Bioinformatics and Systems Biology (joint degree)

Vast amounts of data have been collected through genomics initiatives. They provide a golden opportunity to research the secrets of life, to understand more of its complexities, to improve quality of life and to conquer major diseases. Converting this huge volume of data into real understanding is the basic challenge of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology research. Which computational techniques are available to make predictions about health outcomes and decide on a personalised treatment for a patient? How and when can we use such techniques? How can we set up experiments and models in such a way that we start to understand the complex underlying systems?

In the first semester, students will complete five core compulsory courses. The first two provide a broad foundation in the field by focusing on current scientific challenges. The following courses focus on practical skills for data handling, analysis and visualisation, core algorithms that underpin genome and single cell sequencing, and finally multivariate data analysis methods used to interpret complex biological and (bio)chemical datasets.

In the second semester, students can tailor their learning experience by choosing their own combination of constrained-choice courses that cover a variety of topics in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology.

By the end of the first year, students are well prepared to tackle real-world biomedical problems using computational and experimental methods. They get the opportunity to do this in the second year, by performing one or two research projects (supplemented by optional courses).

The programme is shared between Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and the University of Amsterdam (UvA), giving students access to all the resources of both excellent universities.

Graduates from the Master Bioinformatics and Systems Biology typically move on to pursue a career in academia as a PhD student, or in industry as Bioinformatician, Data Scientist/Engineer/Analyst or Researcher.