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Science

Bioinformatics

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Where data sciences and life sciences meet

Bioinformatics sits at the intersection of computing and life sciences. It involves the development of technologies to work with and manage the huge volumes of genetic information being generated. It applies the methods/discipline of computer science and statistics to the data/goals of molecular biology. Bioinformatics provides a computational framework to analyse data and generate new knowledge in the life sciences. As a bioinformatics student, you'll learn how to design and implement software for activities such as identifying cancer genes. This science major covers the foundational disciplines of bioinformatics: biology, computing algorithms, machine learning, mathematics and statistics. 

Join a growing discipline

Bioinformatics is a central enabling discipline in the life sciences with the explosion in high-throughput data generated by "omics" technologies, such as genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. While scientists previously focused on singular cells, the enormous development in bioinformatics over the last decade has enabled us to study cells on a mass scale. 

Studying bioinformatics at UNSW

We cover the full spectrum of bioinformatics, from enabling medical breakthroughs and studying disease outbreaks, to understanding fundamental biology and protecting endangered species. You'll learn how to advance science by developing and applying cutting-edge computational biology methods. Our School of Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences (BABS) houses the - the largest and most comprehensive genomics facility at any Australian university with an extensive suite of bioinformatics tools and next generation sequencing. 

Careers in bioinformatics

Through shared knowledge and collaboration, we strive to process and extract meaningful results from our datasets and disseminate new discoveries and approaches to healthcare, genomics and evolutionary biology. With further contributions to the infrastructure, Australia will be positioned as one of the key leaders and major beneficiaries of genomic data and research in the world. You could pursue a career as a computational biologist, biostatistician or data scientist.

Our programs

  • You can study bioinformatics in the following undergraduate degrees:

    Please note that while bioinformatics is offered as a major in the above science degrees, it's delivered by the School of Computer Science and Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering.

  • Gain research experience and enhance your career prospects with an honours degree. These programs are designed to connect your undergraduate study with supervised independent research. An honours degree also provides a pathway into further study, such as a Masters by Research or PhD. You can take honours as a standalone degree or as part of an embedded honours program.

    Embedded honours program

    Standalone honours program

    Honours in the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS)

    BABS offers honours programs in the following areas:

    • microbiology and microbiomes
    • genomics and bioinformatics
    • molecular and cell biology

    Find out more about studying honours in BABS

  • You can study bioinformatics in the following postgraduate research degrees:

Visit the School of Computer Science and Engineering

Visit the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences