Available courses
The graduate courses offered by the Department cover a broad range of biochemistry. In addition, courses in other departments/programs, notably Biology, Chemistry, Medical Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, and Chemical Biology may be allowed for graduate credit. Students must consult with their supervisor when selecting courses.
Permission to Register in a Course
Enrolment in all courses is subject to permission from the respective departments. For Biochemistry courses, please email bbsgrad@mcmaster.ca. Students are to contact outside departments directly to obtain permission to enrol in non-Biochemistry courses. Class sizes are usually small for graduate courses (some programs allow no more than 10 students to enrol) so it is important that students indicate their interests early.
*Note: 700 Level chemistry courses equal to one-quarter credit.
Sample of Courses Offered from Other Departments
- BIOL 720 – Introductory Bioinformatics
- BIOL 799 – Genetic Basis of Common Diseases
- MED SCI 740: Drug-Receptor Interaction and Signal Transduction
- MED SCI 713: Integrated Systems in Gastrointestinal Health And Disease
- MED SCI 715: Advanced Immunobiology I
- MED SCI 716: Advanced Immunobiology II
* Please note this is not an exhaustive list of courses. Please contact the individual departments for information regarding their courses.
700 Level courses
The following 700-level courses (half course credit) are available to graduate students only:
Expandable List
Instructor: Dawit Wolday
Term 1 & 2: Sept 2024 – April 2025
Limited to students enrolled in their 2nd year of our Master’s program.
Email: bbsgrad@mcmaster.ca for permission
This course will introduce students to various methods of scientific communication and provide them with the tools to become better communicators in speaking, writing, and publishing Topics include effective public speaking strategies, development of effective visual material for presentations and scientific manuscripts, and writing strategies for scientific manuscripts. As part of this course, students will apply the skills learned by presenting a research seminar to the department as part of an ongoing colloquium series, and by writing a scholarly review article on their research topics.
Instructor: Lori Burrows
Term 1 (Fall): September to December 2024
Limited enrollment: 15 students
Email: bbsgrad@mcmaster.ca for permission
Scientific writing spans journalism, manuscripts, patents, posters, grant proposals, commentaries – the list goes on. This course will expose students to a variety of scientific writing, exploring their purpose(s) and how they are evaluated by their intended audiences. A large practical component will have students writing and/or evaluating writing every week. The emphasis will be on guiding students to become better, more effective communicators.
Instructor: Leigh Wilson
Term 2 (Winter): January to April 2025
Limited enrollment: 20 students
Email: bbsgrad@mcmaster.ca for permission
Biomedical Commercialization and Entrepreneurship has been developed with the following goals in mind- to educate learners on the process of research commercialization, and to enlighten students on the intricacies of the life science industry, prepare them for possible non-academic careers, and foster interest in life sciences entrepreneurship. Key themes of the course include understanding intellectual property and market assessment, and application of this knowledge to evaluate commercial potential of research projects (from the learner’s own laboratory, where possible).
Instructors: Gerry Wright and Yingfu Li
Term 2 (Winter): January to April 2025
Limited enrollment: 20 students
Email: bbsgrad@mcmaster.ca for permission
The objective of this course is to introduce students to modern experimental approaches and technologies commonly employed in biomedical research. The course will consist of 3 units delivered over a single term and will be delivered as a series of modules (four per offering) that will provide students with the practical and theoretical framework necessary to both design, perform, and interpret experiments using the technologies described below. The course will leverage the research cores/platforms available to BBS graduate students across campus. The overall goal of this course is to provide our graduate students with both the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to apply these technologies to their own research.
Instructors: Lori Burrows
Term 1 (Fall): September to December 2024
Limited enrollment: 15 students
NOT CURRENTLY OFFERED
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is threat to modern medicine. Innovative strategies are required to slow the development of AMR and novel antibiotics are urgently required. In collaboration with researchers from Public Health Ontario, clinicians, medical/clinical microbiologists, epidemiologists and basic researchers, this course will explore how antibiotics guidelines are developed, how AMR is tracked at the local and population level, how AMR infections influence prognosis and novel antimicrobial stewardship approaches. Students will develop a fulsome understanding of AMR using clinical case studies, selected readings and participating in seminars provided by Public Health Ontario.
Course Requirements
Expandable List
All graduate students are required to pass the following courses to be “clear to graduate” or to continue into subsequent academic sessions. We urge all students to register for and take these courses at their earliest opportunity.
ALL new students must complete the “Academic Integrity and Research Ethics Course” administered by the School of Graduate Studies within the first MONTH after their admission into graduate studies at McMaster University. The purpose of this course is to ensure that the standards and expectations of academic integrity and research ethics are communicated early and are understood by incoming students. A graduate student may not obtain a graduate degree at McMaster without having passed this course. Please note that students must successfully pass the SGS 101 quiz with a mark of at least 7 out of 10. If a student fails this course, they must retake it at the earliest opportunity.
ALL new students must complete the AODA training. The Ontario government has enacted a Customer Service regulation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, which came into effect with the start of 2010. Senate passed the requirement for all graduate students to complete this training. The AODA Office maintains the course content and a record of all McMaster students who have taken the course. Any student who has taken an AODA equivalent course should contact aoda@mcmaster.ca for confirmation. Please then forward this confirmation to sgsrec@mcmaster.ca. The AODA Office maintains the course content and a record of all McMaster students who have taken the course. Please note that students need to receive a grade of 100% on the AODA/Human Rights Code Quiz to pass.
Program Specific Requirements
M.Sc.
At least one full, 700-level graduate course (or two half courses) must be completed, which must include at least one half, 700-level graduate course in Biochemistry. Supervisory committees may require a student to take courses in addition to those prescribed by departmental regulations. Students may take 600-level courses, however, these do not count towards degree requirements. Under normal circumstances a student who fails to obtain a B- in a prescribed course is asked to withdraw from the program. Those allowed to remain in the program must either repeat or replace the failed course. A failing grade in a prescribed course remains on the transcript.
Ph.D.
There is no formal course requirement for doctoral students. Doctoral students are welcome to enrol in any relevant course offered by BBS or another department.
600 Level (2024)
The following 600-level courses (half course credit) offered for graduate credit consist of the corresponding 400-level undergraduate course plus additional work, usually in the form of a written assignment.
Expandable List
Instructors: Mick Bhatia (Term 1)
Recombinant DNA techniques: theory and application to the study of gene function and evolution and to disease diagnostics and gene therapy. Current concepts of gene regulation at different levels.
Instructors: R. Bishop (Term 2)
Properties and structures of membranes, molecular components of biological membranes and their interactions, strategies for signal transduction cascades, hormones, receptors.
Instructor: Radhey Gupta (Term 1)
Introduction to the basic concepts of pharmacology. Mechanisms of action of antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anticancer drugs, toxins and how cellular resistance to such agents develop. Applications of drug-resistant mutants for genetic, biochemical, pharmacological and cell biological studies.
Instructor: Cecile Fradin
Term 1A presentation of recent contributions made to the fields of molecular and cell biology by the use of physical approaches. In particular, the following topics are discussed: physical properties of biomolecules, protein folding, molecular motors, cell motion and cell adhesion. Emphasis on the critical evaluation of current research literature.
Three lectures; one term
Cross-list(s): BIOPHYS 4S03
This course is administered by the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Instructor: Jon Schertzer and Greg Steinberg (Term 2)
Study of nutritional biochemistry and the regulation of metabolism; the role of specific nutrients in functional processes of the body in health and disease.
Three lectures; one term