DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING undergraduate curriculum. Of the 66 units, a minimum distribution in each of three categories is specied below.
Bioengineering Core Graduate Study Select two of the following: 24 20.410[J] Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering Biomechanics The Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering (MEBE) 20.420[J] Principles of Molecular program is a ve-year program leading to a bachelor's degree in a Bioengineering science or engineering discipline along with a Master of Engineering 20.430[J] Fields, Forces, and Flows in in Biomedical Engineering. The program emphasizes the fusion of Biological Systems engineering with modern molecular-to-genomic biology, as in our SB and PhD degree programs. Admission to the MEBE program is Biomedical Engineering Electives open only to MIT undergraduate students, and requires candidates Select 24 units from a selection of graduate 24 to demonstrate adequate quantitative and engineering credentials subjects from various departments in the School of 1 through their undergraduate coursework. Engineering, including HST. Bioscience Elective In addition to satisfying the requirements of their departmental Select one biological science subject in addition to 18 program, candidates also are expected to complete the following: organic chemistry and biochemistry. This must be a 18.03 Dierential Equations 12 laboratory subject if one was not taken as part of the student’s undergraduate curriculum 5.12 Organic Chemistry I 12 5.07[J] Introduction to Biological Chemistry 12 Total Units 66
1 or 7.05 General Biochemistry A list of suggested subjects is available from the BE Academic Oce (be- Select one of the following: 12 [email protected]), Room 16-267. 2.005 Thermal-Fluids Engineering I 6.002 Circuits and Electronics Thesis The student is required to complete a thesis that must be approved Select two of the following: 24 by the program director. The thesis is an original work of research, 1.010 Probability and Causal Inference design, or development. If the supervisor is not a member of the 2.086 Numerical Computation for Department of Biological Engineering, a reader who belongs to Mechanical Engineers the BE faculty must also approve and sign the thesis. The student 6.041 Introduction to Probability submits a thesis proposal by the end of the fourth year. 18.05 Introduction to Probability and Statistics Doctoral Program in Biological Engineering The Department of Biological Engineering oers a PhD program and, Applications to the MEBE program are accepted from students in in certain cases, an SM degree. Graduate students in the Department any of the departments in the School of Engineering or School of Biological Engineering can carry out their research as part of a of Science. Students interested in applying to the MEBE program number of multi-investigator, multidisciplinary research centers at should submit a standard MIT graduate application by the end of MIT, including the Center for Biomedical Engineering, the Center for their junior year; they are informed of the decision by the end of that Environmental Health Sciences (http://catalog.mit.edu/mit/research/ summer. center-environmental-health-sciences), the Division of Comparative Medicine (http://catalog.mit.edu/mit/research/division-comparative- Additional information on application procedures, objectives, medicine), and the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center and program requirements can be obtained by contacting the BE (http://www.synberc.org). These opportunities include collaboration Academic Oce ([email protected]), Room 16-127. with faculty in the Schools of Engineering (http://catalog.mit.edu/ schools/engineering) and Science (http://catalog.mit.edu/schools/ Program Requirements science), the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research (http:// In addition to thesis credits, at least 66 units of coursework are catalog.mit.edu/mit/research/koch-institute-integrative-cancer- required. At least 42 of these subject units must be from graduate research), the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research (http:// subjects. The remaining units may be satised, in some cases, with catalog.mit.edu/mit/research/whitehead-institute-biomedical- advanced undergraduate subjects that are not requirements in MIT's research), and the Broad Institute (http://catalog.mit.edu/mit/ research/broad-institute), along with the Harvard University School
Department of Biological Engineering | 3 DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
of Medicine, Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, Harvard specialize include systems and synthetic biology; biological School of Public Health, and Boston University School of Medicine. and physiological transport phenomena; biological imaging and functional measurement; biomolecular engineering; cell and The Biological Engineering graduate program educates students tissue engineering; computational modeling of biological and to use engineering principles in the analysis and manipulation physiological systems; bioinformatics; design, discovery, and of biological systems, allowing them to solve problems across a delivery of molecular therapeutics; molecular, cell, and tissue spectrum of important applications. The curriculum is inherently biomechanics; development of in vitro models of the immune interdisciplinary in that it brings together engineering and biology system and lymphoid tissue; development of molecular methods as fundamentally as possible and cuts across the boundaries of the for direct measurement of mutations in humans; metabolism of traditional engineering disciplines. foreign compounds; genetic toxicology; the molecular aspects and The written part of the doctoral qualifying examinations—focused dosimetry of interactions between mutagens and carcinogens with on the core curriculum—is taken aer the second term. The student nucleic acids and proteins; molecular mechanisms of DNA damage selects a research advisor, typically by the start of the spring term in and repair; design and mechanisms of action of chemotherapeutic the rst year, and begins research before the end of that year. The agents; environmental carcinogenesis and epidemiology; molecular oral part of the doctoral qualifying examinations, which focuses on mechanisms of carcinogenesis; cell physiology; extracellular the student's area of research, is taken prior to December 1 of the regulation and signal transduction; molecular and pathologic third year. A total of approximately ve years in residence is needed interactions between infectious microbial agents and carcinogens; to complete the doctoral thesis and other degree requirements. and new tools for genomics, proteomics, and glycomics.
Students admitted to the Biological Engineering graduate program Interdisciplinary Programs typically have a bachelor's or master's degree in science or engineering. Foundational coursework in biochemistry and Leaders for Global Operations molecular cell biology is required, either prior to admission or The 24-month Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) (http:// during the rst year of graduate study. Students who have not taken lgo.mit.edu) program combines graduate degrees in engineering and biochemistry previously should take 7.05 General Biochemistry or management for those with previous postgraduate work experience 5.07[J] Introduction to Biological Chemistry, and those who have not and strong undergraduate degrees in a technical eld. During the taken cell biology previously should take 7.06 Cell Biology, prior to two-year program, students complete a six-month internship at one taking the core classes. During their rst year, students pursue a of LGO's partner companies, where they conduct research that forms unied core curriculum in which engineering approaches are used the basis of a dual-degree thesis. Students nish the program with to analyze biological systems and technologies over a wide range of two MIT degrees: an MBA (or SM in management) and an SM from length and time scales. The subjects in the unied core bring central one of eight engineering programs, some of which have optional engineering principles to bear on the operation of biological systems or required LGO tracks. Aer graduation, alumni lead strategic from molecular to cell to tissue/organ/device systems levels. These initiatives in high-tech, operations, and manufacturing companies. are then supplemented by electives in the biological sciences and engineering to enhance breadth and depth. Polymers and So Matter The Program in Polymers and So Matter (PPSM) (http:// Core polymerscience.mit.edu) oers students from participating 20.420[J] Principles of Molecular 12 departments an interdisciplinary core curriculum in polymer science Bioengineering and engineering, exposure to the broader polymer community 20.440 Analysis of Biological Networks 15 through seminars, contact with visitors from industry and academia, (Electives) and interdepartmental collaboration while working towards a PhD or Electives ScD degree. One graduate subject in biological science oered by Research opportunities include functional polymers, controlled the Department of Biology drug delivery, nanostructured polymers, polymers at interfaces, One graduate subject from a restricted set of biomaterials, molecular modeling, polymer synthesis, biomimetic Biological Engineering oerings beyond the core materials, polymer mechanics and rheology, self-assembly, and subjects polymers in energy. The program is described in more detail (http:// One graduate subject in Biological Engineering catalog.mit.edu/interdisciplinary/graduate-programs/polymers-so- One additional graduate engineering or science matter) under Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs. subject
Faculty members associated with the program possess a wide range of research interests. Areas in which students may
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Inquiries For further information on the graduate programs, see the Biological Engineering website (http://be.mit.edu) or contact the BE Academic Oce ([email protected]), Room 16-267, 617-253-1712.
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