Engineering Your BIOE Minor

Bioengineering resides at the interface of engineering and the natural sciences, and a thorough knowledge of both is essential for innovation and problem solving in the discipline. A bioengineering minor is a great way to complement your primary major.  Given the alignment of the minor with majors within the natural sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Human Physiology and Physics), the minor was designed to complement those majors.
 
The links to the left provide specific guidance on how to navigate the bioengineering minor along with your major.

 

Course of Study

The program begins with a core “Fundamentals of Bioengineering” sequence: a three-quarter set of courses that builds an engineering foundation through an experiential design- and problem-solving approach. Upper-division coursework offers a chance to take specialized bioengineering courses tailored around Knight Campus research areas and can also include electives from students’ home departments.

All courses must be completed with a C- or better.

 

BIOE Minor Requirements: 24 credits
 

BIOE 251 Fundamentals of Bioengineering I *                                                      4 credits

BIOE 252 Fundamentals of Bioengineering II**                                                     4 credits

BIOE 253 Fundamentals of Bioengineering III**                                                    4 credits

Electives***                                                                                                                           12 credits           

*Students must have completed MATH 251 prior to BIOE 251

**Students must have completed MATH 252 prior to BIOE 252 & 253

***At least 4 elective credits must be from BIOE subject-code

 

Upper Division Elective Coursework

To complete the bioengineering minor, you must complete 12 credits from this list.  At least four must be from the BIOE subject-code.  Courses used to complete a student’s major core requirements may not be applied towards the bioengineering minor elective requirement.  Please refer to the key information for your major if you have any questions.

Bioengineering:

  • BIOE 410: Protein Engineering & Design - This course focuses on the methods used in protein engineering and their applications. It covers basic topics related to protein structures and how it controls function, protein energy landscape, and effect of mutagenesis on proteins. The class discusses the most commonly used methods for protein engineering (rational design, directed evolution, protein design, Deep Learning-based methods), their power and limitation and their applications. Examples of practical applications in industry are explored. Prereq: CH 360 CH 461 or equiv, Molecular biology.
  • BIOE 410: Biomaterials - This course will introduce design principles for biomaterials, including considerations for protein and cell delivery, cell-instructive biomaterials, drug delivery systems, material-tissue interactions (e.g. host immune response), and material characterization. This course will mainly focus on polymeric biomaterials. A special emphasis will be placed on chemical modifications to tune material degradation, cross-linking, protein release, cell-material interactions, and stimuli-responsiveness. Prereqs: general chemistry, organic chemistry, general biology.
  • BIOE 410: 3D Printing and Design - This course will introduce design principles for additive manufacturing, commonly referred to as 3D printing. A deep dive into a spectrum of established and upcoming 3D printing technologies will be performed on a weekly basis. The 3D printing technologies covered in the course will include fused deposition modeling, melt electrowriting, digital light processing, stereolithography, continuous liquid interface polymerization, 3D bioprinting, metal 3D printing, selective laser sintering, selective laser melting, volumetric printing and multi-photon polymerization. 
  • BIOE 410: Design and Fabrication of Biomaterial Interfaces - This course introduces students to the design and fabrication of electrical and mechanical microdevices. The course will introduce students to fundamental microfabrication principles, including lithography, think-film deposition, etching, and characterization. This course provides a framework for understanding processes in manufacturing semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, and micro-photonic and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) components. 
  • BIOE 410: Synthetic Biology - This course will focus on the application of engineering principles to design and build biological systems with predictable behaviors. It will teach students to design, build, and model simple biological circuits and systems. It will cover topics including basic biological components and their standardization, methods for analysis, modeling tools, engineering principles in biology, DNA assembly, genome engineering, and ethics. Prereqs: BI 241 or equiv.

Biology:

  • BI 320* Molecular Genetics. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 214 or BI 282H.
  • BI 322 Cell Biology. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 214 or BI 282H; CH 331 recommended.
  • BI 326 Immunology and Infectious Disease. 4 Credits.
  • BI 328 Developmental Biology. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 214 or BI 282H.
  • BI 330 Microbiology. 3 Credits. Prereq: BI 214 or BI 282H.
  • BI 331 Microbiology Laboratory. 3 Credits. Prereq: BI 214 of BI 282H; pre- or coreq: BI 330.
  • BI 353 Sensory Physiology. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 214 or BI 282H.
  • BI 358 Investigations in Medical Physiology.  4 Credits. Prereq: one from BI 214, BI 283H, HPHY 324.
  • BI 360 Neurobiology 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 214 or BI 282H.
  • BI 423 Human Molecular Genetics. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 320.
  • BI 424 Advanced Molecular Genetics. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 320.
  • BI 426 Genetics of Cancer. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 214 or BI 282H; one from BI 320, BI 322
  • BI 427 Molecular Genetics of Human Disease. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 320.
  • BI 428 Developmental Genetics. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 320, BI 328.
  • BI 461 Systems Neuroscience. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 353 or BI 360 or equivalent.
  • BI 466 Developmental Neurobiology. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 320, BI 328
  • BI 485 Techniques in Computational Neuroscience. 4 Credits. Prereq: BI 360 or BI 461; MATH 247 or MATH 252 or higher.

*Biochemistry students may not count BI 320 as an elective for the bioengineering minor

Chemistry and Biochemistry:

  • CH 360 Physiological Biochemistry. 4 Credits. Prereq: CH 336 or 343; BI 214 or 282H recommended.
  • CH 461* Biochemistry. 4 credits. Prepreq: CH 336 or 343.
  • CH 462* Biochemistry. 4 credits. Prereq: CH 461.
  • CH 463* Biochemistry. 4 credits. Prereq: CH 461/561; or CH 360 with a grade of B- or better.
  • CH 464  RNA Biochemistry. Preqreq CH 463.
  • CH 465  Physical Biochemistry. 4 credits. Prereq: CH 461.
  • CH 466  Structural Biochemistry. 4 credits. Prereq: CH 461.
  • CH 467* Biochemistry Laboratory. 4 credits. Co-req: CH 461.

*Biochemistry majors may not count CH 461, CH 462, CH 463, CH 467 as an elective for the bioengineering minor

Physics:

  • PHYS 351* Foundations of Physics II. 4 Credits. Prereq: MATH 253, PHYS 253; coreq: MATH 256 or 281.
  • PHYS 352* Foundations of Physics II. 4 Credits. Prereq: PHYS 351; coreq: MATH 281.
  • PHYS 353* Foundations of Physics II. 4 Credits. Prereq: PHYS 352; coreq: MATH 282.
  • PHYS 362  Biological Physics. 4 Credits. Prereq: PHYS 351 or 353.
  • PHYS 411  Mechanics, Electricity, and Magnetism. 4 Credits. Prereq: MATH 282.
  • PHYS 412  Mechanics, Electricity, and Magnetism. 4 Credits. Prereq: MATH 281.
  • PHYS 413  Mechanics, Electricity, and Magnetism. 4 Credits. Prereq: PHYS 412.
  • PHYS 421M  Partial Differential Equations: Fourier Analysis I. 4 Credits. Prereq: MATH 253; one from MATH 256, MATH 281.
  • PHYS 431  Analog Electronics. 4 Credits. Prereq: PHYS 203 or equivalent; knowledge of complex numbers; MATH 253.
  • PHYS 432  Digital Electronics. 4 Credits. Prereq: PHYS 203 or equivalent; MATH 253.
  • PHYS 481  Design of Experiments. 4 Credits.

*Physics majors may not count PHYS 351, 352, 353 as an elective for the bioengineering minor

Human Physiology:

  • HPHY 321* Human Anatomy I. 5 Credits. Prereq: HPHY 211; BI 211 or BI 281H; BI 212 or BI 282H; CH 221 or CH 224H; CH 222 or CH 225H; CH 223 or CH 226H; MATH 246 or MATH 251. Must be passed with grades of C or better.
  • HPHY 322* Human Physiology I. 5 Credits. HPHY 212; BI 211 or BI 281H; BI 212 or BI 282H; CH 221 or CH 224H; CH 222 or CH 225H; CH 223 or CH 226H; MATH 246 or MATH 251. Must be passed with grades of C or better.
  • HPHY 323* Human Anatomy II. 5 Credits. Prereq: HPHY 321. Must be passed with grades of C or better
  • HPHY 324*  Human Physiology II. 5 Credits. Prereq: HPHY 212, HPHY 321, HPHY 322. Must be passed with grades of C or better.
  • HPHY 325* Human Anatomy and Physiology III. 5 Credits. Prereq: HPHY 323, HPHY 324. Must be passed with a grade of C or better.
  • HPHY 362  Tissue Injury and Repair. 4 Credits. Prereq: HPHY 323, HPHY 324. Must be passed with grades of C or better.
  • HPHY 381  Biomechanics. 4 Credits. Prereq: HPHY 323, PHYS 201. Must be passed with grades of C or better.
  • HPHY 432  Neural Development. 4 Credits. Prereq: HPHY 323, HPHY 324. Must be passed with grades of C or better.
  • HPHY 436  Clinical Neuroscience. 4 Credits. Prereq: HPHY 323 and 324 with a C or better.

*Human Physiology majors may not count HPHY 321, 322, 323, 324, 325 as an elective for the bioengineering minor.