioinformatics major, whose research is finding answers.  

The Classroom and Beyond

As a Bioinformatics major, you’ll have many opportunities to develop your lab and computer science skills in your classes and through research on campus, at Wild Basin Creative Research Center, and at labs across the country. You can also take advantage of internships in Austin, a nexus for biomedical research and the tech industry.

Experiential Education

Your lab for Genomics is part of the Genomics Education Partnership, a nationwide collaboration of more than 100 universities that trains undergraduates in research methods. As part of their coursework, students annotate the genome of a fruit fly. The work of students in this course has twice been published in a scientific journal.

Bioinformatics is a project-based course in which students apply their programming skills (Python) to a variety of problem sets. In this class you’ll develop code to solve biologic questions.

Bioinformatics majors also take several semesters of research.

Teaching Assistantships

Students with an affinity for teaching and mentorship can assist younger students by serving as teaching assistants. At St. Edward’s, all classes are taught by professors, but student teaching assistants help tutor and lead study sessions. You’ll expand your communication and people skills by helping other students learn the material.

Student Organizations

The St. Edward’s chapter of the Texas Academy of Science supports student research, including presentation and publication opportunities. Members also tutor in the sciences and complete other service projects.