Departmental Guidelines - B.Sc. in Computational Biology

Guidelines for course scheduling in the Computational Biology Program for the 2025–2026 academic year

Dear Students,

We are delighted to welcome you, new and continuing students, to the Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University and wish you a productive, enjoyable, and successful academic year.

When preparing your course schedule for the 2025–2026 academic year using the online registration system, please read the general guidelines below as well as the section relevant to your year of study, and register accordingly.

Please note: Responsibility for constructing a valid and complete course schedule rests with the student.

Important Information for First-Year Students

• Course registration is conducted online via the In-Bar system. On the In-Bar homepage, you will find links to instructional videos. A general demonstration video for course registration is also available under General In-Bar Registration Guidelines (In Hebrew).

• You must register for all required courses in each cluster, according to the guidelines.

• Please verify your Hebrew and English proficiency levels in In-Bar:
  Inbar > Information for Applicants > Education > Hebrew Level / English Level.
  A pre-exemption level in Hebrew requires enrollment in a Hebrew language exam.

• Students who completed the 5-unit Physics matriculation exam with a grade of 80 or higher are exempt from courses 80-111 and 80-113.

• Students who previously studied at another academic institution may be eligible for course exemptions, subject to approval via the In-Bar system.

• Requests for exemptions or recognition of prior studies should be submitted via In-Bar:
  Inbar > Main Page > Left Sidebar: Requests and authorizations > Submit a request > Subject: "Requests for Exemption or Acknowledgment of Previous  Studies.

• we recommend consulting with  Dr. Loinger Ilana in advance to coordinate the request.

For technical support, please contact the Service and Recruitment Center.

For matters related to tuition fees, please contact the Tuition fees for Bachelor’s degree.

For academic advising or scheduling issues, please contact  Dr. Loinger Ilana, Tel: +972-3-531-7970, or email: ilana.loinger@biu.ac.il

For issues related to Life Sciences course registration, please contact Life-Sciences.Dept@biu.ac.il

For inquiries regarding Computer Science courses (course numbers beginning with 89), please contact the Computer Science Secretariat bsc@cs.biu.ac.il

In all correspondence, please be sure to include your full name and ID number.                                                        

Please note that progression from Year 1 to Year 2, and from Year 2 to Year 3, is conditional upon the student having no more than four courses without a passing grade or without a recorded grade—whether due to non-attendance or failure. This assessment is conducted after the publication of Semester B, first-session (Moed A) grades. Students who do not meet this requirement must contact Dr. Loinger Ilana to regularize their registration.

According to Status Office regulations, a student may not enroll in the same course more than twice, nor take the exam more than four times. Students must contact the Status Office to obtain approval for additional registration.

General Introduction

The Computational Biology curriculum consists of courses offered by the Faculty of Life Sciences and courses offered by the Department of Computer Science.

Each course is identified by a 7- or 8-digit course code, following the general format:
XX-YYY-ZZ or XX-YYYY-ZZ.

• Courses offered by the Life Sciences are assigned codes beginning with 80 (i.e., XX = 80).

• Courses offered by the Computer Science department are assigned codes beginning with 89 (i.e., XX = 89).

• The middle segment of the course code (YYY / YYYY) indicates the course number within the relevant department.

• The final segment of the course code (ZZ) designates the specific course group (e.g., lecture or tutorial section).

Detailed information about each course can be found in the University Course Catalog.

The Computational Biology curriculum is also available on the Faculty of Life Sciences website at Bar-Ilan University.

Important Notes Before Registration

1. Life Sciences “Departmental Hours” are mandatory in every year of the undergraduate program. These hours are reserved for quizzes, make-up sessions, and supplementary instruction. They do not count toward degree credit points. Students will be notified in advance of any required make-up activities. Department Hours for Life Sciences appear each year under the Life Sciences required courses cluster, and students must register for them. 

   Computer Science Departmental Hours do not appear in your registration system. In principle, you may register for elective courses during these time slots; however, it is strongly recommended to keep these hours free in your schedule (unless a required Life Sciences course is scheduled at that time), in case quizzes or make-up sessions for Computer Science courses are held then (Sunday; 9:00–11:00; Thursday: 9:00–11:00; Friday: 8:00–13:00).

2. For any course that includes tutorial groups in addition to lectures, registration for the lecture is conditional upon registration for one tutorial group, and vice versa. It is not possible to register for a lecture without a tutorial, or for a tutorial without the corresponding lecture. 

   In most Life Sciences courses, dedicated tutorial and laboratory groups are reserved for Computational Biology students. In most cases, these are designated as Group 09; in some courses, two groups may be available for selection. You must register for these designated groups (only these will appear in the relevant course cluster), unless there is a special reason—in which case, you should contact the department to arrange registration.

3. Students enrolled in the Computational Biology program (from Academic Year 2018–2019 onward) are exempt from the General Studies course.

Registration Guidelines by Year of Study

Registration Guidelines for Year 1

Registration Guidelines for Year 2

Registration Guidelines for Year 3

Registration Guidelines for Year 1

• You should begin constructing your course schedule by registering for the Life Sciences course cluster. Please register for the lecture section (usually Group 01) and the tutorial section, where applicable.

• Next, add the relevant Computer Science courses to your schedule. In Year 1, there are six courses offered by the Department of Computer Science. Each of these courses includes both a lecture and a tutorial component. Courses 89118, 89218, and 89119 are designated specifically for Computational Biology students. Courses 891195 and 891200 are taken together with the general Computer Science student population; however, dedicated lecture and tutorial groups are reserved for Computational Biology students. These are the groups that will appear in your In-Bar system, and you must register for them. Course 891111 is taken jointly with Computer Science students. In two to three of the courses, supplementary (reinforcement) sessions will be offered. You do not need to register for these sessions, but attendance is strongly recommended. For this reason, it is advised not to schedule other courses during reinforcement session hours. The dates and times of these sessions will be provided prior to the course registration period.

• Please remember to include required foundation courses and English courses in your schedule, as applicable.

Registration Guidelines for Year 2

• You should begin building your course schedule with the Life Sciences component. Register for the lecture section and, if applicable, the tutorial section. For Life Sciences courses, tutorial groups dedicated to Computational Biology students (usually Group 09) will appear in your scheduling list.

• Next, add the relevant Computer Science courses to your schedule. In Year 2, there are four courses offered by the Department of Computer Science. Each course includes a lecture and a tutorial. When registering, select the lecture section first, then the tutorial section, ensuring that no scheduling conflicts occur within your course plan. In the Computational Models course (89213), the lecture is online, and the tutorial is in-person. The course is offered in both semesters, but we recommend enrolling in Semester A, as we cannot guarantee there will be no conflicts with other exams if taken in Semester B. The Algorithms course should also be taken in Semester A. The Machine Learning course (892511) is taught together with Computer Science students. You may register for any lecture and tutorial sections that fit your schedule and have available seats.

• Please remember to include required foundation courses and English courses in your schedule, as applicable.

Registration Guidelines for Year 3