Specializing too soon?

College Majors
1

<p>Right now I am thinking of doing a major in bioinformatics. Despite what people say about the pathetic biology market, I think that this major will pay off in the long run, since biotechnology is an industry that is going to rapidly increase. However, I am now worried that this major does not provide enough flexibility and if I wanted to switch do a different field during graduate school, I would be unable to do so.
I recently read a thread on here that suggested statistics as a major for someone, and it sounded really cool. The vaseemed rad school oppurtunities it opened up seemed phenomenal, and even included bioinformatics. I like math and recognizing patterns a lot (which is why I was attracted to bioinformatics in the first place). However, none of the schools I am looking at offer statistics majors, and the other schools in my area are either too big or in an urban setting, and my parents won't let me go to a college with those credentials.</p>

<p>So what should I do? Should I major in pure mathematics or stay with the biology major? Or should I try to convince my parents to attend a bigger school, if it is in my best interest?</p>

2

<p>Few colleges offer statistics as a separate major. More often students major in math and take a number of statistics classes as electives for their math major. That being said, if you are more interested in applied math, you won’t really need the theoretical upper-level math courses for a pure math major. </p>

<p>If I were you, I would probably plan for the following:

  • a biology major (plus organic chemistry if that’s not already required for the bio major)
  • math up through linear algebra and multivariable calculus
  • a two-semester intro sequence to statistics and probability; maybe 1-2 more statistics courses if your college offers it and you have time for it
  • a few computer science courses, including data structures, algorithms and databases</p>

<p>That would prepare you well for graduate programs in bioinformatics; and it has enough math and computer science to let you switch to other areas of applied math or computational methods. If you start the math sequence simultaneously with the biology sequence (as you should), you can switch to a math major up through the end of your 2nd year in college without falling behind, in case you find yourself losing interest in biology.</p>

<p>FYI, you do need a solid biology background to get into a bioinformatics program; a statistics major by itself won’t allow you to pursue bioinformatics at the graduate level. One of my friends found that out the hard way. She double-majored in math and computer science, and decided to apply to graduate programs in computational neuroscience after an REU in the field. She got a few interviews but was ultimately rejected everywhere because she only had 2 semesters of biology and no chemistry.</p>

3

<p>Most math departments should have an applied mathematics program. However, if BioStats is really what you want to do, you should impress upon your parents the importance of getting a good statistics undergraduate education - regardless of where the school is and what misconceptions they have about “city life”. </p>

<p>Realistically though, getting a math degree will prepare you just as well - though you will most definitely have a leg-up if you get a straight stats degree. </p>

<p>As for the bio background - check BioInfo/BioStat graduate programs - most require 6 or so units of biology. . .if that.</p>

4

<p>In the end the “perfect” preparation would depend on exactly what the OP wants to do. Biostatistics, more math. Bioinformatics, more computer science. More chemistry for small scale biology (e.g. neuroscience), more statistics for large scale systems (e.g. epidemiology). And so on and so forth. </p>

<p>The good news is that the OP does not need to decide that right now. It seems that the sensible approach here would be to start taking courses in both biology and mathematics to stay on track for both majors, and then see where your interests lead you. </p>

<p>

Just to emphasize again: a statistics major is not going to magically keep all doors open for you. A statistics major will allow you to go into a lot of other fields provided that you have some background in those fields. The same can be said for most other quantitative majors too.</p>

<p>If you want to study statistics because you care about statistics, by all means apply to universities with statistics programs. If you want to study statistics only to delay making a decision, you’ll be in for a surprise. </p>

<p>If I were you - given the interests that you have expressed to us - I would apply to colleges with majors in biology, math and computer science; and a few statistics courses taught within the math department (but not necessarily a stand-alone statistics major).</p>

5

<p>There is no one perfect major/program. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, those who want to do statistics should consider including a good dose of pure and other applied math, and those who want to do math should try a wide variety of courses early on to be able to focus on thei favorite subfield later (i.e. take more advanced courses), while still having a good intuition about the rest. I would not recommend taking only a wide variety of low-level courses.</p>

<p>I have a PhD (and a job) in (bio)statistics, but I majored in math, with a minor in computer science, and only had 5 courses worth of probability and statistics at the end of my undergrad, though that included one graduate course (and another in applied math).</p>

<p>If you want to do bioinfo at the graduate level, consider asking what the graduate programs in bioinfo you may be interested in the future expect of their applicants. It could be bio majors with computer science/math-stats minor, it could be computer science/math majors with a bio minor or anywhere in between. b@r!um’s advice appear pretty spot on. As I have said in other threads, what a math major (or any “real” math-heavy program) provides is the abstract, problem solving mindset that is useful in a wide variety of jobs and fields of work. Employers look for the problem solving skills more than the knowledge of abstract spaces or particular programming languages or statistical methods. That requires both breadth and depth of education. So, whatever route you choose, pick the core courses of the discipline(s) (not just the intro level) and then expand on the areas you really like. In your case, that would be core bio, computer science and math (including stats, with a focus on applied rather than pure; I wouldn’t avoid the pure stuff altogether of course, but unless you want to, you shouldn’t have to take the full sequence of analysis and algebra).</p>

<p>To me, core computer science is basic programming, algorithms, data structures.
Core “stats” is two separate, calculus-based probability and statistics courses, plus one more advanced probability course (could be stochastic processes), and a regression course. Anyone who has at least that I would consider for a graduate program in statistics or biostat.
Core math is more tricky, but I’d say at least two courses on real analysis (or one plus abstract algebra, that is, groups, rings, fields, not “college level” symbolic manipulation), two courses in linear algebra, and calculus up to multivariable and ODEs (I’m warry of those who only have to deal with multivariable calculus through an analysis sequence; they can do epsilon-delta proofs but can’t compute anything). One course in discrete math and one course in numerical analysis never hurts. These last two are part of most computer science programs as well, so they’ll come up at some point if you’re doing bioinfo.</p>

<p>If you have the above with anything science (again, not just intro level), you’ll be good for jobs and/or grad school in a number of fields. But that’s just my opinion.</p>

6

<p>Thank you all very much for your input, it was very knowledgeable and helpful. One of the two schools I’m looking at requires many of the courses you suggested taking for math and comp sci. Overall, it requires 6 courses in bio, (bio 1&2, genetics, genomics, biochem, and molecular cell bio); 6 in math (calc 1&2, discrete 1&2, math probability and math stats); 3 in comp sci (comp sci 1&2, and algorithms and data structures); and 3 in chem (chem 1&2 and orgo 1). It also requires 2 elective courses from a list of bio, math, comp sci, and chem courses they give you (orgo 2 is on that list, so I’ll probably take it as b@r!um suggested). I’ll have to add a few math classes outside of the bioinfo electives, but other than that I should be good. Thank you guys again!</p>

7

<p>Wait - there’s a college that lets you major in bioinformatics as an undergraduate? That’s so cool! </p>

<p>Now I finally understand your concern about specializing too early, but let me assure you that that’s not really a concern in this case. You aren’t really specializing yet. What you are doing is acquiring a foundation in three different fields (life sciences, math and computer science). Having all 3 would put you into an enviable position!</p>

<p>FYI, you will need a graduate degree to have a career in biotechnology, but that major would prepare you for those programs perfectly. If you discover sometime in college that you are interested in something else, you can easily enough switch fields by adding a few electives in other areas. (If that something else happens to be related to math, computer science, biology or chemistry, you already have a good foundation to build on!) You’ll probably need a few courses beyond your major and general education requirements to graduate anyway, so you’ve got time.</p>

8

<p>Thank you so much! That really put me at ease. And yes, I did know that I needed to go to grad school for my type of degree, since a B.S. in anything science is worth as much as actual bull excretement XD.</p>