Coursework

The Biophysics Program requires students to complete 32 credits of courses toward the fulfillment of the PhD, distributed as follows.

  • Biophysics 300 in the Fall of the 1st year (4 credits, graded SAT/UNSAT)

  • Biophysics 242 in the Spring of the 1st year (4 credits, letter graded)
  • Biophysics 3001QC in the Fall of the 2nd year (2 credits, graded SAT/UNSAT)
  • Med Sci 301 in the Fall of the 2nd year (2 credits, graded SAT/UNSAT)
  • Five 4-credit electives, at least 4 of which are letter graded. One elective can be replaced by a pair of “quarter courses”; this would count as the one elective course that is permitted to be taken on a SAT/UNSAT basis. 

The 1st-year fall semester of the Biophysics 300 course fulfills the requirement stated above. Students can repeat Biophysics 300 (with no class meetings to attend) in other semesters to indicate time spent on research (this includes research rotations). Students must enroll in at least 4 course units (16 credits) per semester, every semester, to be considered registered as a full-time student at the University. Once formal course requirements are complete, these units can consist of full-time thesis research “courses” at the 300+ level until the student graduates.

The Biophysics Program requires few specific courses, however, all students are required to complete the following:

Biophysics 242r.  Special Topics in Biophysics   Focuses on new topics in Biophysics emerging from research in faculty laboratories, in the area of special interest of the lead faculty instructor for that year; topics which would not normally be available in the established curriculum.  Each Biophysics graduate student must take this course at least once during the early part of their time as a student in the program.

Biophysics 300.  Introduction to Laboratory Research  Introductory lectures by faculty members associated with the Biophysics program.  Lectures are given Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Fall semester of the student's first year and are accompanied by three periods of instruction (rotations) in laboratories ranging from structural molecular biology, cell and membrane biophysics, molecular genetics and development, physical biochemistry, and neurosciences in the fall, continuing into the Spring semester (rotations tend to begin during the fall semester).  Students normally spend each rotation in a different field.

Biophysics 3001qc. Research Design and Proposal Writing. A course to help guide students in developing and writing both experimental and theory research-based proposals.

Medical Sciences 300qc. Responsible Conduct of Science. The goal of this course is to inform students about the appropriate conduct of research and the many ethical and social problems that they may encounter during their research career in graduate school. The structure consists of highly interactive, in-person, small groups discussion sessions moderated by a faculty member, and live Zoom lectures. Issues discussed include (but are not limited to) experimental design and practices, equity in research, conflict of interest, research misconduct, interactions with members of the laboratory and the mentor, and the ethical role of the scientist in society. 

Note that Medical Sciences 302qc. Responsible Conduct of Science Refresher is a follow-up course for students in their 6th year of graduate studies.

Examples of electives chosen by recent students in the Biophysics Program are included below (students are also not limited to these courses). Harvard Course numbers are included for reference.

 

Structural Molecular Biology
  • Structural Biology from Molecules to Cells (Biophysics 204)* – Spring
  • Principles of Molecular Biology (BCMP 200)* – Fall
  • Biophysical and Biochemical Mechanisms of Protein Function (BCMP 250)* – Spring
  • Practical Crystallography in Chemistry and Materials Science (Chemistry 255)* – Spring
  • Introduction to Single-Molecule Biophysics (MCB 161 / Applied Physics 242)* – Fall
  • Molecular Biology of the Bacterial Cell (Microbiology 201)* – Spring
  • Mechanisms of Bacterial Pathogenesis and Host Immune Response (Microbiology 202)* – Fall
Molecular Genetics
  • Evolutionary and Quantitative Genomics (Biophysics 170)* – Fall
  • Computational and Functional Genomics (Biophysics 205)* – Spring
  • Chemical Biology (Chemistry 170)*
  • Principles of Genetics (Genetics 201) – Fall
  • Advanced Topics in Gene Expression (Genetics 216)* – Spring
Physical Biochemistry
  • The Quantum World (Chemistry 160) – Fall
  • Statistical Thermodynamics (Chemistry 161) – Spring
  • Experimental Physical Chemistry (Chemistry 165)* – Spring
  • Quantum Mechanics for Physical Chemistry (Chemistry 242)* – Fall
  • The Pharmacy of Life - Exploring the Function & Biochemistry of Natural Products (MCB 130) – Spring
  • Statistical Thermodynamics and Quantitative Biology (MCB 199 / Physics 199) – Spring
  • Physical Biochemistry: Understanding Macromolecular Machines (MCB 260)* – Spring
  • Frontiers in Experimentation and Imaging (SCRB 164)* – Fall
  • Principles and Practice of Drug Development (BCMP 230) – Fall
Cell and Membrane Biophysics 
  • Organelle Biology and Cellular Function (MCB 127) – Fall
  • Molecular and Cellular Immunology (MCB 169) – Fall                   
  • Interesting Questions in Physical Biology (MCB 294)* – Fall
  • Principles of Cell Biology (Cell Biology 201)* – Spring
  • Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration (Cell Biology 207)* – Spring
  • Biology of the Cancer Cell: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Implications (Cell Biology 212)* – Spring
  • Frontiers in Biophysics (Chemistry 163)
Mathematical Biophysics
  • Complex & Fourier Analysis with Applications to Art, Sci & Eng (Applied Math 104) – Fall
  • Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations (Applied Math 105) – Spring
  • Nonlinear Dynamical Systems (Applied Mathematics 108)* – Spring
  • Mathematical Modeling (Applied Mathematics/ Eng Sci 115) – Fall & Spring
  • Inference, Information Theory, learning and Statistical Mechanics (Applied Physics 286)* – Fall
  • Mathematics in Biology (MCB 111)*
  • Biological Sequence Analysis (MCB 112)* – Spring
  • AI Methods in Molecular Biology (MCB 128) – Spring
  • Foundations of Systems Biology and Biological Engineering (MCB 195) – Spring
  • Signals and Communications (Eng-Sci 156) – Spring
  • Physical Mathematics I (Applied Mathematics 201) – Fall
  • Advanced Statistical Mechanics: Frontiers in Research (Chemistry 246)* – Fall
Neurosciences
  • Systems Neuroscience (MCB/ Neuroscience 105) – Spring
  • Cellular Basis of Neuronal Function (MCB/ Neuroscience 115)*
  • Introductory Computational Neuroscience (Neuroscience 120)* – Spring
  • Biological and Artificial Intelligence (Neuroscience 140/ Neurobiology 240) – Spring
  • The Physics of Sensory Systems in Biology (Neuroscience 141)* – Fall
  • The Discipline of Neuroscience (Neurobiology 215A/ 215B)* – Fall (A) and Spring (B)
  • Visual Recognition: Computational and Biophysical Perspective (Neurobiology 130/ 230)*
Research and Technology Development
  • Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences (MCB 102)* – Spring
  • The Business of Biotech: Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship (LIFESCI 132) – Fall