Biological engineers are instrumental in driving fields such as tissue engineering, personalized medicine, sustainable biofuels, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, biomaterials and therapeutics. A biological engineering minor prepares students to approach these fields from a biochemical engineering perspective.
Students first complete fundamental courses on topics such as mass and energy balances and transport and then pick from a wide array of more advanced biological engineering classes to suite their individual interests.
A minor in biological engineering can be earned in conjunction with any CU Boulder engineering major.
Requirements
Course Requirements
The biological engineering minor requires a minimum of 18 credit hours, distributed as follows:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CHEN 2120 | Chemical Engineering Material and Energy Balances | 3 |
| or BMEN 2100 | Biomedical Engineering Principles and Methods | |
| CHEN 3210 | Chemical Engineering Heat and Mass Transfer | 4 |
| or BMEN 3010 | Biotransport | |
| Electives | ||
| Choose 11-12 credits from any of the following: | 11-12 | |
| Principles of Biochemistry | ||
| Biomaterials | ||
| Fundamentals of Biotechnology | ||
| Biological Engineering Senior Thesis 1 | ||
| Biological Engineering Senior Thesis 2 | ||
| Biological Process and Product Design | ||
| Biological Engineering Design Project | ||
| Pharmaceutical Biotechnology | ||
| Tissue Engineering and Biofabrication | ||
| Metabolic Engineering | ||
| Protein and Enzyme Engineering | ||
| Biomaterials | ||
| Immunoengineering | ||
| Biological Engineering Laboratory | ||
| Biochemical Separations | ||
| Biokinetics and Reactor Design | ||
| Special Topics in Biological Engineering | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 18-19 | |
Additional guidelines regarding the requirements:
- Relevant independent study coursework can be petitioned.
- 5000-level BIEN courses are allowed where undergraduate students are eligible to enroll.
- Prior coursework may be transferred from other institutions with approval.
- At least 9 credit hours need to be taken on the CU Boulder campus, at least 6 credits of which must be at the upper-division level.
Grade Requirements
A grade point average (GPA) of 2.000 or better is required in the courses that are used to satisfy the requirements for this minor. Each individual course that is counted towards these requirements must be passed with a C- or better.
Plan(s) of Study
| Year Two | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credit Hours | |
| CHEN 2120 or BMEN 2000 | Chemical Engineering Material and Energy Balances or Introduction to Biomedical Engineering | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CHEN 3210 or BMEN 3010 | Chemical Engineering Heat and Mass Transfer or Biotransport | 4 |
| Elective 1 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 7 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Elective 1 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| Elective 1 | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Elective 1 | 2 | |
| Credit Hours | 2 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 18 | |
| 1 | This is a sample distribution of electives. A total of at least 11 credit hours of approved electives must be completed for the minor and the actual distribution may look different depending on actual courses chosen. |