Biological Engineering (College of Engineering)

Purdue University in West Lafayette

The world has tremendous need for solutions to problems related to the environment, energy, health, food, and sustainability. Biological systems are related to or at the heart of all of these issues. A biological engineer learns to design and analyze biological systems to develop innovative and practical solutions.  

Our B.S. graduates are well prepared for careers in the food industry, pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, and bioprocessing as well as entrance into graduate or medical school. Students may select a major and plan of study within biological engineering that is tailored to their specific career goals.  Some areas of focus include:

BioEnvironmental engineering: This interdisciplinary concentration provides students with the necessary biology, microbiology, and process engineering skills to tackle challenging environmental design issues, with specific topics in environmental and bioprocessing engineering to focus the skills of its graduates.

Bioprocess engineering and bioenergy engineering: This is rapidly becoming a critical forefront research area as advances in genetic engineering lead to new types of crops and new processing methods to create value added products.

Cellular and biomolecular engineering: This emerging field is expected to rapidly advance and open opportunities in biomanufacturing, drug design, human therapeutics, tissue and organ regeneration, bioenergy and biofuel production, bioremediation, and biodefense.

Food process engineering: This is an interdisciplinary field that applies the basic sciences, mathematics, and engineering to convert agricultural commodities into edible foods and biological materials through various processing steps.

Pharmaceutical process engineering:  This program of study is targeted to provide graduates with unique skills and job opportunities to take on roles within all phases of the pharmaceutical industry including research, product and process development, processing engineering, manufacturing, and marketing.

Watch a video and take a look at some senior projects. 

Applying

Biological Engineering is a major within the Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) Department. ABE grants degrees in both the College of Agriculture and the College of Engineering. Biological Engineering is a degree granted in the College of Engineering, and there are multiple entry paths for students who are interested in ABE majors. 

First-time college students may apply to Biological Engineering in the College of Agriculture (where they would begin in the pre-ABE program) or they may select First-Year Engineering in the College of Engineering (where they would begin in the First-Year Engineering program). The first-year curriculum is the same for each path.

Transfer students who have fulfilled the first-year requirements of this engineering program may apply directly to Biological Engineering in the College of Agriculture. 

Note: The First-Year Engineering Program is the entry point for all beginning engineering students. They must complete the First-Year Engineering requirements before entering the engineering school of their choice. The mission of this student-oriented service program is to advise, teach and retain outstanding students for Purdue's College of Engineering. This core curriculum includes courses in math, chemistry, physics, computer programming, and communication skills, as well as introductory engineering coursework taught in the new Ideas to Innovation (i2i) Learning Laboratory. The First-Year Engineering Program provides students with a firm foundation and initial understanding of engineering and career options to assist them in identifying which of Purdue's engineering disciplines is the right fit. Our professional academic advisors, faculty and student advisors are dedicated to assisting beginning engineers with the first-year experience.