In the life sciences, employers need graduates who are skilled in understanding and interpreting data. In particular, students who have experience using new, computational approaches and computer programs to process data are in demand. By completing this certificate in computational life sciences, students learn how to identify and interpret data that is generated from a wide range of fields in the life sciences. These fields include, but are not limited to: ecology, botany, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, molecular and cellular biology, and animal behavior. Students learn about many types of data generated from sources such as DNA, RNA, protein, imaging, conservation and even from long-term ecological research sites.

Students are introduced to a suite of computational approaches that are used to analyze, visualize and interpret this data. Finally, students will delve into the ethical implications of collecting, analyzing and sharing the results of computational life sciences data.