Learning Objectives for Biology Graduate Courses
BINF 500 DNA AND PROTEIN SEQUENCE ANAYLYSIS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Explain the algorithms used in DNA sequence alignment.
- Explain the significance of scoring in DNA sequence alignment.
- Write Perl scripts that perform basic manipulations of nucleic acid and protein sequence data.
- Evaluate the merits and disadvantages of probabilistic and non-probabilistic tree-finding methods.
- Use a profile hidden Markov model to score how well an unknown protein sequences fits a family motif.
- Demonstrate facility using BLAST and PSI-BLAST.
BINF 501 BIOLOGICAL INFORMATICS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Identify the components of a relational database system.
- Integrate a database with a programming language.
- Analyze and implement SQL queries.
- Demonstrate knowledge of current NCBI suite of biological databases.
- Write Perl scripts that perform basic manipulations of nucleic acid and protein sequence data.
BINF 510 ADVANCED DATABASE SYSTEMS FOR BIONIFORMATICS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe the science of storing, extracting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, and utilizing biological information.
- Create programs to discover hidden patterns and relationships in genomic data.
- Analyze and implement SQL queries.
- To explain and employ the techniques of data storage and data extraction with relational, object-oriented, and distributed database systems.
BINF 511 COMPUTATIONAL GENOMICS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Explain the structure, function, replication and evolution of eukaryotic genomes.
- Demonstrate knowledge of current NCBI biological databases.
- Work in teams to solve complex problems in genomic data informatics.
- Use C and/or PERL programming to interface with existing bioinformatics software packages.
- Identify the complementation groups in a hypothetical genetic data set.
- Compare a variety of methods for computing ratios and normalizing microarray data.
BINF 512 ADVANCED ALGORITHMS FOR BIOINFORMATICS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Implement algorithms.
- Explain what is meant by an NP-complete problem and their relevance to reconstruction of phylogenetic trees.
- Construct a generalized suffix tree for a set of strings.
- Discuss the fundamental string problem.
- Generate three-dimensional models of protein structures using a web-based application and explain the computational elements upon which the application is based.
- Explain theoretical issues in the analysis, interpretation, and utilization of genomic data that require specialized algorithimic solutions.
BINF 513 ADVANCED PROGRAMMING FOR BIOINFORMATICS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Design object-oriented algorithms in high-level language.
- Describe optimization problems and performance tradeoffs.
- Implement algorithms.
- Develop a fully functional web-based application for use in genome analysis.
- Identify and address issues in the storage, extraction, organization, analysis, interpretation, and utilization of genomic data that require specialized programming solutions.
BINF 514 STATISTICAL METHODS IN COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Select, apply and interpret descriptive statistics to significant research problems in bioinformatics.
- Apply quantitative problem-solving skills to biological problems and issues.
- Describe statistical approaches to the analysis of molecular genetic data.
- Exercise problem solving capabilities and communication skills for effective research.
BIOL 490 SPECIAL TOPICS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Identify topic appropriate research materials.
- Synthesize information from a variety of sources.
- Report on chosen topic in written and oral form.
BIOL 502 TECHNIQUES IN GENOMICS/PROTEOMICS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Generate, edit and annotate a genomic DNA sequence.
- Use Clustal to align several DNA sequences.
- Compare and contrast the major techniques used in transcriptome profiling.
- Use the xProfiler at NCBI online.
- Perform and interpret a northern blot.
- Interpret a DNA fingerprint and explain the fundamental populations genetics that underlie the data.
- Navigate and interpret a QTL map.
BIOL 503 BIOTECHNOLOGY LAW AND REGULATION
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe Federal laws governing biotechnological issues and the associated regulatory agencies.
- Describe California laws governing biotechnological issues and the associated regulatory agencies.
- Discuss current issues and debates in cloning, gene therapy, crop modification.
- Outline the technology transfer process for commercially valuable biotech products.
BIOL 504 MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Explain how extracellular signals are transduced into intracellular signals.
- Describe mechanisms involved in regulation of the eucaryotic cell cycle.
- Define the chemical components of cells and explain biosynthetic pathways.
- Explain how proteins and lipids are transported into organelles, membranes and to the extracellular surface.
BIOL 505 MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe basic principles of protein structure including protein structure motifs, properties of alpha helices and beta sheets and protein folding.
- Explain how a protein's conformation determines its biochemical activity.
- Describe how a protein's structure enables binding to other molecules.
- Explain how a protein's function can be deduced from its primary structure.
- Describe the techniques used for solving the 3-D structure of a protein.
BIOL 506 MOLECULAR EVOLUTION
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe how molecular data can be used to construct a phylogenetic tree.
- Characterize the rates and causes of nucleotide substitutions.
- Explain how a gene/protein family arises.
- Explain the mechanisms which underlie evolution at the molecular level.
BIOL 507 PHARMACOGENOMICS AND PHARMACOPROTEOMICS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Explain the genetic factors underlying efficacy/toxicity of drug therapy.
- Evaluate genomic methods in drug design.
- Assess the value of phenotyping/genotyping in guiding drug therapy of individual patients.
- Screen a virtual library for molecules with potential therapeutic value.
BIOL 508 ADVANCED IMMUNOLOGY
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe the relationship between major cellular and molecular components of the immune system.
- Explain the molecular control mechanisms involved in immunoglobulin gene arrangement.
- Explain how therapeutic antibodies can be "engineered".
- Apply immunologic techniques to solve certain clinical and research problems.
BIOL 509 PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe plant genome organization and the mechanisms of gene expression in plants.
- Explain how plant tissue is cultured.
- Explain how genetic manipulation can be used to confer resistance to herbicides, pests and disease.
- Describe how crop yields and quality can be enhanced using genetic modifications.
BIOL 510 TISSUE CULTURE TECHNIQUES AND STEM CELL TECHNOLOGY
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Grow, maintain, and propagate specific animal and plant cell types in a sterile environment.
- Identify the problems associated with growing, storing and identifying a wide range of different cell types and plant tissues.
- Describe how cell culture can be used for in vitro studies and commercial applications.
- Articulate the conceptual basis and ethical issues surrounding stem cell research.
- Demonstrate embryonic stem cell propogation methods.
BIOL 600 TEAM PROJECT
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Work in cross-disciplinary teams to solve problems of interest to the biotechnology industry.
- Identify topic appropriate research materials.
- Synthesize information from a variety of sources.
- Report on chosen topic in written and oral form.
BIOL 601 SEMINAR IN BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Discuss up-to-date issues in the biotechnology field.
- Formulate cogent questions related to biotechnology research.
- Identify emerging fields of study in biotechnology.
BIOL/BUS 610 CAPSTONE PROJECT FOR MS/MBA DUAL DEGREE
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Work in cross-disciplinary teams to solve problems of interest to the global biotechnology industry.
- Identify topic-appropriate research materials.
- Read and describe orally and in writing the business and scientific issues of complex cases.
- Synthesize information form a variety of sources.
- Report on chosen topics in written and oral form.
BUS 500 ECONOMICS FOR MANAGERS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Explain the economic behavior of households and individual firms .
- Apply the principles of supply and demand to determine prices and identify the factors that affect supply and demand.
- Explain the workings of the national economy.
- Measure aggregate levels of economic activity.
- Evaluate the costs and benefits of alternative forms of public policy.
BUS 502 QUANTITATIVE METHODS FOR DECISION-MAKING
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe the types of situations where mathematical modeling and data analysis are beneficial.
- Distinguish deterministic models from probabilistic models.
- Employ basic concepts of central tendency and dispersion to analyze the characteristics of a set of data.
- Utilize standard statistical and spreadsheet software to derive and present quantitative analyses.
- Employ mathematical and statistical methods for the purposes of forecasting and risk management.
BUS 504 INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Identify the users and uses of accounting information.
- Explain the three principle types of business activity.
- Describe the content and purpose of each of the financial statements.
- Explain the basic assumptions and principles underlying financial statements.
- Explain the information provided by each of the financial statements.
- Explain the role of basic accounting principles in the business world.
- Describe the focus of finance and the two broad functions of finance.
- Describe compounding, discounting and opportunity cost.
- Perform sensitivity analysis on variables that effect an investment's value.
- Explain the relationship between allocation of resources and future benefits (i.e. risk)
- Identify and evaluate an entity's capital structure.
BUS 506 PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Read business cases and describe (orally and writing) the issues of the cases.
- Describe (in writing) alternative marketing approaches and their organizational implications for managers.
- Analyze management and marketing issues and offer recommendations for effective corrective actions.
- In writing, demonstrate an understanding of the inter-relationships among the disciplines of management and marketing.
- Orally and in writing, identify key alternatives to business actions based on management and marketing theories and justify recommended actions.
BUS 508 BUSINESS ETHICS AND LAW
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Read business cases and legal cases and describe (orally and writing) the issues of the cases.
- Describe (in writing) alternataive ethical frameworks and their implications for managers.
- Analyze environmental issues and offer recommendations for corrective actions within ethical and legal frameworks.
- In writing, demonstrate an understanding of the inter-relationships among the disciplines within business and economics.
- Orally and in writing, identify key alternatives to business actions based on ethical and legal theory and justify recommended actions.
BUS 510 HIGH PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Clearly communicate orally and in written form, their views concerning business issues.
- Demonstrate group leadership skills in leading team and analysis of business issues.
- Write analystical reports that summarize complex business issues.
- Verbally present succinct summaries of recommendations to address ambiguous business and organizationl situations.
BUS 520 STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Read complex business cases and describe (orally and in writing) the strategic issues of the cases.
- Organize and lead group discussions concerning complex business/organization issues.
- In writing, demonstrate an understanding of the inter-relationships among the disciplines within business and economics.
- Orally and in writing, identify key alternatives to business actions and justify recommended actions.
- Orally direct and lead the activities of classmates during class exercises.
BUS 530 MANAGING BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Read complex business cases and describe (orally and writing) the operational issues of the cases.
- Orally and in writing, analyze and describe the essential elements of business operations.
- In writing, demonstrate an understanding of the inter-relationships among the disciplines within business and economics.
- Orally and in writing, identify key alternatives to operational actions and justify recommended actions.
BUS 540 FINANCIAL REPORTING AND ANALYSIS
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Read and interpret published financial statements.
- Analyze financial statements from a management, creditor, and investor perspective.
- Analyze a company's cash flow.
- Identify cost behavior.
- Identify and analyze an entity's cost structure.
- Identify relevant costs for decision making.
- Use CVP analysis in decision making.
- Prepare and analyze capital budgets.
- Value assets given certain cash flow forecasts and risk characteristics.
BUS 550 THE CONTEMPORARY FIRM
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe the pivotal role of information in management and define the strategic, tactical, and operational roles and functions of information systems in contemporary firms.
- Describe, analyze, and develop IT strategies for the information age.
- Assess the value of information and be able to use IT applications and tools to develop executive reports and strategic plans.
- Describe ethical and social issues relating to information systems.
- Explain the role of IT infrastructure and describe emerging trends and technologies that will lead to business success.
BUS 560 THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MANAGER
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Recognize the paradigmatic limits to thinking.
- Apply different methods of concept generation based on customer needs.
- Formulate ideas into new business concepts.
- Develop ideas through several iterations of inductive and deductive analysis.
- Identify critical business problem areas.
- Design and implement research to solve problems.
- Analyze and synthesize research conclusions.
- Perform a business potential analysis for a new concept.
- Develop a product positioning/benefit segmentation analysis.
- Develop a strategic marketing plan and business plan
- Recognize and adopt different group roles.
- Facilitate a creative group.
CHEM 110 CHEMISTRY OF LIFE
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe the scientific method and how it is used to approach chemical problems.
- Explain the differences between elements, chemical compounds, ions and mixtures.
- Calculate the concentrations and solubilities of compounds in mass percent and molarity.
- Define acids and bases and pH of solutions.
- Calculate hydrogen-ion concentration and pH.
- Discuss how and why acid-base reactions occur.
- Explain how and why oxidation-reduction reactions occur.
- Determine the rate of a reaction and the energy change in a reaction.
- Explain the molecular structure of inorganic, organic, and biological compounds.
- Describe fundamental nuclear chemical processes and their medical applications.
- Explain enzyme catalysis and inhibition.
- Describe energy production in the metabolism of sugars, proteins, and lipids.
- Define chemical hazards of particular classes of chemicals.
- Explain how chemicals interact with the human body.
CHEM 110 CHEMISTRY OF LIFE
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe the scientific method and how it is used to approach chemical problems.
- Explain the differences between elements, chemical compounds, ions and mixtures.
- Calculate the concentrations and solubilities of compounds in mass percent and molarity.
- Define acids and bases and pH of solutions.
- Calculate hydrogen-ion concentration and pH.
- Discuss how and why acid-base reactions occur.
- Explain how and why oxidation-reduction reactions occur.
- Determine the rate of a reaction and the energy change in a reaction.
- Explain the molecular structure of inorganic, organic, and biological compounds.
- Describe fundamental nuclear chemical processes and their medical applications.
- Explain enzyme catalysis and inhibition.
- Describe energy production in the metabolism of sugars, proteins, and lipids.
- Define chemical hazards of particular classes of chemicals.
- Explain how chemicals interact with the human body.
PHYS 445 IMAGE ANALYSIS AND PATTERN RECOGNITION
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Explain the principles and basic concepts of pattern recognition.
- Demonstate the limitations in extracting and quantifying pattern content.
- Apply image segmentation methods to partition an image into disjoint, connected sets of pixels.
- Store the segmented image as a membership map, as a boundary chain code, or by line segment encoding.
- Use appropriate methods to store object size, shape and texture and use surface fitting to extract an object of interest.
- Use features for classification that are discriminative, reliable, independent and few in number.
- Establish representative and unbiased classifier parameters for a training set.
- Apply critical reasoning skills in the application of physical principles and choice of appropriate technique.
- Explain the architecture, processing, operation and performance of neural networks.
- Remove the bias from a proportion estimate.
MGT 421 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Describe the fundamentals of human resource management within private and public organizations.
- Write analysis of complex cases related to human resource management principles.
- Formulate and execute human resource management policies, strategies, plans and procedures.
- Identify, conceptualize, and develop solutions for successful human resource management.
MGT 471 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Read cases and describe (orally and in writing) the project management issues of the cases.
- Describe (in writing) project management approaches and their organizational implications for scientific managers.
- Analyze project management issues related to scientific projects and offer recommendations for effective corrective actions.
- In writing, demonstrate an understanding of the inter-relationships among the disciplines of science, basic management and project management.
