Department of Biological Engineering

Undergraduate Study

Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering (Course 20)

The Department of Biological Engineering (BE) offers an undergraduate curriculum emphasizing quantitative, engineering-based analysis, design, and synthesis in the study of modern biology from the molecular to the systems level. Completion of the curriculum leads to the Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering and prepares students for careers in diverse fields ranging from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to materials, devices, ecology, and public health. Graduates of the program will be prepared to enter positions in basic research or project-oriented product development, as well as graduate school or further professional study.

The required core curriculum includes a strong foundation in biological and biochemical sciences, which are integrated with quantitative analysis and engineering principles throughout the entire core. Students who wish to pursue the Bachelor of Science in Biological Engineering are encouraged to complete the Biology General Institute Requirement during their first year and may delay completion of Physics II until the fall term of sophomore year if necessary. The optional subject Introduction to Biological Engineering Design, offered during the spring term of the first year, provides a framework for understanding the Biological Engineering SB program.

Students are encouraged to take the sophomore fall-term subject 20.110 . This subject also fulfills an SB degree requirement in Biology. Students are also encouraged to take Organic Chemistry I and Differential Equations during their sophomore year in order to prepare for the introductory biological engineering laboratory subject that provides context for the lecture subjects and a strong foundation for subsequent undergraduate research in biological engineering through Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program projects or summer internships.

The advanced subjects required in the junior and senior years introduce additional engineering skills through lecture and laboratory subjects and culminate in a senior design project. These advanced subjects maintain the theme of molecular to systems–level analysis, design, and synthesis based on a strong integration with biology fundamentals. They also include a variety of restricted electives that allow students to develop expertise in one of six thematic areas: systems biology, synthetic biology, biophysics, pharmacology/toxicology, cell and tissue engineering, and microbial systems. Many of these advanced subjects are jointly taught with other departments in the School of Engineering or School of Science and may fulfill degree requirements in other programs.

Minor in Biomedical Engineering

An interdepartmental Minor in Biomedical Engineering is available to all undergraduate students outside the BE (Course 20) major, described in detail under Interdisciplinary Programs.

Inquiries

For further information on the undergraduate programs, see the Biological Engineering website or contact the BE Academic Office, Room 16-267, 617-452-2465.

Graduate Study

Graduate students in the Department of Biological Engineering can carry out their research as part of a number of multi-investigator, multidisciplinary research centers at MIT, including the Center for Biomedical Engineering, the Center for Environmental Health Sciences, the Division of Comparative Medicine, and the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center. These opportunities include collaboration with faculty in the Schools of Engineering and Science, the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and the Broad Institute, along with the Harvard University School of Medicine, Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, Harvard School of Public Health, and Boston University School of Medicine.

Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering

The Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering (MEBE) program is a five-year program leading to a bachelor's degree in a science or engineering discipline along with a Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering. The program emphasizes the fusion of engineering with modern molecular-to-genomic biology, as in our SB and PhD degree programs. Admission to the MEBE program is open only to MIT undergraduate students, and requires candidates to demonstrate adequate quantitative and engineering credentials through their undergraduate coursework.

In addition to satisfying the requirements of their departmental program, candidates also are expected to complete the following:

18.03	Differential Equations	12
5.12	Organic Chemistry I	12
5.07[J]	Introduction to Biological Chemistry	12
or 7.05	General Biochemistry
Select one of the following:		12
2.005	Thermal-Fluids Engineering I
6.2000	Electrical Circuits: Modeling and Design of Physical Systems
Select two of the following:		24
1.010	Probability and Causal Inference
2.086	Numerical Computation for Mechanical Engineers
6.3700	Introduction to Probability
18.05	Introduction to Probability and Statistics

Applications to the MEBE program are accepted from students in any of the departments in the School of Engineering or School of Science. Students interested in applying to the MEBE program should submit a standard MIT graduate application by the end of their junior year; they are informed of the decision by the end of that summer.

Additional information on application procedures, objectives, and program requirements can be obtained by contacting the BE Academic Office, Room 16-127.

Program Requirements

In addition to thesis credits, at least 66 units of coursework are required. At least 42 of these subject units must be from graduate subjects. The remaining units may be satisfied, in some cases, with advanced undergraduate subjects that are not requirements in MIT's undergraduate curriculum. Of the 66 units, a minimum distribution in each of three categories is specified below.

Bioengineering Core
Select two of the following:		24
20.410[J]	Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Biomechanics
20.420[J]	Principles of Molecular Bioengineering
20.430[J]	Fields, Forces, and Flows in Biological Systems
Biomedical Engineering Electives
Select 24 units from a selection of graduate subjects from various departments in the School of Engineering, including HST. 1		24
Bioscience Elective
Select one biological science subject in addition to organic chemistry and biochemistry. This must be a laboratory subject if one was not taken as part of the student’s undergraduate curriculum		18
Total Units		66

1	A list of suggested subjects is available from the BE Academic Office, Room 16-267.

Thesis

The student is required to complete a thesis that must be approved by the program director. The thesis is an original work of research, design, or development. If the supervisor is not a member of the Department of Biological Engineering, a reader who belongs to the BE faculty must also approve and sign the thesis. The student submits a thesis proposal by the end of the fourth year.

Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Science in Biological Engineering

The Department of Biological Engineering offers a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Doctor of Science (ScD) in Biological Engineering; the program is the same for both degrees. The Biological Engineering doctoral program educates students to use engineering principles in the analysis and manipulation of biological systems, allowing them to solve problems across a spectrum of important applications. The curriculum is inherently interdisciplinary in that it brings together engineering and biology as fundamentally as possible and cuts across the boundaries of the traditional engineering disciplines.

The student selects a research advisor, typically by the start of the spring term in the first year, and begins research before the end of that year. The oral doctoral qualifying examination, which focuses on the student's area of research, is taken prior to December 1 of the third year. A total of approximately five years in residence is needed to complete the doctoral thesis and other degree requirements. Upon successful completion of the program, students are awarded either the PhD or ScD in Biological Engineering.

Students admitted to the Biological Engineering doctoral program typically have a bachelor's or master's degree in science or engineering. Foundational coursework in biochemistry and molecular cell biology is required prior to admission to the graduate program. During their first year, students pursue a unified core curriculum in which engineering approaches are used to analyze biological systems and technologies over a wide range of length and time scales. The subjects in the unified core bring central engineering principles to bear on the operation of biological systems from molecular to cell to tissue/organ/device systems levels. These are then supplemented by graduate-level electives in the biological sciences and engineering to enhance breadth and depth.

Faculty members associated with the program possess a wide range of research interests. Areas in which students may specialize include systems and synthetic biology; biological and physiological transport phenomena; biological imaging and functional measurement; biomolecular engineering; cell and tissue engineering; computational modeling of biological and physiological systems; bioinformatics; design, discovery, and delivery of molecular therapeutics; molecular, cell, and tissue biomechanics; development of in vitro models of the immune system and lymphoid tissue; development of molecular methods for direct measurement of mutations in humans; metabolism of foreign compounds; genetic toxicology; the molecular aspects and dosimetry of interactions between mutagens and carcinogens with nucleic acids and proteins; molecular mechanisms of DNA damage and repair; design and mechanisms of action of chemotherapeutic agents; environmental carcinogenesis and epidemiology; molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis; cell physiology; extracellular regulation and signal transduction; molecular and pathologic interactions between infectious microbial agents and carcinogens; and new tools for genomics, proteomics, and glycomics.

Inquiries

For further information on the graduate programs, see the Biological Engineering website or contact the BE Academic Office, Room 16-267, 617-253-1712.