Course description

Bioinformatics is a major growth area and qualified bioinformaticians are in high demand. The MSc in Bioinformatics is a one-year full-time course for biological sciences graduates which will equip you with the theoretical and practical skills in data analysis and computing for a career in this multidisciplinary field.

The course covers working in a Linux environment, programming in Python, “Big Data”, learning about Bioinformatics algorithms and cutting edge topics in genomics, transcriptomics and protein bioinformatics.

During the course you will work on a Linux laptop on which you install and develop your own Bioinformatics toolkit. This laptop is provided as a loan by the University of Leicester, but ownership of the laptop will be transferred free of charge to you on successful completion of the course.

Our MSc in Bioinformatics course culminates in your independent research project where you will apply the skills you have acquired in the taught phase on one of our many exciting research topics with internal and external contributions on offer.

Careers and employability

Bioinformatics is a major growth area and qualified bioinformaticians are in high demand. A huge amount of biological data has resulted from genome projects, next generation sequencing and other 'omics' techniques. Our MSc in Bioinformatics course provides the skill set to exploit and make sense of such data. These skills are highly valued by PhD programmes and employers.