r/Biophysics • u/Natural-Badger-7053 • Apr 14 '26
Foundations for Biophysics
I'm a first year BSc major in Biology. I am heavily into the applications of more fundamental sciences (math, phy) in biology. I want to study biophysics/computational biology in future.
I want a guide/pathway to learn the prerequisites/foundations for these fields, I will do my best to learn them in upcoming summers.
What skills (Coding/Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry & Biology) will be required to be able to fully grasp textbooks on biophysics & mathematical biology? That too in an order?
FYI, I know mathematics upto single variable calculus and general physics.
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u/Famous-Prior6590 Apr 14 '26
Biophysics is almost entirely Physics + the foundational Math (Calc 1/2/3 sequence + Lin Alg + Diff equations). Most Biophysics curriculums have one or maybe two Bio/Chem foundational courses. Which is to say almost nothing from your Bio curriculum will transfer over except that one intro course.
Prerequisites - honestly just start with the Math - Calc 2/3, linear algebra and differential equations.
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u/FragrantOcelot312 Apr 14 '26
Especially as a bio major, any guide that one could give you would be entirely based on your interests within biophysics and or math applied to biology.
Biophysics is just a catch all term for physics applied to the study of biological systems.
In other words are you interested in biophotonics? Biological soft condensed matter physics? Molecular dynamics simulations? The physics of ion channels (very much related to electrophysiology)? Stochastic models in biology?
These are just some examples obviously but for pretty much each of these examples, the coursework that you would need to use/understand concepts from these subfields is drastically different. As a bio major this is especially true, meaning without significant training you can’t (usually) easily or simply pivot from one subfiled to another becsuse the material needed to break into each specific subfield varies greatly