for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering

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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 opportunities.

Opportunity exists for specializing in i) biomechanics via the Biomechanics optional graduate concentration, ii) cancer nanotechnology via the Cancer Nanotechnology optional graduate concentration, iii) computational science and engineering via the Computational Science & Engineering optional graduate concentration, and iv) data science and engineering via the Data Science & Engineering optional graduate concentration.

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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.

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering

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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

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
BIOE 599	Thesis Research (min-max applied toward degree)	52
Elective courses		12
Total Hours		64

Other Requirements and Conditions

Grad Other Degree Requirements

Requirement	Description
Other Requirements and Conditions may overlap
Minimum program GPA:	3.0
A Masters degree is required for admission to the Ph.D. program.
Qualifying exam
Preliminary exam
Final exam and dissertation defense
Dissertation deposit

Entering with B.S. degree

Course List

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

Grad Other Degree Requirements

Requirement	Description
Other Requirements and Conditions may overlap
Minimum program GPA:	3.0
Qualifying exam
Preliminary exam
Final exam and dissertation defense
Dissertation deposit

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering

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1. Ability to apply quantitative skills and engineering principles to propose novel and practical solutions to medical/human health problems
2. Understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities
3. Ability to communicate scientific problems and solutions, as well as their impact, effectively to a diverse audience and stakeholders, both orally and in writing
4. Demonstrate moderate technical mastery in chosen research area, shown by the ability to identify an important scientific problem, formulate a hypothesis, and design experiments to conduct research and data analysis to test the hypothesis. The student should also be able to formulate alternatives.
5. Develop effective leadership skills in order to foster the ability to conduct collaborative research and work with a diverse team

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering

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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.  The GRE exam score requirement may be waived at the department's discretion.

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.

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering

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Graduate Programs in Bioengineering

• Majors
  • Bioengineering, MEng
    • concentrations
      • Bioinstrumentation
      • Computational Genomics
      • General Bioengineering
    • Bioengineering, MS
      • optional concentrations
        • Biomechanics
        • Cancer Nanotechnology
    • Bioengineering, PhD
      • optional concentrations
        • Biomechanics
        • Cancer Nanotechnology
        • Computational Science and Engineering
    • Biomedical Image Computing, MS

• Concentrations
  • Bioinstrumentation
    • available for:
      • Bioengineering, MEng
  • Biomechanics
    • available for:
      • 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
      • Computational Science and Engineering
      • Theoretical & Applied Mechanics, MS
      • Theoretical & Applied Mechanics, PhD
    • Cancer Nanotechnology
      • available for:
        • 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), the Master of Science in Biomedical Image Computing (MS in BIC), 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.

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering

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Department of Bioengineering
Department Head: Mark Anastasio
Director of Graduate Studies: Wawrzyniec Dobrucki
Director of MEng Program: Jennifer Amos
Bioengineering website
Program website
1240 Everitt Laboratory, 1406 W Green St, Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 300-8066
Bioengineering email

Grainger College of Engineering
Grainger College of Engineering website

Admissions
Graduate Contact: Liezl Bowman
Department Admissions & Requirements 
Graduate College Admissions & Requirements