Bioinformatics and Computational Biology- C and D Terms
Course Planning Specifics: Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
You will register for C and D term classes in November.
In addition to the course recommendations below that are specific to your major, each student must complete 4 Wellness and Physical Education courses in their four years at WPI. You are welcome to add a WPE course to any term. WPE courses are worth 1/12 unit, unlike major subjects discussed in course recommendations which are worth 1/3 unit, and can be taken in addition to the 3 courses recommended below.
For more information on the degree requirements for your major click here.
C Term Recommendations
By the end of the first year, students should try to have completed introductory programming courses and the first two courses of general chemistry (CH 1010, CH 1020). If students took chemistry in A and B term they should take programming courses, if they took computer programming courses, they should take chemistry courses.
BCB majors are expected to take 5 math courses throughout their four years, with two being in calculus, one in statistics, and the other two chosen from a variety of different topics in math.
Your third course should be a GPS, Humanities and Arts, Math, or Chemistry course. More information about these courses is available below:
GPS stands for Great Problems Seminar is a course that is exclusively for first year students and allow students to learn about a problem in the world and work with a group on how to fix it. These courses are helpful with the transition to college as well as useful for students when preparing for projects such as IQP and MQP in junior and senior year. GPS courses run for both A and B term, so you will only need to choose one. BCB majors are recommended to take a GPS in either the fall or spring. For more information click here.
Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:
- Art (AR)
- Music (MU)
- Drama/Theatre (EN/TH)
- Foreign Language- Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN)
- For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu)
- For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
- For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
- For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
- For English Language (International Students) Information, Please Email: Professor Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) and Professor Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu)
- Literature (EN)
- Writing/Rhetoric (WR, RH)
- International Student English (ISE)
- History (HI)
- International Studies (INTL)
- Philosophy (PY)
- Religion (RE)
D Term Recommendations
By the end of the first year, students should try to have completed introductory programming and the first two courses of general chemistry (CH 1010, CH 1020).
If students took CS 2102 in B term they should take CH 1020 in D term.
If students took CH 1020 in D term they should take CS 2102.
CS 2102 is Object Oriented Design and is the second course taken in a typical CS series. This courses is recommended for BCB majors who took CS 1101 in C term.
BB 1035 is Introduction to Biotechnology. All BCB majors are recommended to take this course as it is a project based course that goes into depth in areas relevant to BCB.
If a student took BB 1035 in A term they should consider taking a math course. BCB majors are expected to take 5 math courses throughout their four years, with two being in calculus, one in statistics, and the other two chosen from a variety of different topics in math.
Your third course should be a Humanities and Arts course. More information can be found on these courses below:
Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:
- Art (AR)
- Music (MU)
- Drama/Theatre (EN/TH)
- Foreign Language- Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN)
- For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu)
- For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
- For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
- For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
- For English Language (International Students) Information, Please Email: Professor Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) and Professor Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu)
- Literature (EN)
- Writing/Rhetoric (WR, RH)
- International Student English (ISE)
- History (HI)
- International Studies (INTL)
- Philosophy (PY)
- Religion (RE)
There are other possible sequences that could also work. Please feel free to contact Liz Ryder, the Program Director, for advice! ryder@wpi.edu
Once you go through the above recommendations, please be sure to review Registration Information so you know how to register on November 15th.
Registration Information
To build your schedule you should use the Course Listings page and the WPI Planner. Below are instructions on how to use the Planner tool and how to search for courses before inputting this information into Workday, WPI's registration platform.
- Navigate to the WPI Planner.
- On the first tab, select the class subject area you are interested in (ex. Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences). Note: Great Problems Seminars are listed under First Year.
- Once you select the subject, the available courses will appear. As you select courses, they will appear in the box at the bottom right.
- You should select three courses for each term. It is also a good idea to identify some back-up schedules in case your first choices are full when you register.
- You can also select a Physical Education course, and 1/6 unit music courses, as an additional fourth course in addition to your three courses. This is common for first year students.
- ROTC Members: please select your Military Science course in addition to your three courses. Your Physical Training will count towards your physical education requirement, so you do not need to select PE courses.
- On the second tab, Time, you can eliminate times of day you do not want classes. Note: This may limit your course options, so use this one sparingly.
- The third tab, Schedules, shows all the possible schedules that can result from your course selections. Make sure you are looking at the correct term, and look to see if there is any overlap between class times. You can change the term you would like to take the course by clicking on the term bubbles.
- When you are satisfied with how your schedule looks it is time to identify the sections of the classes you plan to register for.
- At the top of the Schedules tab, you will see two boxes, one labeled “Grid” and another labeled “Detail.” Click the “Detail” box to see a listing of selected courses with information including course name, course section, professor, location, and meeting days and times.
PRE-REGISTRATION PREP
- Watch the 10 min. overview video
- Login to Workday
- Use Find Course Sections to build at least one Saved Schedule for C-Term, D-Term, and if you're taking any 10 or 14 week classes, Spring Semester (instructions)
November 15, 7AM ET: REGISTER
- Login to Workday
- Open a browser tab or window for C-Term, D-Term, and Spring Semester (if you have any 10 or 14 week classes) and View My Saved Schedules for each
- [Optional] Open tabs for alternate course sections from other Saved Schedules or search results
- When registration opens, click Start Registration, then click Register (instructions)
- Open View My Courses, scroll right to Drop or Swap (instructions)
- Waitlisted? If a spot opens, a notification will be sent to your WPI email asking you to login to Workday and take action
