B.S. in Bioengineering

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

University of Maryland College Park

Program Overview

The B.S. in Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, College Park combines engineering, biology, medicine, and health sciences to prepare students to develop solutions for real-world biomedical and biological challenges. It is well suited to students interested in areas such as biotechnology, biomedical devices, human health, biomechanics, biomaterials, and biomedical instrumentation, with opportunities to specialize through career-focused tracks and technical electives.

Curriculum Structure

First Year

Students begin by building their engineering and scientific foundations through courses such as ENES100 Intro to Engineering Design (3 credits), BIOE120 Biology for Engineers (3 credits), and BIOE241 Biocomputational Methods (3 credits). Mathematics, chemistry, physics, and laboratory work are introduced alongside engineering design, giving students an integrated foundation in biological systems and quantitative problem-solving.

Second Year

The second year develops deeper technical knowledge through CHEM231 Organic Chemistry I (3 credits), BIOE232 Thermodynamics (3 credits), and BIOE246 Differential Equations for Bioengineering (3 credits). Students also study mechanics, physics, biological science, engineering ethics, and academic and career planning, strengthening the mathematical and scientific tools needed for advanced bioengineering study.

Third Year

Students move into more specialized bioengineering concepts through courses such as BIOE331 Biofluids (3 credits), BIOE372 Biostatistics (3 credits), and BIOE457 Biomedical Electronics & Instrumentation (4 credits). BIOE340 Physiological Systems and Laboratory (4 credits) and Cell Biology and Physiology provide opportunities to connect engineering principles with living systems, while foundational and elective courses allow students to begin shaping their area of specialization.

Fourth Year

The final year focuses strongly on professional preparation, design, and innovation through BIOE485 Capstone I (3 credits), BIOE486 Capstone II (3 credits), and Professional Writing (3 credits). The two-semester Capstone sequence gives students the opportunity to work in teams with faculty, clinicians, and industry mentors to develop engineering solutions from concept toward a finished product, while technical electives allow further specialization.

The current academic plan totals 130 credits and is designed as a four-year undergraduate degree.

Focus areas

Biotechnology and Therapeutics Engineering, Biomechanics and Biomaterials, Biomedical Instrumentation, Pre-Health Professions, Bioengineering Studies

Learning outcomes

Students develop the ability to apply engineering, biology, human physiology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and statistics to bioengineering problems; identify and solve complex engineering challenges; analyze, model, design, and develop biomedical devices, systems, components, and processes; and make measurements and interpret data from living systems.

Professional alignment (accreditation)

The B.S. in Bioengineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET under the General Criteria and the Program Criteria for Bioengineering and Biomedical and Similarly Named Engineering Programs. The accreditation provides a recognized quality framework for the program's engineering education and learning outcomes.

Reputation (employability rankings)

The Fischell Department of Bioengineering reports that UMD's undergraduate Bioengineering program holds a #10 public national ranking for bioengineering and biomedical engineering undergraduate programs. The department also reports 430 undergraduate Bioengineering students as of Fall 2024 and 88 B.S. degrees awarded during the 2023–24 academic year.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

The program places practical engineering at the center of the undergraduate experience, particularly through laboratory courses, undergraduate research, specialized facilities, and the two-semester senior Capstone. Students can work with advanced biomedical equipment, participate in faculty-led research, and collaborate with clinicians and industry mentors to take engineering concepts from an initial idea toward a functional design or product.

Key opportunities include:

Senior Capstone I & II: Students work in teams under faculty and mentor guidance to create engineering designs from concept to product. Projects can involve clinical problems, biomedical technologies, commercialization plans, and entrepreneurship.
Clinical and industry mentorship: Capstone students may receive mentorship from clinicians and representatives connected with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Children's National Health Center, FDA, and NIH.
BioWorkshop Core Facility: Students and researchers can access advanced equipment for biological imaging, cellular and biochemical analysis, biomaterial characterization, and histology. Equipment includes confocal microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, BioAFM, SEM/TEM, microCT, flow cytometry, qPCR, UHPLC, FT-IR, rheometers, and other analytical systems.
Leidos Innovation Lab: Located in A. James Clark Hall, this 200-foot-long facility supports cross-disciplinary research and teamwork with movable workbenches, digital displays, and overhead utilities.
Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices: Students benefit from an environment focused on biomedical device research, prototyping, manufacturing, intellectual property, venture creation, and pathways toward clinical and commercial development.
Undergraduate research: Students can participate in faculty-led research in areas including medical devices, drug delivery, biomolecular engineering, cell and tissue engineering, and related bioengineering fields.
Research programs: Opportunities include the Bioengineering Honors Program, HHMI Undergraduate Research Fellowship, ASPIRE Program, and Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research.
Industry and healthcare connections: The department highlights relationships with the Institute for Bioscience & Biotechnology Research, NIH, NSF, FDA, Children's National Medical Center, and other organizations within the Maryland biotechnology and healthcare corridor.
Student innovation: The 2026 Capstone Expo featured 21 BIOE/BCE projects focused on healthcare and medical technologies, with UMD Bioengineering teams receiving multiple awards.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The B.S. in Bioengineering prepares graduates for careers across biomedical technology, biotechnology, healthcare, research, and engineering. Students can build professional experience through internships and co-ops while the program's ABET accreditation, research opportunities, industry connections, and design-focused Capstone provide a strong foundation for either entering the workforce or progressing to graduate and professional study.

Typical career directions include Biomedical Engineer, Bioengineering Researcher, Biomedical Device Engineer, Biotechnology Engineer. UMD's 2025 Bioengineering graduate-employer list includes organizations such as AstraZeneca, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, NIH, Flowscientific, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Accenture, Reprocell, Veeva Systems, Meso Scale Diagnostics, and Epic Systems.

Career development is supported through:

Engineering Career Services: Students can receive assistance finding co-op, internship, summer engineering positions, and post-graduate opportunities, with these experiences providing professional work experience, networking, salary opportunities, and practical application of classroom learning.
Salary outcomes: UMD's current engineering salary information reports a mean annual entry-level salary of $89,591 for Bioengineering BS graduates, compared with a listed national average of $71,647.
Internship/co-op earnings: Reported 2025–26 Bioengineering BS co-op/intern wages average $30.00 per hour.
Industry-connected education: Capstone projects receive support from industrial sponsors and can include mentorship from industry representatives and clinicians, helping students understand the development of biomedical technologies beyond the classroom.
Professional accreditation: ABET accreditation demonstrates that the program meets established engineering education criteria and supports the program's focus on technical competence, practical experience, ethics, and lifelong professional development.
Graduation outcomes: The department reports 88 Bioengineering B.S. degrees awarded in the 2023–24 academic year, with 430 undergraduate students enrolled across all four years as of Fall 2024.

Further Academic Progression: Graduates can continue into advanced study in areas such as Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology, Biomedical Devices, Biomaterials, Biomechanics, and related engineering or life-science disciplines. The department also offers graduate pathways including the M.S., M.Eng., Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D., and M.D./M.S., while the undergraduate Honors Program provides additional research and thesis preparation for students targeting graduate or medical school.