Short Courses in Bioinformatics & Biocomputing
Build your skills in computational biology with focused, affordable short courses offered each semester
View Course Offerings for Fall 2026
Training in computational and bioinformatics approaches to biological problems is central to the CBRS mission. Each long semester we offer a set of focused, one‑day classes that introduce practical techniques and tools.
Course Format
- Course lengths are typically one day, lasting 2–4 hours.
- Some courses span multiple days within the semester.
- Many are offered in hybrid mode (in-person & Zoom).
Course Highlights
- Affordable courses, open to students, faculty, and staff.
- Designed for all skill levels.
- Learn alongside peers in small, focused sessions.
Fees and Registration
Fees & Discounts
Courses range in price from $0 to $50 each and can be paid by 10-digit UT account (IDT), credit card, or UT ProCard.
- 50% discount for registering for three or more courses in the same series*
- 25% discount for registering for two courses in the same series*
*Discounts are only applicable when multiple courses in a series are registered to at the same time.
Registration Information
Important: If registering on behalf of someone else, do not use your own name, contact info, or EID at any point in the process. Use the information pertaining to the student or they will not be included on the roster and could miss out on crucial course communications. Ask the student to forward the receipt they receive.
- Use your own unique PIN when registering — do not use someone else’s PIN.
- No refunds will be issued within 2 business days of the course start date.
For issues or questions about registration, email bcg@utexas.edu.
Fall 2026 Semester
Python
- October 7 Introduction to Python
- October 9 Intermediate Python
- October 16 Python for Data Science
- October 23 Python for Machine Learning/AI
Sequencing
- October 14 Introduction to Next Generation Sequencing
- October 21 Introduction to RNA-seq
R and Data Visualization
- November 11 Introduction to R
- November 13 Data Visualization Using R
TACC
- November 18 Introduction to TACC
Core Facilities Short Courses
- October 28 Improving Rigor and Reproducibility in Mouse Research
- November 4 Overview of the Biological Mass Spectrometry Facility
- November 20 Introduction to Makerspace
Introduction to Python
Matt Bramble (Bioinformatician, Bioinformatics Consulting Group, CBRS)
Python is a popular programming language that is useful for a wide variety of tasks. This course is a basic introduction to scripting using Python. Skills taught will include data structures, loops, conditional statements, function definitions, and file input and output. This course is taught at an introductory level and is appropriate for students with no programming experience. However, the course is designed to include subjects and techniques that will be helpful to moderately experienced programmers new to Python.
Prerequisites:
Students must bring their own laptop with an ability to connect to the UT WiFi network. No prior knowledge of Python programming is required.
$50
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topIntermediate Python
Matt Bramble (Bioinformatician, Bioinformatics Consulting Group, CBRS)
This course is designed for Python programmers who have basic experience with the language or who have taken the introductory Python course. Learners should already have some basic knowledge of Python control flow and data structures (variables, lists, dictionaries). The course will focus on the syntax and structure of Python objects at a deeper level, and the use of functions, loops, and conditionals to produce code that is modular and readable.
Prerequisites:
Students must bring their own laptop with an ability to connect to the UT WiFi network and should already have some knowledge of Python control flow and basic data structures.
$50
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topIntroduction to Next Generation Sequencing
Anna Battenhouse (Bioinformatics Consultant and Biomedical Research Computing Facility Director)
This course provides a high-level introduction to concepts and best practices for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) analysis. Participants will gain familiarity with NGS vocabulary and file formats as well as popular tools commonly used in early processing. We will touch on the main skills and resources you need to get started, and aim to help you better understand what it takes to bridge the bench-scientist-to-bioinformatician divide.
Preferred or Prerequisite Skills:
Basic familiarity with DNA and RNA.
$50
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topPython for Data Science
Dhivya Arasappan (Co-Director, Bioinformatics Consulting Group, CBRS)
This course will build up on the concepts covered in the Introduction to Python and Intermediate Python courses. We will introduce the use of Pandas Data frames to read in, subset, analyze and visualize RNA-Seq gene expression data.
Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites for taking this course.
$50
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topIntroduction to RNA seq
Dhivya Arasappan (Co-Director, Bioinformatics Consulting Group, CBRS)
This is a theory course that will introduce some basics (both in experimental design and bioinformatics) that need to be considered when doing an RNA-Seq experiment. We will discuss library prep options, quality assessment, and bioinformatics analysis pipelines. We will also talk about analysis of single-cell and 3′ targeted RNA-Seq data. This course is designed to give you an idea of the options that are available when designing an RNA-Seq study or analyzing an RNA-Seq data set.
Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites for taking this course.
$50
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topPython for Machine Learning/AI
Dennis Wylie (Co-Director, Bioinformatics Consulting Group, CBRS)
Building further on the concepts covered in the Introduction, Intermediate, and Data Science Python courses, we will introduce Python as a tool for training and testing machine learning (ML) models with a particular focus on deep learning approaches. Specific topics will include an introduction to the PyTorch software library and a brief survey of some of the basic model architectures which it implements. Some prior familiarity with the basic ideas of ML (underfitting vs. overfitting, use of training and test data sets, etc.) and/or linear algebra will be helpful for getting the most out of this course.
Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites for taking this course.
$50
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topImproving Rigor and Reproducibility in Mouse Research
William Shawlot (Director, Mouse Genetic Engineering Facility, CBRS)
This class covers best practices for maintaining mouse colonies to promote rigor and reproducibility in experimental research. It is intended for lab staff, graduate students, postdocs, and undergraduates working on mouse projects.
The topics to be covered include:
- Importance of genetic background
- Reproduction, breeding, and genotyping
- Sizing mouse colonies
- Recordkeeping
- Genetic drift
- Tips
- Resources
Preferred or Prerequisite Skills:
No prerequisites, although an understanding of basic genetics is presumed.
$10
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topOverview of the Biological Mass Spectrometry Facility
Maria Person (Facility Director)
The class will be an overview of the Biological Mass Spectrometry Facility covering staff, equipment, services, and collaborative opportunities. Recent acquisitions, new services and opportunities for proteomics and metabolomics experiments will be highlighted.
Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites for taking this course.
Free
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topIntroduction to R
Matt Bramble (Bioinformatician, Bioinformatics Consulting Group, CBRS)
This course will introduce the fundamentals of programming in R. The basic syntax and internal logic of working in R will be covered, with some coverage of Tidyverse tools, if time permits. Topics will include data types, functions, coding style, reading/writing files and basic data manipulation. This course is designed for students with little to no programming experience (prior installation of R is not required). The goal of this course is to get comfortable working with R in RStudio.
Prerequisites:
Students must bring their own laptop with an ability to connect to the UT WiFi network. No prior knowledge of R programming is required.
$50
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topData Visualization Using R
Dennis Wylie (Co-Director, Bioinformatics Consulting Group, CBRS)
This course introduces both principles and practice of scientific data visualization, especially as applied to large multivariate data sets. Will cover common methods of visually summarizing data and illustrating relationships between variables of various common types (continuous, categorical, etc.) as well as design concepts for increasing the clarity of quantitative graphical communication. Will introduce modern “grammar of graphics” ideas as foundation for thinking about, relating, and ultimately building new types of informative plots. Implementations of covered methods in R will be presented. Students should bring their own laptops to the course with R and the associated packages dplyr, ggplot2 and pheatmap installed.
Prerequisites:
Some prior knowledge of R is required to get the most out of this class. The “Introduction to R” class would be useful for those not already comfortable with R programming prior to this course.
$50
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topIntroduction to TACC
Anna Battenhouse (Bioinformatics Consultant and Biomedical Research Computing Facility Director)
This course provides a gentle introduction to the many resources available at TACC - the Texas Advanced Computing Center. Topics include account setup, requesting an allocation, TACC’s different compute and storage clusters, file system structures and protocols, how to find available software, and working with the TACC batch system. We focus on typical bioinformatics workflow patterns, which are different from those of standard High Performance Computing (HPC), and we provide some useful scripts for bioinformatics analysis support.
Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites for taking this course.
$50
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
Back to topIntroduction to Makerspace
Patrick Benfield
This course provides a beginner-friendly, hands-on introduction to the materials, tools, and equipment available at Hello Maker Studio, the new CNS makerspace. Topics include prototyping with simple materials, digital fabrication, and physical computing with programmable electronics. Participants will complete the studio’s standard 3D printing and laser cutting training, which will allow them to access studio equipment after the course. We will also have dedicated collaboration time to consider ways in which the makerspace could support participants’ research and other areas of interest.
Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites for taking this course.
$10
If using a UT Procard, read this disclaimer.
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