C&S BIO M150Biological Modeling: Mathematical and Computational Approaches
Computational and Systems Biology · 6 units · Undergraduate upper division (100-199)
(Same as Ecology and Evolutionary Biology M159.) Students learn how to translate their biological knowledge and intuition into mathematical equations and computer simulations, and how to interpret and glean biological insights from quantitative results and predictions. Review and integration of core mathematical and computational approaches in novel ways. Students gain experience translating and intuition about systems through many examples across range of biological levels, such as predator-prey, disease transmission, cancer initiation, cell migration, neural systems, vascular networks, sleep, drug interactions, gene expression, and more. Students learn how to manipulate data, basics of coding, and how to instantiate their mathematical models and biological intuition through numerical solutions and simulations.
Letter grading.
When it runs
Not on the schedule for any of Fall 2025 through Spring 2027. UCLA publishes only that window, so this does not mean the course is gone — check the official listing.
Requisites
Official UCLA wording
Requisites: Life Sciences 7A, 7B, 7C, Mathematics 33A and 33B, with grades of C or better. Recommended Requisites: Physics 1A, 1B, and 1C, or 5A, 5B, and 5C, with grades of C or better.
BruinTree reads · Prerequisite
confidence 1.00 · from UCLA’s structured data- all of
BruinTree reads · Recommended
needs reviewconfidence 0.75 · from text- one of
- · mixed comma-level AND/OR in "Physics 1A, 1B, and 1C, or 5A, 5B, and 5C" — grouping is a best reading
Requires
Everything that has to come before this course, not just the courses named in the requisite above.
C&S BIO M150
- LIFESCI 7ACell and Molecular Biology
- MATH 33ALinear Algebra and Applications
- MATH 3BCalculus for Life Sciences Students
- PHYSICS 1APhysics for Scientists and Engineers: Mechanics
- LIFESCI 7BGenetics, Evolution, and Ecology
- MATH 33BDifferential Equations
- MATH 31BIntegration and Infinite Series
- PHYSICS 1BPhysics for Scientists and Engineers: Oscillations, Waves, Electric and Magnetic Fields
- LIFESCI 7CPhysiology and Human Biology
- PHYSICS 1CPhysics for Scientists and Engineers: Electrodynamics, Optics, and Special Relativity
- MATH 32ACalculus of Several Variables
- MATH 32BCalculus of Several Variables
- PHYSICS 1BPhysics for Scientists and Engineers: Oscillations, Waves, Electric and Magnetic Fieldsanother path to it
- PHYSICS 5APhysics for Life Sciences Majors: Mechanics and Energy
- LIFESCI 30AMathematics for Life Scientists
- MATH 3ACalculus for Life Sciences Students
- LIFESCI 30BMathematics for Life Scientists
- MATH 3COrdinary Differential Equations with Linear Algebra for Life Sciences Students
- PHYSICS 5BPhysics for Life Sciences Majors: Thermodynamics, Fluids, Waves, Light, and Optics
- PHYSICS 5CPhysics for Life Sciences Majors: Electricity, Magnetism, and Modern Physics
11 direct requisites. The whole upstream is here — 44 courses over 3 levels. Every course here opens its own tree.
Unlocks
What this course is a requisite for, and what those courses lead to in turn.
C&S BIO M150
- C&S BIO M187Research Communication in Computational and Systems Biology
- C&S BIO 198AHonors Research in Computational and Systems Biology
- C&S BIO 198BHonors Research in Computational and Systems Biology
- BIOENGR CM187Research Communication in Computational and Systems Biology
- COM SCI CM187Research Communication in Computational and Systems Biology
- BIOENGR CM287Research Communication in Computational and Systems Biology
- COM SCI CM287Research Communication in Computational and Systems Biology
6 courses list this as a requisite. The whole downstream is here — 7 courses over 2 levels. Every course here opens its own tree.