Bioengineering, BS
for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Bioengineering
Bioengineers use engineering principles to solve problems in the life sciences, human health and medicine, and related industries. At the undergraduate level, the goal of bioengineering education is to instill a fundamental understanding of biology while developing core skills to design technologies relevant to human health and disease.
The Bioengineering department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provides a rigorous engineering education that prepares graduates to:
- recognition as skilled engineers in biotechnology, life sciences, medical technology, and health care industries;
- advanced degrees through graduate studies in bioengineering-related fields, or professional degrees in the health sciences, law, and business; and
- recognition for fostering an inclusive and collaborative environment while demonstrating leadership and effective teamwork within diverse professional and community organizations.
During the first and second years of the curriculum, fundamental courses in biology, chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics introduce students to the multidisciplinary principles underlying bioengineering as a field. Throughout the curriculum, core coursework becomes progressively more integrative across the disciplines and in years three and four, students specialize in a chosen bioengineering subdiscipline. The program is distinguished by laboratory courses that provide diverse experiences and hands-on skills as well as a capstone design course in which students practice the rigorous application of engineering fundamentals to biological problems identified by faculty, clinicians, and industrial partners.
for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Bioengineering
Graduation Requirements
Minimum hours required for graduation: 128 hours.
Minimum Overall GPA: 2.0
University Requirements
Minimum of 40 hours of upper-division coursework, generally at the 300- or 400-level. These hours can be drawn from all elements of the degree. Students should consult their academic advisor for additional guidance in fulfilling this requirement.
The university and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.
General Education Requirements
Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in the program.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Composition I | 4-6 | |
| Advanced Composition | 3 | |
fulfilled by BIOE 400 | ||
| Humanities & the Arts (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses, at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I) | 6-10 | |
| Language Requirement (Completion of the third semester or equivalent of a language other than English is required) | 0-15 | |
Major Requirements
Orientation and Professional Development
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 100 | Grainger Engineering Orientation Seminar (External transfer students take ENG 300.) | 1 |
| BIOE 100 | Bioengineering Seminar | 1 |
| BIOE 120 | Introduction to Bioengineering | 1 |
| Total Hours | 3 | |
Foundational Mathematics and Science
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 102 | General Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 103 | General Chemistry Lab I | 1 |
| CHEM 104 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 105 | General Chemistry Lab II | 1 |
| MATH 221 | Calculus I (MATH 220 may be substituted. MATH 220 is appropriate for students with no background in calculus. 4 of 5 credit hours count towards degree.) | 4 |
| MATH 231 | Calculus II | 3 |
| MATH 241 | Calculus III | 4 |
| MATH 285 | Intro Differential Equations | 3 |
| PHYS 211 | University Physics: Mechanics | 4 |
| PHYS 212 | University Physics: Elec & Mag | 4 |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Bioengineering Technical Core
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BIOE 201 | Conservation Principles Bioeng | 3 |
| BIOE 202 | Cell & Tissue Engineering Lab | 2 |
| BIOE 205 | Signals & Systems in Bioengrg | 3 |
| BIOE 206 | Cellular Bioengineering | 3 |
| BIOE 210 | Linear Algebra for Biomedical Data Science | 3 |
| BIOE 302 | Modeling Human Physiology | 3 |
| BIOE 303 | Quantitative Physiology Lab | 2 |
| BIOE 310 | Computational Tools for Biological Data | 3 |
| BIOE 360 | Transport & Flow in Bioengrg | 3 |
| BIOE 400 | Bioengineering Senior Design | 4 |
| BIOE 414 | Biomedical Instrumentation | 3 |
| BIOE 415 | Biomedical Instrumentation Lab | 2 |
| BIOE 420 | Intro Bio Control Systems | 3 |
| BIOE 476 | Tissue Engineering | 3 |
| CHEM 232 | Elementary Organic Chemistry I | 4 |
| CS 101 | Intro Computing: Engrg & Sci | 3 |
| or CS 124 | Introduction to Computer Science I | |
| MCB 150 | Molec & Cellular Basis of Life | 4 |
| Total Hours | 51 | |
Track Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students are required to complete 15 hours of credit from one track area listed below. | 15 | |
| Biomechanics Track | ||
| Required courses: | ||
| TAM 211 | Statics | 3 |
| TAM 212 | Introductory Dynamics | 3 |
| TAM 251 | Introductory Solid Mechanics | 3 |
| Select the remaining 6 hours from the below list: | ||
| BIOE 450 | Introduction to Quantitative Pharmacology | 3 |
| BIOE 461 | Cellular Biomechanics | 4 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Regulatory Safety Issues in Bioengineering) | 3 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Surgical Techniques) | 3 |
| ME 330 | Engineering Materials | 4 |
| ME 481 | Whole-Body Musculoskel Biomech | 3 |
| ME 482 | Musculoskel Tissue Mechanics | 3 |
| ME 483 | Mechanobiology | 4 |
| NPRE 461 | Probabilistic Risk Assessment | 3 |
| SE 402 | Comp-Aided Product Realization | 3 |
| SE 423 | Mechatronics | 3 |
| TAM 445 | Continuum Mechanics | 4 |
| TMGT 461 | Tech, Eng, & Mgt Final Project | 4 |
| Recommended free elective: | ||
| SE 101 | Engineering Graphics & Design | 3 |
| Cell and Tissue Engineering Track | ||
| Select 15 hours from the list below: | ||
| BIOE 306 | Biofabrication Lab | 3 |
| BIOE 416 | Biosensors | 3 |
| BIOE 424 | Preclinical Molecular Imaging | 3 |
| BIOE 430 | Intro Synthetic Biology | 3 |
| BIOE 432 | Systems Biology: Uncovering Design Principles of Biological Networks | 3 |
| BIOE 434 | Immunoengineering | 3 |
| BIOE 450 | Introduction to Quantitative Pharmacology | 3 |
| BIOE 460 | Gene Editing Lab | 3 |
| BIOE 461 | Cellular Biomechanics | 4 |
| BIOE 487 | Stem Cell Bioengineering | 3 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Regulatory Safety Issues in Bioengineering) | 3 |
| CHBE 471 | Biochemical Engineering | 3 |
| CHBE 472 | Techniques in Biomolecular Eng | 3 |
| IE 330 | Industrial Quality Control | 3 |
| MSE 404 | Laboratory Studies in Materials Science and Engineering | 1.5 |
| MSE 470 | Design and Use of Biomaterials | 3 |
| MSE 474 | Biomaterials and Nanomedicine | 3 |
| ME 483 | Mechanobiology | 4 |
| TMGT 461 | Tech, Eng, & Mgt Final Project | 4 |
| Recommended free elective | ||
| MCB 450 | Introductory Biochemistry | 3 |
| Therapeutics Engineering Track | ||
| Select 15 hours from the list below: | ||
| ABE 446 | Biological Nanoengineering | 3 |
| BIOE 306 | Biofabrication Lab | 3 |
| BIOE 424 | Preclinical Molecular Imaging | 3 |
| BIOE 430 | Intro Synthetic Biology | 3 |
| BIOE 432 | Systems Biology: Uncovering Design Principles of Biological Networks | 3 |
| BIOE 434 | Immunoengineering | 3 |
| BIOE 450 | Introduction to Quantitative Pharmacology | 3 |
| BIOE 460 | Gene Editing Lab | 3 |
| BIOE 479 | Cancer Nanotechnology | 3 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Regulatory Safety Issues in Bioengineering) | 3 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Surgical Technologies) | 3 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Technologies for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy) | 3 |
| CHBE 472 | Techniques in Biomolecular Eng | 3 |
| ECE 481 | Nanotechnology | 4 |
| MSE 403 | Synthesis of Materials | 3 |
| MSE 404 | Laboratory Studies in Materials Science and Engineering | 1.5 |
| MSE 450 | Polymer Science & Engineering | 3 |
| MSE 457 | Polymer Chemistry | 3 or 4 |
| MSE 470 | Design and Use of Biomaterials | 3 |
| MSE 473 | Biomolecular Materials Science | 3 |
| MSE 474 | Biomaterials and Nanomedicine | 3 |
| MSE 480 | Surfaces and Colloids | 3 |
| TMGT 461 | Tech, Eng, & Mgt Final Project | 4 |
| Computational and Systems Biology Track | ||
| Required courses: | ||
| CS 128 | Introduction to Computer Science II | 3 |
| CS 225 | Data Structures | 4 |
| Select the remaining 8 hours from the list below: | ||
| BIOE 430 | Intro Synthetic Biology | 3 |
| BIOE 432 | Systems Biology: Uncovering Design Principles of Biological Networks | 3 |
| BIOE 483 | Biomedical Computed Imaging Systems | 3 |
| BIOE 484 | Statistical Analysis of Biomedical Images | 3 |
| BIOE 485 | Computational Mathematics for Machine Learning and Imaging | 4 |
| BIOE 486 | Applied Deep Learning for Biomedical Imaging | 3 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Regulatory Safety Issues in Bioengineering) | 3 |
| CS 411 | Database Systems | 3 |
| CS 412 | Introduction to Data Mining | 3 |
| CS 440 | Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
| CS 446 | Machine Learning | 3 or 4 |
| CS 465 | User Interface Design | 4 |
| CS 466 | Introduction to Bioinformatics | 3 |
| CS 498 | Special Topics (Intro to Deep Learning) | 3 |
| ECE 490 | Introduction to Optimization | 3 |
| ECE 498 | Special Topics in ECE (Deep Learning in Hardware) | 3 |
| IE 310 | Deterministic Models in Optimization | 3 |
| IE 370 | Stochastic Processes and Applications | 3 |
| NPRE 461 | Probabilistic Risk Assessment | 3 or 4 |
| SE 423 | Mechatronics | 3 |
| TMGT 461 | Tech, Eng, & Mgt Final Project | 4 |
| Imaging and Sensing Track | ||
| Select 15 hours from the list below: | ||
| BIOE 424 | Preclinical Molecular Imaging | 3 |
| BIOE 432 | Systems Biology: Uncovering Design Principles of Biological Networks | 3 |
| BIOE 434 | Immunoengineering | 3 |
| BIOE 450 | Introduction to Quantitative Pharmacology | 3 |
| BIOE 484 | Statistical Analysis of Biomedical Images | 3 |
| BIOE 486 | Applied Deep Learning for Biomedical Imaging | 3 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Regulatory Safety Issues in Bioengineering) | 3 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Surgical Techniques) | 3 |
| BIOE 498 | Special Topics (Technologies for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy) | 3 |
| ECE 210 | Analog Signal Processing | 4 |
| ECE 310 | Digital Signal Processing | 3 |
| ECE 311 | Digital Signal Processing Lab | 1 |
| ECE 329 | Fields and Waves I | 3 |
| ECE 365 | Data Science and Engineering | 3 |
| ECE 380 | Biomedical Imaging | 3 |
| ECE 416 | Biosensors | 3 |
| ECE 417 | Multimedia Signal Processing | 4 |
| ECE 418 | Image & Video Processing | 4 |
| ECE 437 | Sensors and Instrumentation | 3 |
| ECE 365 | Data Science and Engineering | 3 |
| ECE 460 | Optical Imaging | 4 |
| ECE 467 | Biophotonics | 3 |
| ECE 472 | Biomedical Ultrasound Imaging | 3 |
| ECE 473 | Fund of Engrg Acoustics | 3 |
| ECE 480 | Magnetic Resonance Imaging | 3 |
| ME 487 | MEMS-NEMS Theory & Fabrication | 4 |
| NPRE 461 | Probabilistic Risk Assessment | 3 |
| SE 423 | Mechatronics | 3 |
| TMGT 461 | Tech, Eng, & Mgt Final Project | 4 |
| Recommended Free Elective | ||
| CHEM 442 | Physical Chemistry I | 4 |
Free Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Additional coursework, subject to the Grainger College of Engineering restrictions to Free Electives, so that there are at least 128 credit hours earned toward the degree. | 9 | |
| Total Hours of Curriculum to Graduate | 128 | |
for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Bioengineering
Sample Sequence
This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this four-year plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence. The curriculum sequence can also be viewed via dynamic and static curricular maps, which include prerequisite sequencing.
Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a third level of a language other than English. See the corresponding section on the Degree and General Education Requirements.
Free Electives: Additional course work, subject to the Grainger College of Engineering restrictions to Free Electives, so that there are at least 128 credit hours earned toward the degree.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BIOE 100 | 1 | BIOE 120 | 1 |
| CHEM 102 | 3 | CHEM 104 | 3 |
| CHEM 103 | 1 | CHEM 105 | 1 |
| MATH 221 (MATH 220 may be substituted) | 4 | MATH 231 | 3 |
| ENG 100 | 1 | PHYS 211 | 4 |
| General Education course (choose a Humanities or Social/Behavioral Science course with Cultural Studies designation) | 3 | MCB 150 (or Composition I course) | 4 |
| Composition I course or MCB 150 | 4 | ||
| 17 | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BIOE 201 | 3 | BIOE 202 | 2 |
| BIOE 206 | 3 | BIOE 205 | 3 |
| MATH 241 | 4 | BIOE 210 | 3 |
| PHYS 212 | 4 | MATH 285 | 3 |
| CS 101 (CS 124 may be substituted) | 3 | CHEM 232 | 4 |
| 17 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BIOE 302 | 3 | BIOE 310 | 3 |
| BIOE 303 | 2 | BIOE 360 | 3 |
| BIOE 476 | 3 | BIOE 414 | 3 |
| Track elective course | 3 | BIOE 415 | 2 |
| General Education course (choose a Humanities or Social/Behavioral Science course with Cultural Studies designation) | 3 | Track elective course | 3 |
| Language Other Than English (3rd level) course | 4 | ||
| 14 | 18 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| BIOE 400 (or Free Elective) | 4 | Free Elective or BIOE 400 | 4 |
| BIOE 420 | 3 | Track elective course | 3 |
| Track elective course | 3 | Track elective course | 3 |
| General Education course (choose a Humanities or Social/Behavioral Science course with Cultural Studies designation) | 3 | Free elective course | 3 |
| Free elective course | 2 | General Education course (choose a Humanities or Social/Behavioral Science course that is also Advanced Composition) | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Total Hours 128 | |||
for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Bioengineering
This program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the General Criteria and the Bioengineering, Biomedical, and similarly named Engineering Programs Criteria.
Bioengineering graduates will have:
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
- An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
- An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
- An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
- An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
- An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
- An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.
for the degree of Bachelor of Science Major in Bioengineering
B.S. in Bioengineering
Bioengineering Faculty
The Grainger College of Engineering Admissions
The Grainger College of Engineering