Course overview

Description

The recent explosion of data and technology is rapidly changing the study and application of biology and medicine. This applies to advances in genetics and genomics as well as the huge diversity of phenotypic data being generated, related to everything from crop performance, the environment through to understanding and finding cures for human disease. There is a huge demand for individuals who have the skills to manage and interpret this flood of information. The field of bioinformatics has grown and evolved to meet this demand. Bioinformatics is a broad field, working across technologies with applied biological outcomes. Here the course provides the foundation in these broad areas of biology, with options to focus on the specific interests of the student, whether this be biomedical, environmental or agricultural. Because of this broad base, the course will be taught across schools, faculties and institutes, including hospitals and industry partners, to ensure access to the best expertise, providing students with training from researchers in their field of interest. While there are a growing list of bioinformatics training resources, this course aims to differentiate itself by offering applied skills and training. The development of computational skills alone is insufficient to become a bioinformatics professional, but rather a deep understanding of the biology, combined with practical skills in handling large biological datasets is essential. Students will have access to a variety of data types to develop and hone their applied data analysis skills. The course is supported the Pawsey supercomputing centre, and students will have the opportunity to undertake projects in their area of interest with leading researchers and professionals in WA and beyond.

Course title
Master of Bioinformatics (coursework or coursework and dissertation)
Award abbreviation
MBioInfo
Course code
70550
Course type
Master's degree by coursework or by coursework and dissertation
Status
Current / 2024
Administered by
Biological Sciences
CRICOS code
103500A

Course details

Intake periods
Beginning of year and mid-year
Attendance type
Full- or part-time (Student visa holders should read Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 for more information.)
Credit points required
96
A standard full-time load is 24 points per semester.
Standard course duration
1.5 years minimum volume of learning full-time (or equivalent part-time) comprising 72 points of taught units and 24 points of admission credit, as recognised and granted by the School
Maximum course duration
2 years maximum volume of learning full-time (or equivalent part-time) comprising up to 96 points of taught study (see Rule 5 for further information)
Time limit
5 years
Delivery mode
Internal
Locations offered
UWA (Perth)
Domestic fee type
Commonwealth supported and/or HECS-HELP
Available to international students
Yes. For information on international student fees see 'Student Procedures: Fees'. (Enquiries: https://www.uwa.edu.au/askuwa)
Course Coordinator(s)
Professor David Edwards
Fees
Visit the fees calculator.

Prospective students should see the Future Students website for details on admission requirements, intake periods, fees, availability to international students, careers information etc.

Course structure

Key to availability of units:
S1
Semester 1
S2
Semester 2

All units have a value of six points unless otherwise stated.

Students who have not completed tertiary units that are deemed equivalent to the conversion units must complete relevant conversion units up to the value of 24 points from this group, as advised by the School(s):

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S1, S2GENE4002Integrated Topics in Genetics I
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
72510 Master of Agricultural Science
or 72520 Master of Biological Science
or 71540 Master of Health Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
or 74540 Master of Marine Biology
Incompatibility
Unit(s) GENE2230 Molecular Genetics I
and Unit(s) GENE2250 Principles of Inheritance
6 x 2 hr workshops over the course of a semester.
S1, S2GENE4003Integrated Topics in Genetics II
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71540 Master of Health Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
and Successful completion of
one Unit(s) GENE4002 Integrated Topics in Genetics I
or Successful completion of
or two Unit(s) GENE2230 Molecular Genetics I
and Unit(s) GENE2250 Principles of Inheritance
Incompatibility
Unit(s) GENE3340 Molecular Genetics II
and Unit(s) GENE3350 Evolution and Development
6 x 2 hr workshops over the course of a semester.
S1, S2SCIE4401Data Use in Science
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
72510 Master of Agricultural Science
or 72520 Master of Biological Science
or 72530 Master of Environmental Science
or 72550 Master of Geoscience
or 72540 Master of Hydrogeology
or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 71570 Master of Geographic Information Science
or 73530 Master of Agricultural Economics
or 73550 Master of Business Psychology
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
or 71590 Master of Oceanography
or 74540 Master of Marine Biology
Incompatibility
STAT1400 Statistics for Science
or STAX1400 Statistics for Science
and
STAT1520 Economic and Business Statistics
or STAX1520 Economic and Business Statistics
and SCIE1104 Science, Society and Data Analysis
24 hours. The total workload for this unit is 150 hours.
S1, S2SCIE4403Ethical Conduct and Communication of Science
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
73660 Master of Medical Physics
Incompatibility
SCOM1101 Communicating Science (ID 1553)
or SCOX1101 Communicating Science
and SCOM2208 Science Writing (ID 1559)
Weekly face-to-face OR online workshops. This unit runs in Semester 1 and Semester 2, and can be taken in either semester.

Take all units (36 points):

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S1GENE4001Advanced Studies in Genetics and Genomics
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71520 Master of Biomedical Science
or 71540 Master of Health Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or BH004 Bachelor of Science (Honours)
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
and Successful completion of
one Unit(s) GENE4003 Integrated Topics in Genetics II
or Enrolment in
Major(s) Genetics
or Major(s) Anatomy and Human Biology
and Successful completion of
one Unit(s) ANHB3321 Biological Anthropology: Genes and Society
workshops: 12 hours; presentation sessions: approx. 6 hours (depending on number of students); consultation with academic staff during presentation planning approx. 0.5 hours
S1GENE5001Advanced Genomics Techniques
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
Successful completion of
one Unit(s) GENE4003 Integrated Topics in Genetics II
or Major(s) Genetics or equivalent
lectures and tutorials: 24 hours per teaching period
S1, S2SCIE4001Collecting, Analysing and Interpreting Big Data in Biology
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
62550 Master of Professional Engineering
or 72510 Master of Agricultural Science
or 72520 Master of Biological Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
Lectures and Seminars: 27 hours
S2SCIE4002Bioinformatics and Data Analysis for Genomics
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 71540 Master of Health Science
or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science
or BH004 Bachelor of Science (Honours)
or 62550 Master of Professional Engineering
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
and Successful completion of
one Unit(s) SCIE4001 Collecting, Analysing and Interpreting Big Data in Biology
lectures and tutorials: 24 hours per semester; presentation sessions: approx. 6 (depending on student enrolment)
S1, S2SCIE4402Data Management and Analysis in the Natural Sciences
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
HON-CONBI Conservation Biology
or HON-ZOOLY Zoology
or HON-BOTNY Botany
or HON-AGSCI Agricultural Science
or HON-ENVSC Environmental Science
or HON-NRMGT Natural Resource Management
or HON-MARSC Marine Science
or 72510 Master of Agricultural Science
or 72520 Master of Biological Science
or 72530 Master of Environmental Science
or 72540 Master of Hydrogeology
or 73530 Master of Agricultural Economics
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
or 74230 Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics
or 74540 Master of Marine Biology
and Successful completion of
any one STAT1400 Statistics for Science
or STAX1400 Statistics for Science
or STAT1520 Economic and Business Statistics
or STAX1520 Economic and Business Statistics
or SCIE1104 Science, Society and Data Analysis
or SCIE4401 Data Use in Science
or ENVT4422 Research Methods in Environmental Science
5 days (1 day per fortnight). The total workload for the unit is 150 hours.
S1SCIE5003Advanced Bioinformatics and Data Analysis for Genomics
Prerequisites
Successful completion of
Unit(s) SCIE4002 Bioinformatics and Data Analysis for Genomics

Take 12 points:

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S2BIOL5301Big Data, Modelling and Meta-analysis in Biology, Conservation and the Environment
Co-requisites
Successful completion of
or Enrolment in
Unit(s) SCIE4402 Data Management and Analysis in the Natural Sciences (ID 2211)
(possibly) 10 half days of contact
S1, S2SCIE5002Human Evolutionary Biology
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71520 Master of Biomedical Science (ID 359)
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics (ID 1490)
1 hour lecture; 2 hour laboratory (analysis) from week 1-12.
S2SCIE5507Food Fibre and Fuel Security
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 72510 Master of Agricultural Science
or 74230 Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics
lectures, tutorials and/or workshops: 6 hours per week
S2SCIE5508Synthetic Biology: Solving Global Challenges
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71580 Master of Biotechnology (ID 389)
or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science (ID 359)
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics (ID 1490)
lectures, tutorials / workshops; 5 hours per week
S1, S2SCIE5515Global Challenges in Biomedical Science
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71520 Master of Biomedical Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science
or CM004 Bachelor of Molecular Sciences and Master of Biomedical Science
or CM024 Bachelor of Molecular Sciences and Master of Bioinformatics
or CM021 Bachelor of Human Sciences and Master of Bioinformatics
or CM007 Bachelor of Molecular Sciences and Master of Biotechnology
or 62550 Master of Professional Engineering Biomedical Engineering specialisation
lectures: 2 hours per week; tutorials: 2 hours per week
S1STAT4064Applied Predictive Modelling
Prerequisites

Course Enrolment in
the HON-MTHST Mathematics and Statistics [Honours]
or the 62530 Master of Data Science
or the 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
and STAT2401 Analysis of Experiments
and STAT2402 Analysis of Observations
or STAT2062 Fundamentals of Probability with Applications
Incompatibility
STAT3406 Applied Statistics and Data Visualisation
Lectures: 2-hours per week; Computer Labs: 2-hours per week

Students in the course by course work and dissertation take 24 points:

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S1, S2SCIE5571Dissertation Part 1
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
HON-AGSCI Agricultural Science
or HON-ENVSC Environmental Science
or HON-NRMGT Natural Resource Management
or 72510 Master of Agricultural Science
or 72530 Master of Environmental Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 73530 Master of Agricultural Economics
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics and satisfy eligibility criteria for research project
or dissertation
as required by supervisor
S1, S2SCIE5572Dissertation Part 2
Co-requisites
Successful completion of
Or Enrolment in
Unit(s) SCIE5571 Dissertation Part 1
as required by supervisor
S1, S2SCIE5573Dissertation Part 3
Co-requisites
Successful completion of
Or Enrolment in
Unit(s) SCIE5572 Dissertation Part 2
as required by supervisor
S1, S2SCIE5574Dissertation Part 4
Co-requisites
Successful completion of
Or Enrolment in
Unit(s) SCIE5573 Dissertation Part 3
as required by supervisor

Students in the course by coursework take 12 points:

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S1, S2SCIE5004Professional Skills in Science
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
72530 Master of Environmental Science
or 72510 Master of Agricultural Science
or 74540 Master of Marine Biology
or 73530 Master of Agricultural Economics
or 51580 Master of Science Communication
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 72520 Master of Biological Science 71520 Master of Biomedical Science
and Successful completion of
48 points in your chosen degree
S1, S2SCIE5005Science in Practice
Prerequisites
Successful completion of
one Unit(s) SCIE5004 Professional Skills in Science
1x 2hr session per week contact by consultation as required

Students in the course by coursework only take 12 points:

AvailabilityUnit codeUnitnameUnit requirementsContact hours
S2BIOL5301Big Data, Modelling and Meta-analysis in Biology, Conservation and the Environment
Co-requisites
Successful completion of
or Enrolment in
Unit(s) SCIE4402 Data Management and Analysis in the Natural Sciences (ID 2211)
(possibly) 10 half days of contact
S1, S2SCIE5002Human Evolutionary Biology
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71520 Master of Biomedical Science (ID 359)
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics (ID 1490)
1 hour lecture; 2 hour laboratory (analysis) from week 1-12.
S2SCIE5507Food Fibre and Fuel Security
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 72510 Master of Agricultural Science
or 74230 Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics
lectures, tutorials and/or workshops: 6 hours per week
S2SCIE5508Synthetic Biology: Solving Global Challenges
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71580 Master of Biotechnology (ID 389)
or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science (ID 359)
or 70550 Master of Bioinformatics (ID 1490)
lectures, tutorials / workshops; 5 hours per week
S1, S2SCIE5515Global Challenges in Biomedical Science
Prerequisites
Enrolment in
71520 Master of Biomedical Science
or 71580 Master of Biotechnology
or 71520 Master of Biomedical Science
or CM004 Bachelor of Molecular Sciences and Master of Biomedical Science
or CM024 Bachelor of Molecular Sciences and Master of Bioinformatics
or CM021 Bachelor of Human Sciences and Master of Bioinformatics
or CM007 Bachelor of Molecular Sciences and Master of Biotechnology
or 62550 Master of Professional Engineering Biomedical Engineering specialisation
lectures: 2 hours per week; tutorials: 2 hours per week
S1STAT4064Applied Predictive Modelling
Prerequisites

Course Enrolment in
the HON-MTHST Mathematics and Statistics [Honours]
or the 62530 Master of Data Science
or the 70550 Master of Bioinformatics
and STAT2401 Analysis of Experiments
and STAT2402 Analysis of Observations
or STAT2062 Fundamentals of Probability with Applications
Incompatibility
STAT3406 Applied Statistics and Data Visualisation
Lectures: 2-hours per week; Computer Labs: 2-hours per week

See also the rules for the course and the Student Rules.

Rules

Applicability of the Student Rules, policies and procedures

1.(1) The Student Rules apply to students in this course.

(2) The policy, policy statements and guidance documents and student procedures apply, except as otherwise indicated in the rules for this course.

Academic Conduct Essentials and Communication and Research Skills modules

2.(1) A student who enrols in this course for the first time irrespective of whether they have previously been enrolled in another course of the University, must undertake the Academic Conduct Essentials module (the ACE module) and the Communication and Research Skills module (the CARS module).

(2) A student must successfully complete the ACE module within the first teaching period of their enrolment. Failure to complete the module within this timeframe will result in the student's unit results from this teaching period being withheld. These results will continue to be withheld until students avail themselves of a subsequent opportunity to achieve a passing grade in the ACE module. In the event that students complete units in subsequent teaching periods without completing the ACE module, these results will similarly be withheld. Students will not be permitted to submit late review or appeal applications regarding results which have been withheld for this reason and which they were unable to access in the normally permitted review period.

English Language competency requirements

3. To be considered eligible for consideration for admission to this course an applicant must satisfy the University's English language competence requirement as set out in the University Policy on Admission: Coursework.

Admission requirements

4. To be considered for admission to this course an applicant must have—

(a) a Bachelor's degree, or an equivalent qualification, as recognised by UWA;

and

(b) the equivalent of a UWA weighted average mark of at least 50 per cent;

and

(c) successfully completed prior tertiary study in—biological, medical, biomedical, or biomolecular sciences; or in a related cognate discipline as recognised by UWA.

Admission ranking and selection

5. Where relevant, admission will be awarded to the highest ranked applicants or applicants selected based on the relevant requirements.

Articulations and exit awards

6. This course does not form part of an articulated sequence.

Course structure

7.(1) The course consists of units to a total value of 96 points (maximum value) which include conversion units to a value of 24 points.

(2) Units must be selected in accordance with the course structure, as set out in these rules.

(3) Students who have completed tertiary units that are deemed equivalent to the conversion units are granted credit for conversion units up to a value of 24 points.

Satisfactory progress

8. To make satisfactory progress a student must pass units to a point value greater than half the total value of units in which they remain enrolled after the final date for withdrawal without academic penalty.

9. A student who has not achieved a result of Ungraded Pass (UP) for the Communication and Research Skills module (the CARS module) when their progress status is assessed will not have made satisfactory progress even if they have met the other requirements for satisfactory progress in Rule 8.

Progress status

10.(1) A student who makes satisfactory progress in terms of Rule 8 is assigned the status of 'Good Standing'.

(2) Unless the relevant board determines otherwise because of exceptional circumstances—

(a) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the first time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'On Probation';

(b) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the second time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'Suspended';

(c) a student who does not make satisfactory progress for the third time under Rule 8 is assigned a progress status of 'Excluded'.

11. A student who does not make satisfactory progress in terms of Rule 9 is assigned the progress status of 'On Probation', unless they have been assigned a progress status of 'Suspended' or 'Excluded' for failure to meet other satisfactory progress requirements in Rule 8.

Award with distinction

12. To be awarded the degree with distinction a student must achieve a course weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 80 per cent which is calculated based on— (a) all units above Level 3 attempted as part of the course that are awarded a final percentage mark;

(b) all relevant units above Level 3 undertaken in articulating courses of this University that are awarded a final percentage mark;

and

(c) all units above Level 3 completed at this University that are credited to the master's degree course.

Deferrals

13. Applicants awarded admission to the course are entitled to a deferral of up to 12 months, as per the University Policy on: Admissions (Coursework).

Additional rules
Research project or dissertation

14. Students who request approval to undertake a research project or dissertation in this course must:

(i) have a weighted average mark of at least 65 per cent in at least 24 points of Level 3 units in their UWA undergraduate major. These units must be relevant to the master's specialisation; or

(ii) have a weighted average mark of at least 65 per cent in at least 24 points of Level 3, 4 and 5 units completed within the course; or equivalent as recognised by the School; and

(iii) must have a supervisor, approved by the School, who has confirmed their willingness and availability to supervise the research project.