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Bioinformatics associate education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a bioinformatics associate. Bioinformatics associates usually study computer science, biostatistics, or biotechnology. 55% of bioinformatics associates hold a bachelor's degree, and 25% hold an doctoral degree. We analyzed 21 real bioinformatics associate resumes to see exactly what bioinformatics associate education sections show.

The most common colleges for bioinformatics associates are the University of Florida and the University of Florida.

There are also many online bioinformatics associate courses to help get the education required to be a bioinformatics associate.

What education do you need to become a bioinformatics associate?

What degree do you need to be a bioinformatics associate?

The most common degree for bioinformatics associates is bachelor's degree, with 55% of bioinformatics associates earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are doctoral degree degree at 25% and doctoral degree degree at 20%.
  • Bachelor's, 55%
  • Doctorate, 25%
  • Master's, 20%

What should I major in to become a bioinformatics associate?

You should major in computer science to become a bioinformatics associate. 20% of bioinformatics associates major in computer science. Other common majors for a bioinformatics associate include biostatistics and biotechnology.

Most common colleges for bioinformatics associates

Bioinformatics associates often get their degrees at University of Florida, University of Maryland - College Park, and University of California, Berkeley. Here are the most common colleges for bioinformatics associates in the US based on their resumes.
Bioinformatics associate common collegePercentages
University of Florida12.50%
University of Maryland - College Park12.50%
University of California, Berkeley12.50%
Virginia Commonwealth University6.25%
San Francisco State University6.25%

Best majors for bioinformatics associates

Best colleges for bioinformatics associates

The best colleges for bioinformatics associates are University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Harvard University.

A bioinformatics associate with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for bioinformatics associates. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become bioinformatics associates.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

5. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

6. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

8. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

9. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

10. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

20 best online courses for bioinformatics associates

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1. Plant Bioinformatic Methods

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The past 15 years have been exciting ones in plant biology. Hundreds of plant genomes have been sequenced, RNA-seq has enabled transcriptome-wide expression profiling, and a proliferation of "-seq"-based methods has permitted protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions to be determined cheaply and in a high-throughput manner. These data sets in turn allow us to generate hypotheses at the click of a mouse or tap of a finger.The Plant Bioinformatics Specialization on Coursera introduces core...

2. Plant Bioinformatics Capstone

coursera

The past 15 years have been exciting ones in plant biology. Hundreds of plant genomes have been sequenced, RNA-seq has enabled transcriptome-wide expression profiling, and a proliferation of "-seq"-based methods has permitted protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions to be determined cheaply and in a high-throughput manner. These data sets in turn allow us to generate hypotheses at the click of a mouse or tap of a finger. In Plant Bioinformatics on Coursera.org, we covered 33 plant-specific...

3. Genetics and Next Generation Sequencing for Bioinformatics

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4.4
(1,551)

For software professionals entering Bioinformatics: DNA sequencing data analysis, NGS, & Biology prerequisites...

4. Learn Bioinformatics From Scratch (Theory & Practical)

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4.4
(1,157)

Best Bioinformatics course for Students, Academia and Industry Professionals to learn Bioinformatics and biological data...

5. Bioinformatics Capstone: Big Data in Biology

coursera

In this course, you will learn how to use the BaseSpace cloud platform developed by Illumina (our industry partner) to apply several standard bioinformatics software approaches to real biological data. In particular, in a series of Application Challenges will see how genome assembly can be used to track the source of a food poisoning outbreak, how RNA-Sequencing can help us analyze gene expression data on the tissue level, and compare the pros and cons of whole genome vs. whole exome sequencing...

6. Access Bioinformatics Databases with Biopython

coursera

In this 1-hour long project-based course, you will learn how to access, parse, and visualize data from various bioinformatics sequence and structural online databases such as ENTREZ, PDB, KEGG and NCBI using Biopython. You will also interact with various bioinformatics file formats such as FASTA, PDB, GENBANK and XML along with various parsers to read and modify these files using Biopython. Note: This course works best for learners who are based in the North America region. We’re currently...

7. Bioinformatics with Python

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4.1
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A Complete Guide For Beginners...

8. Applied Statistical Modeling for Data Analysis in R

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4.6
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Your Complete Guide to Statistical Data Analysis and Visualization For Practical Applications in R...

9. Bioinformatics

coursera

Join Us in a Top 50 MOOC of All Time!\n\nHow do we sequence and compare genomes? How do we identify the genetic basis for disease? How do we construct an evolutionary Tree of Life for all species on Earth?\n\nWhen you complete this Specialization, you will learn how to answer many questions in modern biology that have become inseparable from the computational approaches used to solve them. You will also obtain a toolkit of existing software resources built on these computational approaches and...

10. Data Analysis with Pandas and Python

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4.6
(20,640)

Analyze data quickly and easily with Python's powerful pandas library! All datasets included --- beginners welcome!...

11. Statistics for Data Analysis Using R

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4.7
(2,082)

Learn Programming in R & R Studio • Descriptive, Inferential Statistics • Plots for Data Visualization • Data Science...

12. Learn Bioinformatics in 6 Days

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4.6
(650)

Kickstart Your Journey to be a Bioinformatician!...

13. Bioinformatics; Learn Docking & Mol Dynamics Simulation

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4.4
(535)

Best Bioinformatics Course To Learn Advance Bioinformatics Techniques Like Docking & Molecular Dynamics Simulations...

14. The Ultimate Pandas Bootcamp: Advanced Python Data Analysis

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4.7
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Master the powerful pandas library to analyze, manipulate and visualize data. More than 10 datasets & bonuses included!...

15. Statistics for Data Analysis Using Python

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4.7
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Learn Python from Basics • Descriptive, Inferential Statistics • Plots for Data Visualization • Data Science...

16. Data Analysis Excel for Beginners: Statistical Data Analysis

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Data Analysis with Excel 2013 for Beginners. Business Data Analysis. Statistical Data Analysis with Case Studies...

17. SQL Course 2023: SQL for Data Analysis and Data Science.

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Master the Art of SQL Querying and Postgre SQL for Data Analysis and Data Science An using Real World SQL Database...

18. Data Analysis with Python: NumPy & Pandas Masterclass

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4.6
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Learn Num Py & Pandas for data science, data analysis & business intelligence, with practical, hands-on Python projects!...

19. Python for Statistical Analysis

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4.6
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Master applied Statistics with Python by solving real-world problems with state-of-the-art software and libraries...

20. Python Data Analysis & Visualization Bootcamp

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4.5
(3,622)

Financial Data Analysis and Visualization with Python: The High Quality Study kit...

Top 10 most affordable universities for bioinformatics associates

The most affordable schools for bioinformatics associates are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for bioinformatics associates are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for bioinformatics associates.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,140

Cost of attendance

14,430

5. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM • Private

In-state tuition

$7,770

Cost of attendance

21,244

6. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

7. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

8. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

9. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

10. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for bioinformatics associates

The hardest universities for bioinformatics associates to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Harvard University.

Some great schools for bioinformatics associates are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for bioinformatics associates based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

2. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

5. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

7. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

8. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

9. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,517

10. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for bioinformatics associates

The easiest schools for bioinformatics associates to get into are Barry University, d'youville college, and nyack college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a bioinformatics associate without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for bioinformatics associates.

1. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

2. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

3. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

4. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

5. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

6. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

7. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

8. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

9. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

10. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

Average bioinformatics associate salary by education level

Bioinformatics associates with a Doctorate degree earn more than those without, at $117,158 annually. With a Master's degree, bioinformatics associates earn a median annual income of $94,585 compared to $83,568 for bioinformatics associates with an Bachelor's degree.
Bioinformatics associate education levelBioinformatics associate salary
Master's Degree$94,585
Bachelor's Degree$83,568
Doctorate Degree$117,158

Bioinformatics associate education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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