It is crucial that students, Advisory Committees, and/or Program Directors monitor the students’ progress throughout the duration of their academic training. Continued financial support is contingent upon maintaining satisfactory progress at all times. Additionally, failure to achieve and maintain satisfactory progress, after counseling is sought from the Program, Advisory Committee and/or Dean of the Graduate School, can result in academic probation and ultimately, dismissal from the Program.

MDSAI students maintain satisfactory progress by:

• Maintaining matriculation on a full-time basis unless permission granted by the program co-directors

• Maintaining a minimum semester GPA of 3.0

• Maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 for the core courses

• Meeting with program leadership at least once per term

• Actively working with a capstone advisor to develop and complete a capstone project

This section covers the following program requirements:

• Curricular Requirements

• Requirements to Graduate

All students will need to meet the following degree requirements in order to successfully earn the MDSAI degree:

• Complete a minimum of 30 graduate credits

• Complete the Core Curriculum with an average grade of B (3.0) or higher

• Must achieve an average GPA of at least a 3.0.

• Submit a written capstone project document

• Successfully present the capstone project

• Complete and submit the

• Complete and submit the

• Complete and submit the

The 30-credit Master of Science in Biomedical Data Science and AI (MDSAI) program is a unique opportunity for students with a strong quantitative background to apply computational biology and data science techniques to biomedical problems.

During the first two semesters, students take courses immersed in concepts such as cellular and molecular biology, experimental design, statistical analysis, responsible conduct in research, and critical analysis and presentation of primary biomedical literature. Students also learn fundamental principles of data science applied to biomedical problems, including programming logic, computer architecture, algorithms, ML, and various AI tools. The third and fourth semesters focus on advanced electives and mentored laboratory research in the student’s area of interest, culminating in a Master’s capstone project.

For students who entered the MDSAI (MSBDS) program prior to 2025, please refer to your curriculum checklists on the Blackboard site.

First Year

• Students must select three of four fundamental core courses (6 credits total):

  • BSR1030 Core I: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (2 credits)

  • BSR1031 Core II: Pharmacology & Drug Discovery (2 credits)

Year 2

• BDS9001 Biomedical Data Science Capstone Project (3-9 credits)

• Electives - Students complete their credit requirements with electives

Milestones

• Selecting a lab – During the first term, research mentors will be invited to present their research to the first year students. As a result students are encouraged to contact the research mentor to discuss joining the lab and work on a capstone project. Students are also encouraged to contact research mentors who did not present. Students are expected to join a lab by the end of the first term.

• Research Agreement Form – Once a student and a research mentor has agreed on joining a lab, students will need to submit the .