Ph.D. in Bioengineering

The Bioengineering graduate curriculum is a unique set of classes designed to ground students in the fundamentals of bioengineering as an academic discipline. These core courses provide foundational knowledge used in the qualifying exam.

The core curriculum consists of four graduate core courses taken during the first two semesters. Two courses, BIOE 504 Analytical Methods in Bioengineering and BIOE 505 Computational Bioengineering, are required. BIOE 504 and 505 are intensive courses that require excellent quantitative and mathematical skills, including differential equations. During the spring semester, students take two approved graduate core electives to complete training in graduate bioengineering fundamentals. There are five core electives from which to choose (listed below).

In addition to classes, graduate students attend seminars presented by bioengineering researchers from around the world. Students prepare for the seminar by reading the presenter's most recent journal articles and participating in small group discussions.

Bioengineering Core Courses

Fall Semester

• BIOE 500 Bioengineering Seminar - 1 credit hour
• BIOE 501 Seminar Discussion - 1 credit hour
• BIOE 502 Bioengineering Professionalism - 2 credit hours
• BIOE 504 Analytical Methods in Bioengineering - 4 credit hours
• BIOE 505 Computational Bioengineering - 4 credit hours
• Total 12 credit hours

Spring Semester

• Core electives (8 credit hours - students choose two from this list)
  
  • BIOE 507 Advanced Bioinstrumentation - 4 credit hours
  • BIOE 598 (all sections) - 4 credit hours per section
• BIOE 500 Bioengineering Seminar Series - 1 credit hour
• BIOE 599 Bioengineering Thesis Research - 3 credit hours
• Total 12 credit hours

Bioengineering Technical Electives

• Bioimaging at Multi-Scale
• Bio-Micro/Nanotechnology
• Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Engineering
• Computational Bioengineering
• Synthetic Bioengineering
• Biological Science

A relatively young discipline, bioengineering combines engineering principles, technology, and biology to address human health and well-being. At Illinois, our faculty and students are solving real-world medical challenges in cancer, neuroscience, age-related diseases, and global health.

Many of our students decide to major in bioengineering because they are extremely bright, intellectually curious, and interested in both medicine and engineering. A bioengineering degree gives you the analytical and problem-solving skills needed to pursue a range of career options, including:

• Medical or dental school
• Consulting
• Medical device design
• Patent law
• Pharmaceuticals
• Prosthetics
• Computing
• Entrepreneurship
• Healthcare equipment & technology
• Brain-computer Interfaces
• Imaging Technologies

Bioengineering undergraduates take classes in programming, mechanics, electronics, biology, chemistry, and materials science.

The Illinois Bioengineering program is known for its small class sizes and supportive community. Our students get to know their professors well and have opportunities to gain research experience, which often leads to well-paying summer internships in the industry.