Academic Overview

B.S. in Bioengineering

At the interface of medical sciences, basic sciences, and engineering, bioengineering has emerged internationally as an established engineering discipline. As these disciplines converge in the 21st century, bioengineers will solve problems in biology and medicine by applying principles of physical sciences and engineering and applying biological principles to create new engineering paradigms, such as biomimetic materials, DNA computing, and neural networking. The genomic and proteomic revolution will drive a new era in bioengineering industry, and future bioengineers must combine proficiency in traditional engineering, basic sciences, and molecular sciences to function as effective leaders of multidisciplinary teams.

UCLA has a long history of fostering interdisciplinary training and is a superb environment for bioengineers. UCLA boasts the top hospital in the western U.S., nationally ranked medical and engineering schools, and numerous nationally recognized programs in basic sciences. Bioengineers are needed in research institutions, academia, and industry. Their careers may follow their bioengineering concentration (e.g., tissue engineering, bioMEMS, bioinformatics, image and signal processing, neuroengineering, cellular engineering, molecular engineering, biomechanics, nanofabrication, bioacoustics, biomaterials, etc.), but the ability of bioengineers to cut across traditional field boundaries will facilitate their innovation in new areas. For example, a bioengineer with an emphasis in tissue engineering may begin a career by leading a team to tissue engineer an anterior cruciate ligament for a large orthopedic company and later join a research institute to investigate the effects of zero gravity on mechanical signal transduction pathways of bone cells. Someone with an emphasis in bioinformatics may begin a career by data mining the human proteome at NIH before advancing to academia to develop data structure for DNA computing.