Department of
Bioengineering

Undergraduate Studies

Bioengineering Minor for Engineering Students

Bioengineering is a broad, interdisciplinary field that brings together engineering, biology, and medicine to create new techniques, devices, and understanding of living systems to improve the quality of human life. Its practice ranges from the fundamental study of the behavior of biological materials at the molecular level to the design of medical devices to assist the disabled.

Any of the existing engineering curricula can provide a good foundation for work in bioengineering. However, the engineering undergraduate needs additional education in the biologically oriented sciences to obtain a strong background for bioengineering. With such a background, the student should be able to progress rapidly on the graduate level in any branch of bioengineering. In industry, the graduate will be competent to handle engineering tasks related to biology.

The Bioengineering Minor is open only to Engineering students including students in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. There is no symmetric program for non-engineering students whose major is in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). However, students in LAS may wish to inquire about emphases in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Biophysics, and Physiology within the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB).

To obtain recognition for the bioengineering minor, students must register in the Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, 206 Engineering Hall.

The curriculum for the Bioengineering Minor has been revised and approved with a Programs of Study catalog effective date of fall 2007. All students new to the Minor are strongly encouraged to follow this curriculum. Students pursuing the minor prior to fall 2007 may opt to follow the revised curriculum or the previous one. To obtain degree credit for the revised curriculum, current minor students must notify the Records Office in 206 Engineering Hall. Please refer any curriculum questions to the Bioengineering Department Office (3120 DCL, 217-333-1867, bioen@uiuc.edu).

Bioengineering Minor Curriculum: