Courses How much Chemistry should I take to prepare for Biophysics PhD?

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The discussion centers on a student pursuing a double major in Physics and Vocal Music, expressing a strong interest in biophysics, particularly in cellular mechanics related to embryonic development. They seek advice on which undergraduate courses to take, given their small department lacks biophysics offerings. Recommendations include considering Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Bioinformatics, while also emphasizing the importance of course selection based on professors and personal interests. Additionally, insights are provided on different pathways to a biophysics PhD, highlighting the need to research specific programs and their course requirements. Ultimately, aligning undergraduate coursework with future research interests in biophysics is crucial for the student's academic trajectory.
XcgsdV
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Hey y'all! I'm about to enter my second year of undergrad as a double major in Physics and Vocal Music. I am still exploring a lot of what physics has to offer, but I'm very intrigued by biophysics.

I recently found a paper on the mechanics behind cell differentiation during embryonic development that really piqued my interest. The first author on that paper also has interesting work in morphogensis and wound healing. That sort of cellular-mechanics-type physics, making use of some cool computational techniques, is really where my interests lie.

That said, what types of courses in undergrad will best get me there? I come from am fairly small department, with literally nothing biophysics-y going on. We have 4 professors, none of whom studied biophysics in really any capacity, and thus no biophysics courses available.

By the time I graduate, I'll have taken the standard physics courses (Calc Based 1 and 2, Modern Physics, Classical Mechanics, E&M, Thermo & Stat. Mech., Adv. Physics Lab, undergrad Research, and Quantum Mechanics) and a couple others (a Computational Physics course and Optics). Math-wise, I'll also have the essentials (Calc 1 - 3, ODEs, Linear Algebra) and some electives (Discrete, Mathematical Modeling, PDEs, and Applied Statistics). In EECS I'll have at least Programming 1 and 2 in C++, a Python course, and 2 courses in electrical circuits. That's the long winded rundown... now onto the actual question.

I have enough space (or can make space, rather) for a few more courses. My options are Organic Chem 1 and 2, Biochemistry 1 (pre-req: Orgo 2), Physical Chemistry (pre-req: Orgo 1), Bioinformatics, Cell Biology (pre-req: Biochem 1), Complex Variables, or Data Structures (pre-req: Programming 2 and Discrete). I'm leaning towards OChem 1 & 2, and maybe Biochem and Bioinformatics. I'm pretty confident in my ability to self teach math and CS, and Cell Bio has the most prerequisites and would require moving my schedule around a lot. All of them are doable, I just want opinions on what would be the most useful.

Thank you so much if you've read this far! I appreciate the help :)
 
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I like your analysis. My only advice is that sometimes you take a course (or not) just because of the professor. Maybe more cell molecular biology and less programming?? Your preparation will never be perfect, unless you are clairvoyant.
 
I'm not a biophysicist, and I hope that a biophysicist will reply to you. I did look into biophysics programs for a student several years ago. Here's some info that might help.

There are multiple avenues to a biophysics PhD, depending on the school. E.g., (a) You can apply for a regular PhD physics program, and pick a thesis advisor specializing in biophysics; (b) You an apply for an interdisciplinary biophysics PhD program, jointly administered by the physics and biology depts. Typically, a student with a physics undergrad will apply through the physics dept, and a student with a biology undergrad will apply through the biology dept. The PhD program provides opportunity for physics students to make up deficiencies in biology, and for biology students to make up deficiencies in physics; (c) You can apply for a dedicated biophysics PhD program. Some are not affiliated with the physics or biology depts, but with schools of medicine.

A key point is these programs specialize in different aspects of biophysics and have different incoming undergrad requirements or recommendations. Some programs have fairly general requirements or recommendations. But Stanford has interesting ones. Under recommended undergrad courses, they don't list any specific physics or biology courses, but they do list the following (https://med.stanford.edu/biophysics/admissions/course-requirements.html):

The recommendations for applying to the Ph.D. Program in Biophysics include:
CourseTitleUnits
CHEM 123Organic Polyfunctional Compounds3
CHEM 171Physical Chemistry I4
CHEM 173Physical Chemistry II3
CHEM 175Physical Chemistry III3
BIOC 200Applied Biochemistry2

Four chem and one biochem!Fortunately, you've identified your area of future research:

XcgsdV said:
I recently found a paper on the mechanics behind cell differentiation during embryonic development that really piqued my interest. The first author on that paper also has interesting work in morphogensis and wound healing. That sort of cellular-mechanics-type physics, making use of some cool computational techniques, is really where my interests lie.

So I'd recommend you work backwards. Develop a candidate list of biophysics PhD programs that do research in your field of interest. Are the authors of the paper associated with universities? If so, that would be a good place to start. Then check the programs on your candidate list for their specific requirements or recommendations for undergrad courses.
 
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Hey, I am Andreas from Germany. I am currently 35 years old and I want to relearn math and physics. This is not one of these regular questions when it comes to this matter. So... I am very realistic about it. I know that there are severe contraints when it comes to selfstudy compared to a regular school and/or university (structure, peers, teachers, learning groups, tests, access to papers and so on) . I will never get a job in this field and I will never be taken serious by "real"...
Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...

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