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STUDENT AFFAIRS 141 Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall Warren College http://www.be.ucsd.edu
All courses, faculty listings, and curricular and degree requirements described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice. Updates may be found on the Academic Senate website: http://senate.ucsd.edu/catalog-copy/approved-updates/.
Bioengineering is an interdisciplinary major in which the principles and tools of traditional engineering fields, such as mechanical, materials, electrical, and chemical engineering, are applied to biomedical and biological problems. Engineering plays an increasingly important role in medicine in projects that range from basic research in physiology to advances in biotechnology and the improvement of health-care delivery. By its very nature, bioengineering is broad and requires a foundation in the engineering sciences as well as in physiology and other biological sciences.
The overall mission of the Department of Bioengineering is to improve health and quality of life by applying engineering principles to scientific discovery and technology innovation and to train future leaders in bioengineering through inspiring education and dedicated mentorship.
The educational objectives of the bioengineering program at UC San Diego are to produce graduates with a modern bioengineering education who will
At the undergraduate level, the department offers several four-year engineering majors, including a newly developed BS in Bioengineering: BioSystems. This major focuses on the interaction and integration of components in complex biological and engineering assemblages, and how the function and interactions of these components affect overall performance. The major draws on foundations of classical electrical and systems engineering, with biological applications at levels of the molecular and cellular to the physiological and whole organism, and provides an alternative to other bioengineering majors that emphasize mechanical, chemical, and computational approaches. The major prepares students for careers in the bioengineering industry, in research and development, and for further education in graduate, medical, and business schools.
One major leads to a BS in Bioengineering. This major prepares students for careers in the biomedical device industry and for further education in graduate school. Students completing the BS in Bioengineering have a broad preparation in traditional topics in engineering, allowing for a variety of career pathways. This program addresses the bioengineering topics of biomechanics, biotransport, bioinstrumentation, bioelectricity, biosystems, and biomaterials, and the complementary fields of systems and integrative physiology. Education in these areas allows application of bioengineering and other scientific principles to benefit human health by advancing methods for effective diagnosis and treatment of disease, e.g., through development of medical devices and technologies.
The department also offers a BS in Bioengineering: Biotechnology. This major prepares students for careers in the biotechnology industry and for further education in graduate school. The curriculum has a strong engineering foundation with emphasis on biochemical process applications. This program addresses the bioengineering topics of biochemistry, metabolism, kinetics, biotransport, biosystems, bioreactors, bioseparations, tissue engineering, and the complementary fields of cellular physiology. Education in these areas allows application of bioengineering and physicochemical principles to cellular and molecular biology, with the applications that benefit human health.
The department also offers a major leading to a BS in Bioengineering: Bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is the study of the structure and flow of information (genetic, metabolic, and regulatory) in living systems. The bioinformatics major emphasizes computation and model-based approaches to assembling, integrating, and interpreting biological information. This major has been developed by the Departments of Bioengineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Computer Science and Engineering, and the Division of Biological Sciences, and students may apply through any of these departments or the division. The major prepares students for careers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and biomedical software industries, and for further studies in graduate or medical school.
The programs and curricula of the Department of Bioengineering emphasize education in the fundamentals of engineering sciences that form the common basis of all engineering subspecialties. Education with this emphasis is intended to provide students with an interdisciplinary engineering foundation for a career in which engineering practice may expand rapidly. In addition, elements of bioengineering design are incorporated at every level in the curricula. This is accomplished by integration of laboratory experimentation, computer applications, and exposure to real bioengineering problems throughout the program. In the Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, and Bioengineering: BioSystems majors, students also work in teams on a senior design project to design a solution to a multidisciplinary bioengineering problem suggested by professionals in bioengineering industry, academia, or medicine.
The Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET) is an organization with a mission of serving the public through promotion and advancement of education in fields including engineering, and ABETs strategic plans include accreditation of educational programs and promotion of quality and innovation in education http://www.abet.org. At UC San Diego, Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, and Bioengineering: BioSystems have a relatively heavy emphasis on engineering, whereas Bioengineering: Bioinformatics has a relatively heavy emphasis on biological, chemical, and physical sciences. The Bioengineering and Bioengineering: Biotechnology programs are accredited by EAC/ABET, and ABET accreditation will be sought for the Bioengineering: BioSystems major. The Bioengineering: Bioinformatics program is not accredited by a Commission of ABET.
At the graduate level, specialized curricula lead to the MS, MEng (Master of Engineering), and PhD, as well as an integrated BS/MS. The department also offers a PhD in Bioinformatics. It is intended for students who have an interdisciplinary persuasion to work across computers, biology, medicine, and engineering. For further information on the degree, please e-mail bioinfo@ucsd.edu or go online to http://www.bioinformatics.ucsd.edu. The MEng is a terminal professional degree whereas the MS and PhD are research programs. (See section on masters degree programs.) The graduate programs are characterized by strong interdisciplinary relationships with the other engineering departments and Departments of Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Medicine, and others, as well as with campus organizations such as the Institute of Engineering in Medicine, Institute for Mechanics and Materials, and the School of Medicine.
Specific course requirements for each of the majors are outlined in tables below. In addition to the required technical courses specifically indicated, a suggested scheduling of humanities and social science courses (HSS) is included in the curricula for students to use to meet college general-education requirements. To graduate, students must maintain an overall GPA of at least 2.0, and obtain at least a C grade in each course required for the major. All courses required for the major must be taken for a letter grade.
Deviations from the required programs of study must be approved by the Undergraduate Studies Committee prior to students taking alternative courses. In addition, students must obtain departmental approval of technical elective (TE) course selections prior to students taking the course. In the ABET-accredited programs, TE courses are restricted to those that meet ABET standards. Courses such as BENG 197 and 198 are encouraged, but do not count as upper-division technical electives. BENG 195, 196, and 199 can be used as technical electives under certain conditions. Policy information may be obtained from the Student Affairs Office.
Students with accelerated academic preparation at admission to the university may vary the scheduling of lower-division courses such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, but must first consult the department. Most lower-division courses are offered more than once each year to permit students some flexibility in their program scheduling. However, most upper-division bioengineering courses are taught only once each year.
Deviations in the scheduling of upper-division bioengineering courses are strongly discouraged, as such changes usually lead to a delay in graduation.
The curricula shown in the tables below are consistent with the current scheduling of classes.
Minors are not offered in the Department of Bioengineering, and double major options are restricted. Students interested in double majors should consult the Student Affairs Office as early as possible.
For graduation, each student must satisfy general-education course requirements determined by the students college, as well as the major requirements determined by the department. The six colleges at UC San Diego require different general-education courses, and the number of such courses differs from one college to another. Each student should choose his or her college carefully, considering the special nature of the curriculum and the breadth of general education.
The bioengineering programs allow for humanities and social science (HSS) courses so that students can fulfill their college requirements. In the bioengineering ABET-accredited programs, students must develop a program that includes a total of at least forty units in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, not including subjects such as accounting, industrial management, finance, or personnel administration. It should be noted, however, that some colleges require more than the ten HSS courses indicated in the Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, Bioengineering: Bioinformatics, and Bioengineering: BioSystems curriculum tables. Accordingly, students in these colleges may take longer to graduate than the four years indicated in the schedule. Students must consult with their colleges to determine which HSS courses to take.
(ABET-Accredited Program)
1Chem 7L may be taken in any quarter within the first two years after completion of Chem 6B.
2BENG 1 may be taken in sophomore year.
3Ten HSS courses are listed here; individual college requirements may be higher.
4Recommended course, not required.
5Design elective (DE) courses must be selected from a two-quarter sequence, BENG 119AB, 126AB, 127AB, 128AB, 129AB, 139AB, 147AB, 148AB, 149AB, 169AB, 179AB.
6Math 20F and MAE 140 may be taken concurrently.
7Technical elective (TE) courses must be selected from a departmental approved list. Consult the Student Affairs Office.
(ABET-Accredited Program)
1Chem 7L may be taken concurrently with Chem 6C or in any quarter within the first two years after completion of Chem 6B.
2BENG 1 may be taken in sophomore year.
3Continuing students who have completed MAE 9 or 10 are NOT REQUIRED to take MAE 8 and future Transfer students who have completed a course equivalent to MAE 9 or 10 are exempted from completing MAE 8 until fall 2013.
4Ten HSS courses are listed here; individual college requirements may be higher.
5Recommended course, not required.
6Design elective (DE) courses must be selected from a two-quarter sequence, BENG 119AB, 126AB, 127AB, 128AB, 129AB, 139AB, 147AB, 148AB, 149AB, 169AB, 179AB.
7Technical elective (TE) courses must be selected from a departmental approved list. Consult the Student Affairs Office.
(ABET Accreditation to be sought.)
1Ten HSS courses are listed here; individual college requirements may be higher.
2Technical elective (TE) courses must be selected from a departmental approved list. Consult the Student Affairs Office.
3Design elective (DE) courses must be selected from a two-quarter sequence, BENG 119AB, 126AB, 127AB, 128AB, 129AB, 139AB, 147AB, 148AB, 149AB, 169AB, 179AB.
4Recommended course, not required.
(Not accredited by a Commission of ABET.)
1Students may take the slower paced version, CSE 8A-B, instead of CSE 11.
2Technical elective (TE) courses must be selected from a departmental approved list. Consult the Student Affairs Office.
3Ten HSS courses are listed here; individual college requirements may be higher.
4Design elective (DE) courses must be selected from a two-quarter sequence: BENG 119A-B, 126A-B, 127A-B, 128A-B, 129A-B, 139A-B, 147A-B, 148A-B, 149A-B, 169A-B, 179A-B.
Because of heavy student interest in the majors in the Department of Bioengineering and the limited resources available to accommodate this demand, maintenance of a high quality program makes it necessary to limit enrollments to the most qualified students.
Students admitted into a capped major who transfer out of the capped major may transfer back into it one time without meeting the full requirements for continuing student admission prior to the end of their sophomore year, provided they are in good academic standing.
Freshman students who have excelled in high school and have declared Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, Bioengineering: Bioinformatics, or Bioengineering: BioSystems on their UC San Diego application are eligible for direct admission into those majors.
The UC San Diego Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools will calculate an admissions target number and admit the appropriate number of incoming freshmen into each impacted major using the UC San Diego Holistic Review score as a ranking method. Students who meet the UC San Diego admission criteria will be admitted into their chosen capped major, starting with the student having the highest holistic review score, until the admission target number is reached. These students will be notified directly by the Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools whether they have been admitted into their chosen capped major.
Freshman students who applied but were not admitted directly from high school into the capped Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, Bioengineering: Bioinformatics, or Bioengineering: BioSystems majors will be admitted into the major indicated as their second choice on the UC application (providing it is an open major).
Each fall quarter, a certain number (determined on an annual basis) of continuing sophomore students who apply will be selected to enter the capped Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, Bioengineering: Bioinformatics, or Bioengineering: BioSystems majors. Interested continuing students must not be past sophomore standing, as time to graduation would be delayed since departmental upper-division courses are currently offered only once a year.
Continuing students will be required to complete the following courses prior to applying, depending on their major of choice:
Bioengineering and Bioengineering: Biotechnology: BILD 1; Chem 6A-B; MAE 8; Math 20A-C; Physics 2A-B.
Bioengineering: Bioinformatics: BILD 1; Chem 6A-B; CSE 11 (or 8A-B); Math 20A-C; Phys 2A-B.
Bioengineering: BioSystems: ECE 35; Chem 6A-B; Math 20A-C, Phys 2A-B.
Students will receive e-mail instructions from the Bioengineering Student Affairs Office concerning completion of an online application at the beginning of fall quarter of their second year. Online applications must be submitted by Friday of the first week of instruction in fall quarter. Continuing students applications will be ranked according to the GPA obtained in the required courses only.
Applications to a capped major will be approved, starting with the student having the highest GPA in the required courses, until the predetermined target number is reached. The Bioengineering Student Affairs Office will notify students in a timely manner who are successful in transitioning into one of the capped majors to officially declare the appropriate major online via the Major/Minor link under Toolbox at http://tritonlink.ucsd.edu.
Continuing students who apply and are unable to transition into one of the capped majors will also be notified of their status in a timely manner by the Bioengineering Student Affairs Office.
General advice: Transfer students are advised to complete the following courses for their major before enrolling at UC San Diego. Preparing well for the major helps students move efficiently toward graduation.
The UC San Diego Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools will calculate an admissions target number and admit the appropriate number of incoming transfer students into each capped major, based on the community college GPA. Additionally, transfer students should have completed the following courses for admission equivalent to UC San Diego:
Bioengineering: Math 20A-B-C-D; Physics 2A-B and 2BL-CL; and Chemistry 6A-B
Bioengineering: Biotechnology: Math 20A-B-C-D; Physics 2A-B and 2CL; and Chemistry 6A-B
Bioengineering: Bioinformatics and Bioengineering: BioSystems: Math 20A-B-C-D; Physics 2A-B; and Chemistry 6A-B
Students who meet the UC San Diego admission criteria will be admitted into their chosen capped major, starting with the student having the highest community college GPA, until the admission target number is reached. (At least a 3.2 GPA in the community college transfer courses, and a 3.4 GPA in math, physics, and computer science courses, are likely to be needed to gain admission.) These students will be notified directly by the Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools whether they have been admitted into their chosen impacted major.
Transfer students who applied but were not admitted directly from community college into the capped Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, Bioengineering: Bioinformatics, or Bioengineering: BioSystems majors will be admitted into the major indicated as their second choice on the UC application (providing it is an open major).
Upon admission to a major, students are encouraged to seek advice from departmental staff in the Bioengineering Student Affairs Office, Room 141, Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall, to plan a program of study. Students are expected to chart their progress within their major. As the department may make a small number of course and/or curricular changes every year, it is imperative that students check their e-mail for updates and consult a bioengineering undergraduate adviser on an annual basis.
To enroll in any courses required for a bioengineering major, a student must have completed prerequisite courses. (The department does not consider D or F grades as adequate preparation for subsequent material.) Where these prerequisite course work and other restrictions apply, the registrar will not enroll other students except by department approval. Students are advised that they may be dropped from course rosters if prerequisites have not been met.
Bioengineering courses are typically offered only once a year and therefore should be taken in the recommended sequence. If courses are taken out of sequence, it may not always be possible to enroll in courses as desired or needed for timely graduation. If this occurs, students should seek immediate departmental advice.
Programmatic advice may be obtained from the Student Affairs Office. In addition, technical advice may be obtained from a specific bioengineering faculty adviser assigned to each student upon admission to the major.
Exceptions to any program or course requirements are possible if approved by the Undergraduate Studies Committee before the courses in question are taken. Petitions may be obtained from the Bioengineering Student Affairs Office.
A capstone design course sequence is required for senior level students in the Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, and Bioengineering: BioSystems majors. The capstone design course sequence consists of a multiquarter upper-division sequence of courses that totals ten quarter-units and includes (1) a series of four one-unit courses on selection (BENG 187A), design (BENG 187B), implementation (BENG 187C), and presentation (BENG 187D) of design projects, with consideration of professional issues, and (2) a sequence of two three-unit laboratory design projects, offered in many of the primary areas of bioengineering, including biomechanics (BENG 119AB), systems bioengineering (BENG 127AB, 128AB, 129AB), nanoscale and molecular bioengineering (BENG 139AB), organ system bioengineering (BENG 147AB, 148AB, 149AB), tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (BENG 169AB), and bioinstrumentation (BENG 179AB). The design projects and presentations will be performed by student teams in the course sequence.
Under the guidance of a bioengineering faculty member, lower- and upper-division level bioengineering students have opportunities to participate in independent study and research.
Upper-division bioengineering students may take BENG 199, Independent Study for Undergraduates. Lower-division bioengineering students may enroll in BENG 99, which is similar to BENG 199 except that less background in the curriculum is needed. These courses are taken as electives on a P/NP basis. Under certain conditions, a BENG 199 course may be used to satisfy upper-division technical elective course requirements for the major. Students interested in this alternative must identify a faculty member with whom they wish to work and propose a two-quarter research or study topic for Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, and Bioengineering: BioSystems majors. Completion of two consecutive quarters of BENG 199 will satisfy both technical elective requirements in the Bioengineering, Bioengineering: Biotechnology, and Bioengineering: BioSystems majors. Bioengineering: Bioinformatics majors may satisfy up to two of the three technical elective requirements in those majors by completion of BENG 199 courses. After obtaining the faculty advisers concurrence on the topic and scope of the study, the student must submit a Special Studies form (each quarter) and a BENG 199 as Technical Elective Contract to the Undergraduate Studies Committee. These forms must be completed, approved, and processed prior to the beginning of the quarter in which the course is to be taken.
Students interested in participating in the instructional activities of the department may take BENG 195, Undergraduate Teaching as an elective on a P/NP basis. Policy in this regard may be obtained from the Student Affairs Office.
The Department of Bioengineering offers two industry-related programs: the Industrial Internship Program for undergraduates and the Graduate Industrial Training Program for graduate students. Both industrial programs are designed to complement the departments academic curriculum with practical industry experience. Students interested in these programs should contact the Bioengineering Student Affairs Office well in advance of the quarter in which they would like to start their internship.
The Industrial Internship Program is available to undergraduate students who have completed all lower-division course requirements. Academic credit under BENG 196, Bioengineering Industrial Internship, can be earned by spending ten weeks or more as interns in an industrial setting. The intern may be involved in a range of activities, including design, analysis, manufacturing, testing, regulatory affairs, etc., under the direction of a mentor in the workplace. At the completion of the internship experience, students are required to submit a brief report to the mentor and faculty adviser describing their activities. Up to four units of BENG 196 may be used towards technical elective credit.
The Graduate Industrial Training Program is designed for students in the Master of Engineering Degree Program. This program serves to significantly enhance the professional development of MEng students in preparation for leadership in the bioengineering industry. Students will complete an independent industrial bioengineering project in a company setting under the direction of an industrial and faculty adviser.
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Bioengineering - University of California, San Diego
