Bioengineering, PhD
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering
department head: Mark Anastasio
director of graduate studies: Gregory Underhill
overview of admissions & requirements: https://bioengineering.illinois.edu/admissions/graduate/
overview of grad college admissions & requirements: https://grad.illinois.edu/admissions/apply
department website: https://bioengineering.illinois.edu/
program website: https://bioengineering.illinois.edu/academics/graduate/phd/
department faculty: https://bioengineering.illinois.edu/directory/
college website: https://grainger.illinois.edu/
contact: Krista Smith
address: 1240 Everitt Laboratory, 1406 W Green St, Urbana, IL 61801
phone: (217) 333-1867
email: bioe-gradprograms@illinois.edu
The Department of Bioengineering offers both a traditional doctoral program (for students with a previous master's degree) and a direct doctoral program (for students with only a bachelor's degree). Students in both programs are required to have a research advisor and applicants are encouraged to contact department faculty in their areas of interest to inquire about possible research and funding opportunities.
Opportunity exists for specializing in i) biomechanics via the Biomechanics optional graduate concentration, ii) cancer nanotechnology via the Cancer Nanotechnology optional graduate concentration, and iii) computational science and engineering via the Computational Science & Engineering optional graduate concentration.
Admission Requirements
Applicants should have an undergraduate or graduate degree in a natural science, computer science, or engineering. A minimum grade point average of 3.00 (A = 4.00) for the last two years of undergraduate study is required. Applicants should show evidence of strong quantitative skills and of serious interest in the life sciences. All applicants must submit results from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test.
All applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit TOEFL or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores as evidence of English proficiency. Minimum admission requirements are set by the Graduate College.
Financial Aid
Qualified students may apply for financial aid in the form of fellowships, teaching and research assistantships, and waivers of tuition and service fees. Starting in Fall 2020, Grainger Engineering PhD students in their first five years of enrollment who meet the minimum eligibility requirements are guaranteed a funded appointment for fall and spring that includes a full tuition waiver, a partial fee waiver, and a stipend.
All applicants, regardless of US citizenship, whose native language is not English and who wish to be considered for teaching assistantships must demonstrate spoken English language proficiency by achieving a minimum score of 24 on the speaking subsection of the TOEFL iBT or 8 on the speaking subsection of the IELTS. For students who are unable to take the iBT or IELTS, a minimum score of 4CP is required on the EPI test, offered on campus. All new teaching assistants are required to participate in the Graduate Academy for College Teaching conducted prior to the start of the semester.
Department Research
Bioengineering faculty perform research in the areas of Bio-Imaging at Multi-Scale; Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Engineering; Bio-Micro and Nanotechnology; Computational and Systems Bioengineering; and Synthetic Bioengineering. In addition to Bioengineering faculty, the Department of Bioengineering has more than 50 affiliate faculty.
Other Graduate Programs in the Department of Bioengineering
degrees:
Bioengineering, MEng
optional concentrations:
Bioinstrumentation|Computational Genomics|General Bioengineering
Bioengineering, MS
optional concentrations:
Biomechanics|Cancer Nanotechnology
concentrations:
Biomechanics
available for:
Bioinformatics: Bioengineering, MS|Electrical & Computer Engineering, MS|Electrical & Computer Engineering, PhD|Materials Engineering, MEng|Materials Science & Engineering, MS|Materials Science & Engineering, PhD|Mechanical Engineering, MS|Mechanical Engineering, MEng|Mechanical Engineering, PhD|Theoretical & Applied Mechanics, MS|Theoretical & Applied Mechanics, PhD
Cancer Nanotechnology
available for:
Bioinformatics: Bioengineering, MS|Electrical & Computer Engineering, MS|Electrical & Computer Engineering, PhD|Materials Engineering, MEng|Materials Science & Engineering, MS|Materials Science & Engineering, PhD|Mechanical Engineering, MS|Mechanical Engineering, MEng|Mechanical Engineering, PhD|Theoretical & Applied Mechanics, MS|Theoretical & Applied Mechanics, PhD
The Department of Bioengineering offers studies leading to the Master of Engineering in Bioengineering (MEng), the Master of Science in Bioengineering (MS), and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Bioengineering. The Bioengineering Graduate Program provides students with educational and research experiences that integrate the sciences of biology and medicine with the practices and principles of engineering. For the MS and PhD programs, areas of focus include Bio-imaging, Cell & Tissue Engineering, Micro and Molecular Technologies, and Computational Biology.
Opportunity also exists for specializing in energy and sustainability engineering via the
Energy and Sustainability Engineering (EaSE) Graduate Certificate Option
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering
For additional details and requirements for all degrees, please refer to the department's Graduate Studies Web site and the Graduate College Handbook.
Entering with approved M.S. degree
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BIOE 599 | Thesis Research (min-max applied toward degree) | 52 |
| Elective courses | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 64 | |
Other Requirements and Conditions
| Other Requirements and Conditions may overlap | |
| Minimum program GPA: | 3.0 |
| A Masters degree is required for admission to the Ph.D. program. | |
| Qualifying exam1 | |
| Preliminary exam | |
| Final exam and dissertation defense | |
| Dissertation deposit |
| 1 |
Entering with B.S. degree
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BIOE 599 | Thesis Research (min-max applied toward degree) | 55 |
| 500-level BioE courses: See approved list | 21 | |
| Elective courses: At least 12 hours must be engineering graduate-level courses. See website for more details. | 20 | |
| Total hours | 96 | |
Other Requirements and Conditions
| Other Requirements and Conditions may overlap | |
| Minimum program GPA: | 3.0 |
| Qualifying exam 1 | |
| Preliminary exam | |
| Final exam and dissertation defense | |
| Dissertation deposit |
| 1 |