BS Bioengineering at Santa Clara: Fees 2026 Dates & Requirements

Bioengineering is the fastest-growing area of engineering and holds the promise of improving the lives of all people in very direct and diverse ways. Bioengineering focuses on the application of electrical, chemical, mechanical, and other engineering principles to understand, modify, or control biological systems. As such the curriculum teaches principles and practices at the interface of engineering, medicine and the life sciences.

The Department of Bioengineering offers a combined degree program leading to the Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science open to bioengineering majors with an approved grade point average of at least 3.0 in bioengineering, mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry courses. Under the combined degree program, an undergraduate student begins taking courses required for a master’s degree before completing the requirements for the bachelor’s degree and typically completes the requirements for a Master of Science in Bioengineering within a year of obtaining the bachelor’s degree. Undergraduate students admitted to the 5-year BS/MS degree program are required to enroll in the program between February of their junior year and December of their senior year. Students in this program will receive their bachelor’s degree after satisfying the standard undergraduate degree requirements.

To earn the master’s degree, students must fulfill all the requirements for the degree, including the completion of 45 units of coursework beyond that applied to their bachelor’s degree. Candidates are required to file a regular MS BIOE program of studies, which must be approved and signed by the advisor.