The UA Little Rock/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Joint Graduate Program in Bioinformatics consists of both a Master of Science (M.S.) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree.
While the graduate program strongly emphasizes research throughout the entire program, the M.S. degree program is primarily course oriented. By combining the academic, clinical, and research resources of UAMS with the computational, scientific, academic, and research capabilities of UA Little Rock, this program prepares students to work in an interdisciplinary research environment.
Admission Requirements
Applicants are expected to have a minimum of a four-year undergraduate degree (B.S. or B.A.) in the life sciences, statistics, or information/computer sciences. Students with an undergraduate degree in another field may be considered for admission if they have either relevant work experience in one of these three areas or complete sufficient remedial course work as defined below. Students who have not satisfactorily completed the following courses or their equivalent as part of their academic studies will be required to complete them on a remedial basis.
Students will have to meet the minimum admission requirement of a GPA of 3.0 or a GPA of 3.3 or greater on their last 60 credit hours as an undergraduate. GRE scores, a letter of intent, a résumé, and letters of reference are considered in the admission process; TOEFL scores are required of international students who have not matriculated from a university in a country where the primary language is English.
NOTE: The Ph.D. program admission requires completion of the M.S. degree in bioinformatics or a closely related field. View the steps to apply to the UA Little Rock Graduate School.
M.S. Graduation Requirements
- Successful completion of an approved program of study with a minimum GPA of 3.0 with no more than one grade below a B and successful completion of the writing requirement.
- Successful defense of a Bioinformatics capstone project or thesis. The Review Committee will consist of a lead faculty research mentor and at least two other faculty members with Bioinformatics graduate faculty status.
Ph.D. Graduation Requirements
- Successful completion of an approved program of study (including completion of the Master of Science in Bioinformatics or a closely related degree) with a minimum GPA of 3.0 with no more than one grade below a B
- Successful completion of the dissertation proposal defense; proposal should be written using a grant proposal format; the dissertation proposal defense will also serve as the candidacy examination
- Successful completion of the dissertation and oral defense
- Successful completion of the writing requirement