Explore our Majors
Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org/
The Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) is an organization with a mission of serving the public through promotion, innovation, and advancement of quality education in fields including technology and engineering. ABET’s strategic plans include accreditation of educational programs and provides assurance that a program meets the quality standards in the profession for which the program prepares graduates to enter a global workforce. At UC San Diego, Bioengineering (BS), Bioengineering: Biotechnology(BS), and Bioengineering: BioSystems (BS) have a relatively heavy emphasis on engineering, whereas Bioengineering: Bioinformatics (BS) has a relatively heavy emphasis on basic sciences.
- Bioengineering (BS) accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org/
- Bioengineering: Biotechnology (BS) accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org/
- Bioengineering: BioSystems (BS) accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org/
- Bioengineering: Bioinformatics (BS) NOT accredited
WASC Accreditation
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is the regional organization providing umbrella accreditation for UC San Diego through its Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities. UC San Diego has been accredited by WASC since 1964.
|
Department & Major |
Fall 2023 Enrollment |
2023-2024 Degrees Conferred |
|
BENG Total |
565 |
159 |
|
Bioengineering |
171 |
50 |
|
Bioengineering: Biotechnology |
217 |
70 |
|
Bioengineering: Bioinformatics |
95 |
19 |
|
Bioengineering: BioSystems |
82 |
20 |
2024-2025 Undergraduate Course Offerings (Tentative)
Descriptions for the below courses can be found in the UC San Diego General Catalog
Course Prerequisites View only List
- Fall 2024
-
Course Instructor BENG 1 Introduction to Bioengineering Khojah BENG 2 Introductory Computer Programming and MATLAB Khojah BENG 100 Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Bioengineers Taylor BENG 110 Musculoskeletal Biomechanics McCulloch BENG 119A Design Development in Biomechanics Taylor BENG 122A Biosystems and Control Cauwenberghs BENG 126A Design Development in Bioinformatics Bioengineering Taylor BENG 127A Design Development in Molecular Systems Bioengineering Taylor BENG 128A Design Development in Genetic Circuits Bioengineering Taylor BENG 129A Design Development in Cell Systems Bioengineering Taylor BENG 133 Numerical Analysis and Computational Engineering Mali BENG 135 Biomedical Signals and Systems Contijoch BENG 139A Design Development in Molecular Bioengineering Taylor BENG 141 Biomedical Optics and Imaging Lal BENG 147A Design Development in Neural Engineering Taylor BENG 148A Design Development in Cardiac Bioengineering Taylor BENG 149A Design Development in Vascular Bioengineering Taylor BENG 161A Bioreactor Engineering Fraley BENG 162 Biotechnology Laboratory Mali BENG 166A Cell and Tissue Engineering Sah BENG 169A Design Development in Tissue Engineering Taylor BENG 179A Design Development in Bioinstrumentation Taylor BENG 183 Applied Genomic Technologies Zhong BENG 187B Bioengineering Design Project: Development Taylor BENG 196 Bioengineering Industrial Internship Engler - Winter 2025
-
Course Instructor BENG 1 Introduction to Bioengineering Sah BENG 112A Soft Tissue Biomechanics Schmid-Schoenbein BENG 119B Design Implementation in Biomechanics Taylor BENG 120 Organic Chemistry Structural and Design Principles Huang BENG 123 Dynamic Simulation in Bioengineering Palsson BENG 126B Design Implementation in Bioinformatics Bioengineering Taylor BENG 127B Design Implementation in Molecular Systems Bioengineering Taylor BENG 128B Design Implementation in Genetic Circuits Bioengineering Taylor BENG 129B Design Implementation in Cell Systems Bioengineering Taylor BENG 130 Biotechnology Thermodynamics and Kinetics Subramaniam BENG 139B Design Implementation in Molecular Bioengineering Taylor BENG 140A Bioengineering Physiology Silva BENG 147B Design Implementation in Neural Engineering Taylor BENG 148B Design Implementation in Cardiac Bioengineering Taylor BENG 152 Biosystems Engineering Laboratory Taylor BENG 161B Biochemical Engineering Huang BENG 168 Biomolecular Engineering Shi BENG 169B Design Implementation in Tissue Engineering Taylor BENG 179B Design Implementation in Bioinstrumentation Taylor BENG|CSE|BIMM 181 Molecular Sequence Analysis Pevzner BENG 186B Principles of Bioinstrumentation Design Cauwenberghs BENG 187C Bioengineering Design Project: Implementation Taylor BENG 189 Physiological Systems Engineering Contijoch BENG 191|BENG 291 Senior Seminar I: Professional Issues in Bioengineering Lal BENG 195 Teaching (BENG 1 UGIAs) Sah BENG 196 Bioengineering Industrial Internship Engler - Spring 2025
-
Course Instructor BENG 100 Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Bioengineers Alexandrov BENG 102 Molecular Components of Living Systems Chapelin BENG 103B Bioengineering Mass Transfer Fraley BENG 112B Fluid and Cell Biomechanics Shi BENG 125 Modeling and Computation in Bioengineering Hasty BENG 130 Biotechnology Thermodynamics and Kinetics Kravets BENG 134 Measurements, Statistics, and Probability Smarr BENG 140B Bioengineering Physiology Cabrales BENG 160 Chemical and Molecular Bioengineering Techniques Aguado BENG 168 Biomolecular Engineering Khojah BENG 172 Bioengineering Laboratory Cabrales | TBD BENG|CSE|BIMM 182 Biological Databases Bafna BENG 186A Principles of Biomaterials Design Kwon BENG 186B Principles of Bioinstrumentation Design Aran BENG 187A Bioengineering Design Project: Planning Taylor BENG 187D Bioengineering Design Project: Presentation Taylor BENG 193 Clinical Experience in Bioengineering Engler BENG 196 Bioengineering Industrial Internship Engler
What it Means if a Major is in “Selective” Status in the Department of Bioengineering
- Entering Freshman FA25
-
Students admitted to UC San Diego as first-year students in Fall 2025 will be able to apply to the Bioengineering majors once per year (between Summer and Fall quarters following their first or second year). The earliest these students will be able to apply is the Summer 2026 application. Note that space will be limited and acceptance to these majors is not guaranteed. Transfer students are unfortunately not eligible to apply as continuing students as time to degree would be impacted. For more information about the admission process and criteria please see the UC San Diego Selective Majors Page.
All 4 majors in the Bioengineering department are “selective,” meaning the demand for these majors exceeds capacity and enrollment is limited
Students interested in applying to the Bioengineering department must complete a set of screening courses (depending on which major you wish to apply for) prior to applying:- Bioengineering and Bioengineering: Biotechnology: BILD 1 (biology); CHEM 6AB; MAE 8 (MatLab); Math 20ABC; Physics 2AB.
- Bioengineering: Bioinformatics: BILD 1; CHEM 6AB; CSE 11 (or CSE 8A and 8B); MATH 20ABC; PHYS 2AB.
- Bioengineering: BioSystems: CHEM 6AB; MATH 20ABC; PHYS 2AB.
All screening courses must be taken for a letter grade. If you have met some of the courses by Advanced Placement (AP) work, please be advised of the following: A minimum of 3 courses listed must have been completed at UC San Diego. If students can not meet this 3-course minimum due to prior credit, students may offer grades for MATH 20D (Differential Equations), MATH 18 (Linear Algebra) or MATH 20E (Vector Calculus) until the 3 course minimum has been met.
- Entering Freshman FA24
-
Beginning with the Summer 2025 continuing student application cycle, students admitted to UCSD as first-year students will be able to apply to the Bioengineering majors once per year (between Summer and Fall quarters). Note that space will be limited and acceptance to these majors is not guaranteed. Transfer students are unfortunately not eligible to apply as continuing students as time to degree would be impacted. For more information about the admission process and criteria please see the UC San Diego Selective Majors Page.
All 4 majors in the Bioengineering department are “selective,” meaning the demand for these majors exceeds capacity and enrollment is limited
Students interested in applying to the Bioengineering department must complete a set of screening courses (depending on which major you wish to apply for) prior to applying:
- Bioengineering and Bioengineering: Biotechnology: BILD 1 (biology); CHEM 6AB; MAE 8 (MatLab); Math 20ABC; Physics 2AB.
- Bioengineering: Bioinformatics: BILD 1; CHEM 6AB; CSE 11 (or CSE 8A and 8B); MATH 20ABC; PHYS 2AB.
- Bioengineering: BioSystems: CHEM 6AB; MATH 20ABC; PHYS 2AB.
All screening courses must be taken for a letter grade. If you have met some of the courses by Advanced Placement (AP) work, please be advised of the following: A minimum of 3 courses listed must have been completed at UC San Diego. If students can not meet this 3-course minimum due to prior credit, students may offer grades for MATH 20D (Differential Equations), MATH 18 (Linear Algebra) or MATH 20E (Vector Calculus) until the 3 course minimum has been met.
- Entering Transfers
-
As an entering Transfer student, if you either apply but are not accepted into the "selective" major directly from community college or another 4-year institution, OR if you didn't initially apply to one of those majors, you will be unable to apply to either of the “selective” majors at a future time.
This applies to following:
- Bioengineering (BS)
- Bioengineering: Bioinformatics (BS)
- Bioengineering: Biosystems (BS)
- Bioengineering: Biotechnology (BS)
- Graduation
-
You Must Satisfy “Departmental Major” AND “College” Requirements
UCSD has a very unique “college system” comprising seven colleges differing in educational philosophies and with regard to the type and number of required General Education (GE) courses you must complete.
- Regardless of your major, you may be assigned to any of the six colleges.
- Please review information about the seven colleges in the online UC San Diego General Catalog, to assist you in determining which college may be the “right fit” for you!
As shown on the bottom line of the “Flowchart” for each of the four majors in Bioengineering, there are 10 “open” slots for completion of 40 units [10 humanities and social science (“HSS”) courses], toward satisfaction of college requirements.
- Please note, that since some colleges require more than the 10 HSS courses, students in these colleges may take longer than 4 years to graduate.
- Students should consult with their colleges to determine which “HSS” (General Education) courses to take.