A checklist is the list of requirements to complete this program and receive the award, as the college publishes it in its catalog. It is the same for everyone. It does not say what you have completed; that comes from applying your own record.
Program
- Award
- Biophysics
- CIP
- 26.0911
- Catalog edition
- 2026
- Checklist type
- degree-program
Identifiers
- IPEDS UNITID
- 196468
- CourseShelf checklist
- CK_196468_f7a43e58
- CollegeTransfer.Net
- Institution Transfer Profile
- Source
- CourseShelf publish 61
Requirements to complete
Every course or condition the catalog lists, in the catalog's order.
Major in Biology
major core · 6 items
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- or: BIOL UN3300 Biochemistry3.00
- 3.00
- 4.00
Option 1:
0 items
Select one of the following 5-point laboratory courses:
2 items
- 5.00
- 5.00
Option 2:
1 item
- BIOL UN2501& BIOL UN3040CONTEMPORARY BIOLOGY LABand LAB IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGYNot resolved to a courseor: BIOL UN3058 PROJECT LAB IN MICROBIOLOGYor: BIOL UN3052 PROJECT LAB-MOLECULAR GENETICS
Option 3:
0 items
Two terms of BIOL UN3500 (3 or 4 credits per term), including the submission of a satisfactory research report at the end of each semester
0 items
Option 4:
0 items
Completion of all the requirements for one session of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). An additional semester of BIOL UN3500 in the same research lab is recommended but not required. Summer lab work under other auspices may not be substituted for the SURF Program.
0 items
Two additional 3000 or 4000 level biology lecture courses from the following:
24 items
- 3.00
- 4.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- or: BIOL GU4073 CELLULAR/MOLECULAR IMMUNOLOGY3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- or: BIOL GU4560 EVOL IN THE AGE OF GENOMICS4.00
- or: BIOL GU4799 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF CANCER3.00
- 3.00
- 4.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3
- 3.00
- 3.00
BIOL GU4310 - Virology
9 items
- 4.00
- 4.50
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 4
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 4.00
Option 1:
4 items
- CHEM UN1403& CHEM UN1404GENERAL CHEMISTRY I-LECTURESand GENERAL CHEMISTRY II-LECTURESNot resolved to a course
- CHEM UN1500& CHEM UN1501GENERAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORYand GENERAL CHEMISTRY LAB-LECTURENot resolved to a course
- CHEM UN2443& CHEM UN2444ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I-LECTURESand ORGANIC CHEMSTRY II-LECTURESNot resolved to a course
- CHEM UN2493& CHEM UN2494ORGANIC CHEM. LAB I TECHNIQUESand ORGANIC CHEM. LAB II SYNTHESISNot resolved to a course
Option 2:
0 items
For students who qualify for intensive chemistry
4 items
- 4.00
- 3.00
- CHEM UN2444& CHEM UN2443ORGANIC CHEMSTRY II-LECTURESand ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I-LECTURESNot resolved to a course
- CHEM UN2495& CHEM UN2496ORGANIC CHEM. LABORATORY Iand ORGANIC CHEM. LABORATORY IINot resolved to a course
Option 3:
0 items
For students who qualify for first year organic chemistry
3 items
- 3.00
- CHEM UN2045& CHEM UN2046INTENSVE ORGANIC CHEMISTRYand INTENSVE ORG CHEM-FOR 1ST YEARNot resolved to a course
- CHEM UN2495& CHEM UN2496ORGANIC CHEM. LABORATORY Iand ORGANIC CHEM. LABORATORY IINot resolved to a course
OR
1 item
- 3.00
Major in Biophysics
major core · 0 items
BIOLOGY COURSES
0 items
One year of introductory biology:
1 item
- BIOL UN2005& BIOL UN2006INTRO BIO I: BIOCHEM,GEN,MOLECand INTRO BIO II:CELL BIO,DEV/PHYSNot resolved to a course
Select at least one of the following laboratory courses:
1 item
- As published: “INDEP BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH (UN3500 must be taken for at least 4 points)”or: BIOL UN3058 PROJECT LAB IN MICROBIOLOGYor: BIOL UN3052 PROJECT LAB-MOLECULAR GENETICSor: RSRH C0001 FULL-TIME SUMMER RESEARCH PROG3.00-4.00
One course in biochemistry or molecular biology:
1 item
- 3.00
Select one of the following core courses:
major core · 1 item
- or: BIOL GU4075 BIOLOGY AT PHYSICAL EXTREMESor: BIOL GU4323 BIOPHYSICAL CHEMISTRY Ior: CHEM GU4324 BIOPHYSICAL CHEMISTRY IIor: BIOL GU4551 A Structural View of Biology4.00
PHYSICS COURSES
0 items
Select one of the following sequences to be completed at the end of sophomore year:
3 items
- PHYS UN1401& PHYS UN1402& PHYS UN1403& PHYS UN1494INTRO TO MECHANICS ＆ THERMOand INTRO ELEC/MAGNETSM ＆ OPTCSand INTRO-CLASSCL ＆ QUANTUM WAVESand INTRO TO EXPERIMENTAL PHYS-LABNot resolved to a course
- PHYS UN1601& PHYS UN1602& PHYS UN2601& PHYS UN1494PHYSICS I:MECHANICS/RELATIVITYand PHYSICS II: THERMO, ELEC ＆ MAGand PHYSICS III:CLASS/QUANTUM WAVEand INTRO TO EXPERIMENTAL PHYS-LABNot resolved to a course
- PHYS UN2801& PHYS UN2802& PHYS UN3081ACCELERATED PHYSICS Iand ACCELERATED PHYSICS IIand INTERMEDIATE LABORATORY WORKNot resolved to a course
Select any two physics courses at the 3000-level or above, chosen in consultation with the adviser.
0 items
MATH COURSES
0 items
Calculus I-IV or Ordinary Differential Equations:
1 item
- MATH UN1101& MATH UN1102& MATH UN1201& MATH UN1202CALCULUS Iand CALCULUS IIand CALCULUS IIIand CALCULUS IVNot resolved to a courseor: MATH UN3027 Ordinary Differential Equations
CHEMISTRY COURSES
1 item
- CHEM UN1403& CHEM UN1404GENERAL CHEMISTRY I-LECTURESand GENERAL CHEMISTRY II-LECTURESNot resolved to a course
BIOLOGY/PHYSICS ELECTIVE COURSE
electives · 0 items
Select one additional course at the 3000- or 4000-level, in either physics or biology. The following are some suggested courses:
1 item
- or: BIOL UN3005 NEUROBIO II: DEVPT ＆ SYSTEMSor: BIOL UN3022 DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGYor: BIOL UN3031 GENETICS3.00
Major in Neuroscience and Behavior
major core · 0 items
CHEMISTRY COURSES
0 items
One year of college chemistry is required prior to taking Introductory Biology.
0 items
BIOLOGY COURSES
0 items
One year of introductory biology.
1 item
- BIOL UN2005& BIOL UN2006INTRO BIO I: BIOCHEM,GEN,MOLECand INTRO BIO II:CELL BIO,DEV/PHYSNot resolved to a course
One year of Neurobiology
1 item
- BIOL UN3004& BIOL UN3005NEUROBIO I:CELLULAR ＆ MOLECULRand NEUROBIO II: DEVPT ＆ SYSTEMSNot resolved to a course
Two additional 3000 or 4000 level biology lecture courses from the list of Upper Level Electives under the Biology Major.
electives · 0 items
AN ADDITIONAL 5 COURSES IN PSYCHOLOGY ARE REQUIRED FOR THE MAJOR
major core · 0 items
Please see the Psychology Bulletin linked above.
0 items
Major in Computational Biology
major core · 0 items
Mathematics foundations (4 classes, 12-17 credits)
0 items
The following calculus courses are required:
2 items
- As published: “CALCULUS I can be placed out of with AP/IB credit”3.00
- As published: “CALCULUS II Calculus III does NOT depend on Calculus II.”or: MATH UN1201 CALCULUS III3.00
All students must complete computer-science-directed mathematical foundations classes.
1 item
- or: APMA E3101 APPLIED MATH I: LINEAR ALGEBRAor: APMA E2101 INTRO TO APPLIED MATHEMATICSor: COMS W3251 COMPUTATIONAL LINEAR ALGEBRA3.00
and
1 item
- or: STAT UN1201 CALC-BASED INTRO TO STATISTICS3.00
Chemistry Foundations (2 classes, 8 credits)
0 items
Option 1: General Chemistry
1 item
- CHEM UN1403& CHEM UN1404GENERAL CHEMISTRY I-LECTURESand GENERAL CHEMISTRY II-LECTURESNot resolved to a course
Option 2: For students who qualify for intensive general chemistry
1 item
- 4.00
Introductory Computer Sciences (3 classes, 9-11 credits)
0 items
All students must complete sequentially three courses in computer science:
2 items
- As published: “COMPUTING IN CONTEXT (with Biology Context)”or: ENGI E1006 INTRO TO COMP FOR ENG/APP SCIor: COMS W1004 PROGRAMMING IN JAVA4.00
- or: COMS W3136 ESSENTIAL DATA STRUCTURESor: COMS W3134 Data Structures in Javaor: COMS W3137 HONORS DATA STRUCTURES ＆ ALGOL4.00
Note: COMS 3134 and 3137 should be taken after COMS 1004 or with previous knowledge of Java
1 item
- or: COMS W3107 Software Quality and Designor: COMS W4111 INTRODUCTION TO DATABASES4.00
Biology (3 classes, 11-12 credits)
0 items
All students must take the two introductory biology courses:
1 item
- BIOL UN2005& BIOL UN2006INTRO BIO I: BIOCHEM,GEN,MOLECand INTRO BIO II:CELL BIO,DEV/PHYSNot resolved to a course
Students must take one course from this list of core biology courses
major core · 1 item
- or: BIOL UN3041 CELL BIOLOGYor: BIOL UN3022 DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGYor: BIOL GU4501 Biochemistryor: BIOL UN3300 Biochemistryor: BIOL GU4512 Molecular Biologyor: BIOL UN3005 NEUROBIO II: DEVPT ＆ SYSTEMS3.00
Lab/research (1 class, 4 credits)
0 items
All students must fulfill a laboratory/research experience. This can only be done after completing Intro Bio (BIOL UN2005 + BIOL UN2006). A research report must be submitted to either the course instructor or the lab research mentor at the end of each semester, and they must in turn confirm to the compbio major advisor that the report was satisfactory. Each project must require the student to (i) formulate a computational strategy to solve a particular biological question, (ii) develop dedicated software code or adapt existing code, (iii) use this code to analyze a suitable data set, and (iv) interpret the results from both a statistical and biological perspective. One option is to perform a research project as part of one these courses:
major core · 1 item
- As published: “TOPICS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE ((LAB COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY))”or: COMS W4901 Projects in Computer Scienceor: CSBS W3761 Lab in Computational Biologyor: COMS W3998 UNDERGRAD PROJECTS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE3.00
The other option is to perform lab research for credit using one of these courses:
1 item
- or: RSRH C0001 FULL-TIME SUMMER RESEARCH PROG3.00-4.00
BIOL UN3500 Independent Biological Research (must be taken for four credits) in a pre-approved lab RSRH 0001 Summer Undergraduate research fellowship (SURF) in a pre-approved lab
0 items
Pre-approved labs include Peter Andolfatto, Elham Azizi, Andrew Blumberg, Harmen Bussemaker, Bianca Dumitrascu, Jellert Gaublomme, David Knowles, Itsik Pe’er, Molly Przeworski, Guy Sella, Simon Tavare, Saeed Tavazoie. Other labs may be allowable if the project satisfies the conditions above, but only with prior approval from the compbio major advisor. For approval, students must send to the Comp. Bio major advisors: 1) One line description of the project you expect to work on and 2) One page research proposal for your document. This must be submitted to the advisors by the end of the first week of classes for approval. This approval is required before starting UN3500.
major core · 0 items
Advanced Electives (2 classes, 6-8 credits)
electives · 0 items
A biology course at the 3000 or 4000 level from the list of biology major approved core and elective courses.
electives · 0 items
One of the following computational biology courses:
1 item
- or: CBMF W4761 COMPUTATIONAL GENOMICSor: BMEN E4480 Statistical machine learning for genomics3
or COMS W4995 - computational biology section
0 items
Minor in Biology
0 items
CHEMISTRY COURSES
1 item
- CHEM UN1403& CHEM UN1404GENERAL CHEMISTRY I-LECTURESand GENERAL CHEMISTRY II-LECTURESNot resolved to a course
BIOLOGY COURSES
1 item
- BIOL UN2005& BIOL UN2006INTRO BIO I: BIOCHEM,GEN,MOLECand INTRO BIO II:CELL BIO,DEV/PHYSNot resolved to a course
Select at least one of the following core courses:
major core · 6 items
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- or: BIOL UN3300 Biochemistry3.00
- 3.00
- 4.00
Two additional 3000 or 4000 level biology lecture courses from the list of Upper Level Electives under the Biology Major.
electives · 0 items
No lab is required for the biology minor. However, only one biology lab can count towards the 5 biology course requirements. The biology lab options consists of the following:
1 item
- or: BIOL UN3040 LAB IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGYor: BIOL UN3058 PROJECT LAB IN MICROBIOLOGYor: BIOL UN3052 PROJECT LAB-MOLECULAR GENETICSor: BIOL UN3500 INDEP BIOLOGICAL RESEARCHor: RSRH C0001 FULL-TIME SUMMER RESEARCH PROG3.00
Concentration in Biology
concentration · 2 items
- 4.00
- 4.00
Select at least one of the following core courses:
major core · 5 items
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- or: BIOL UN3300 Biochemistry3.00
- 3.00
Plus additional biology elective courses (see electives listed under biology major) to reach a total of 22 points in biology courses.
electives · 0 items
No biology lab is required for the concentration. Of the 22 points, a maximum of 5 of the points can come from lab courses. SURF counts as 5 points of lab credit.
concentration · 0 items
Chemistry through organic including labs; see biology major for options
major core · 0 items
One year of physics, including laboratory; see biology major for options
major core · 0 items
One year of college-level mathematics (ordinarily this should be calculus); see biology major for options
major core · 0 items
Fall 2026
22 items
- 4.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 1.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- As published: “LAB IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (Lab in Molecular Biology)”3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00-4.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 4
- 3.00
Spring 2026
25 items
- 2.00
- 3.00
- 4.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 4.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 5.00
- 5.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00-4.00
- As published: “TOPICS IN BIOLOGY”1-2
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3
- 3.00
- 4.50
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 3.00
- 4.00
- 3.00
Of Related Interest
0 items
Chemistry
11 items
- 4.00
- 4
- 3.00
- 4.00
- 4.00
- 0.00
- 0.00
- 4.00
- 4.00
- 4.00
- 4.00
Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
2 items
- 3.00
- EEEB GU4321HUM NATURE:DNA,RACE ＆ IDENTITYNot resolved to a course
History and Philosophy of Science
1 item
- HPSC W3201Philosophy and History of Evolutionary BiologyNot resolved to a course
Psychology
1 item
- PSYC UN1010Mind, Brain and BehaviorNot resolved to a course
Source. Teachers College at Columbia University, catalog 2026 — https://bulletin.columbia.edu/general-studies/majors-concentrations/biophysics/. Captured page pages/0180.html.gz. Assembled from the institution's published catalog as captured; every record names its captured page and source URL. Assembled, not asserted.