Students learn the biological, DNA sequencing, bioinformatics and data analysis principles and procedures associated with applied genomics research, preparing them to apply those procedures to real data.

Reflecting the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of this program, this certificate program consists of courses from a variety of exciting and topical disciplines -- biology, genetics and genomics, computer science, informatics, statistics and biostatistics.

Timeline and Career Outlook

This training program is designed to be completed over two semesters covering 10 months.

The knowledge and skills acquired as a part of this certificate program apply to many high demand career arenas across both public and private sectors.  These include biotechnology, genomic medicine, health care, pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the general admission requirements of the VCU Graduate School, applicants for the graduate certificate in genomics data science are expected to have earned an undergraduate degree in an area related to biology, bioinformatics, computer sciences, computational biology, applied mathematics, statistics, or in another relevant discipline.

All applicants are also expected to have computing/technology skills which facilitate learning and use of several statistical software packages.

Our departmental admissions committee evaluates all applicants for graduate work and arranges personal interviews when possible.

Certificate admission requirements »

Certificate Requirements

Graduate certificate students must complete at least 18 semester credit hours of applicable courses as outlined in the Bulletin.  These include courses from the domains of biological principles of genomic science, data analysis/statistical training, principles of sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, and computational principles and software tools.

Certificate curriculum »