Bioengineering
BS, BS/MS

Major in bioengineering

At the intersection of engineering, biology, and chemistry, you’ll discover bioengineering. Bioengineering is one of the fastest-growing engineering disciplines, with a high demand in the medical sector.

Bioengineers design and develop devices, systems, and techniques to improve patient diagnosis, treatment, and care. They utilize biotechnology to produce personalized drugs, to make biofuels and biopolymers, to engineer tissues to replace damaged organs, to grow human tissue for drug testing, and to create new diagnostic techniques.

UMassD's bioengineering program brings together the life sciences, medicine, and engineering to provide a solid academic foundation and a broad interdisciplinary approach to the field. You will:

develop your critical thinking skills
learn to evaluate with a broad perspective
identify and solve problems creatively

Bioengineering is creating its own frontiers of development. You’ll join a new generation of innovators and leaders in fields with significant and growing employment opportunities including health care, public health, biomanufacturing, and biomedical engineering. The department also offers a BS degree in bioengineering with a concentration in biomedical engineering.

Your education will prepare you to contribute to the profession in an ethical and socially responsible manner and to work effectively to further your career and to benefit society.

The undergraduate bioengineering program provides multidisciplinary training that integrates the engineering sciences, life sciences, bio-research, and material design. A total of 120 credits are required for the degree and include courses in engineering, biology, chemistry, math, physics, English, and University Studies.

You’ll take 120 credits including:

66 credits in engineering (including general, mechanical, electrical and bioengineering)
7 credits in chemistry
47 credits in an array of course work: math (15), physics (8), English (9) and University Studies (15)

During your senior year, you will complete a capstone design project that provides real-world experience defined by current industry needs.

Biomedical engineering concentration

The Bioengineering Department also offers a bachelor's degree in bioengineering with a concentration in biomedical engineering: the biological and medical application of engineering principles in healthcare.

The bioengineering minor is aimed at students in other majors who have an interest in bioengineering. The minor provides a background in multidisciplinary life sciences and engineering, along with a foundation in biological science and engineering principles. Students gain the knowledge to be able to work in the biomedical device industry or other fields involving interactions of biology and engineering.

Completion of the minor requires a total of 18 credits consisting of 6 credits of required core courses, 6 credits of elective core courses, and 6 credits of technical elective courses. Learn more about the bioengineering minor

Student success

Alexa Van Voorhis in the Bioengineering lab

Alexa Van Voorhis '22, '23

Alexa Van Voorhis took advantage of UMass Dartmouth's accelerated BS/MS program in bioengineering to complete a bachelor's and master's degree in just five years. During her outstanding undergraduate career, she rose to both academic and athletic excellence, and became a leader in the campus community.

Internship sites

Biomedical Research Institute
BioSurfaces, Inc.
Hospitals
Johnson & Johnson
Smith & Nephew
St. Jude Medical

Graduate school placements

Boston University
Cornell University
Northeastern University
Tufts University
UMass Medical School

Career placements

AngioDynamics, Inc.
Barrett Technology
BioEngineering Inc.
BioModels LLC
Cellmig Biolabs
Foundation Medicine
Homology Medicines, Inc.
Insulet Corporation
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
Merck & Co.

Starting salary for bioengineering majors, class of 2022:
$71,167 - $72,500

NACE AY 2022 Data Collection of Undergraduate Alumni

Biomedical engineers will see employment growth due to new technologies and increasing applications to medical equipment and devices. Employment of bioengineers and biomedical engineers is projected to grow 10 percent from 2021 to 2031, faster than the average for all occupations. - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

UMassD advantages

Capstone projects: most senior engineering students work on real-world, industry-specific challenges that demand analysis, proposals, prototypes, and solutions.
Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship: UMassD's business incubator in Fall River offers opportunities to work with UMassD faculty members and start-up companies.
Center for Scientific Computing and Visualization Research: This interdisciplinary center provides collaboration opportunities and on-campus supercomputing facilities for faculty and students interested computationally-driven research.
Internships & co-op: gain hands-on experience that will be valuable for career success.
UMassD’s proximity to the Greater Boston area provides easy access to an epicenter of biotechnology/pharmaceuticals/medical devices companies.

International (F-1) students who receive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees may be eligible to apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion optional practical training (OPT). To learn about the eligibility criteria and detailed steps to apply, please review the International Student & Scholar Center (ISSC) OPT page and USCIS resources. F-1 students must consult with the ISSC to apply for STEM OPT.

UMass Dartmouth offers a great transfer experience for students who: