After establishing a major and co-major professor, and a home department, students should begin planning their program of study (POS) to complete their graduate coursework. Before the end of the first year, students should determine the remainder of their POS Committee members through discussions with their major and co-major professors.

One form will be filed electronically with the Graduate College to form the POS Committee and to report the courses the student will take to complete their graduate coursework or Program of Study (POS). Links to information on completing the form are on the forms and publications page.

The composition and responsibilities of the POS committee are in accordance with the Graduate College guidelines (see below).

The POS committee should include faculty whose knowledge and research interests can aid and complement the student's research interests, as well as faculty whose expertise will ensure a breadth of knowledge on the committee. For Ph.D. candidates, the POS committee must consist of at least five members of the Graduate College Faculty. The committee must have at least three faculty members – including the major professor and co-major professor – from within the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology major (i.e., who are members of the BCB faculty). The fourth member should be from outside the student's field of emphasis to provide relevant specialized knowledge or a different perspective helpful to the planning, execution, and reporting of research, or some aspect of intellectual diversity deemed important by the committee and/or major. The committee should indicate on the committee form who will serve as an outside member. The fifth member must be a member of the Graduate Faculty as must all other POS committee members.

For M.S candidates, the POS committee must consist of at least three members of the Graduate College Faculty. Both the major and co-major professors must be members of the BCB faculty. One member of the committee must be either outside the major (not a BCB faculty member) or outside the student's home department.

Special rules govern the composition of the POS committee for students seeking a co-major degree. Both the major and co-major professors must be members of the BCB faculty, with one professor affiliated with the department of the student’s second major. The third member must be a BCB faculty member, and the fourth must be a faculty member of the student’s second major. The fifth member can be outside both majors or in one of the two major departments or programs.

For students seeking a BCB M.S. co-major, both the major and co-major professors must be members of the BCB faculty, with one professor affiliated with the department of the student’s second major. The third member can be outside both majors or in one of the two major department or program.

After decisions about the committee and coursework are made, file the electronic POSC form with the Graduate College. Links to information on completing the form are on the forms and publications page. On the form, “Bioinformatics and Computational Biology” should be listed as “Major”; home department (major professor’s department) should be listed as “Department.” The form will route from the committee members to the BCB Chair, who is Director of Graduate Education (DOGE) for the BCB major. Once approved, the form will route to the Graduate College.