Life science focus/pre-med track
As a discipline, life science engineering involves the application of engineering principles and practices to living organisms, including human beings. The increasing importance of life science subjects within the field of engineering cannot be underestimated. The living organism may be considered to be a small but highly complex engineering system. It consumes fuel and raw materials (oxygen, food and water), exchanges heat with its surroundings, pumps fluids and carries on numerous chemical reactions and separation processes. It has complex sensory, internal chemical signaling and control, and information storage and retrieval systems. It has diverse movement and chemical/mechanical work capabilities. Many of the principles and concepts developed in chemical engineering programs also are discussed in textbooks of cellular and vertebrate physiology (although usually in a more qualitative manner).
Technical electives
General education requirements
Core curriculum
| Fall semester, freshman year | Credits |
| CHEM 101 General Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEZ/FRSZ 101L General Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
| CLSE 101 Introduction to Chemical and Life Science Engineering | 3 |
| CLSE 215 Introduction to Programming | 3 |
| MATH 200 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I | 4 |
| UNIV 111 Focused Inquiry I | 3 |
17 |
|
| Spring semester, freshman year | |
| CHEM 102 General Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEZ/FRSZ 102L General Chemistry Laboratory II | 1 |
| MATH 201 Calculus with Analytic Geometry II | 4 |
| PHYS 207 University Physics I | 5 |
| UNIV 112 Focused Inquiry II | 3 |
16 |
|
| Fall semester, sophomore year | |
| CHEM 301 Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEZ 301L Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | 2 |
| CLSE 201 Material Balances | 3 |
| MATH 301 Differential Equations | 3 |
| PHYS 208 University Physics II | 5 |
16 |
|
| Spring semester, sophomore year | |
| BIOL 151 Introduction to Biological Science I* | 3 |
| CHEM 302 Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEZ 302L Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | 3 |
| CLSE 202 Energy Balances and Engineering Thermodynamics | 3 |
| ECON 205 The Economics of Product Development and Markets | 3 |
| MATH 307 Multivariate Calculus | 4 |
18 |
|
| Fall semester, junior year | |
| BIOC/CHEM 403 Biochemistry | 3 |
| BIOL 152 Introduction to Biological Science II | 3 |
| CLSE 301 Transport Phenomena I | 3 |
| CLSE 305 Thermodynamics of Phase Equilibria and Chemical Reactions | 3 |
| CLSE 320 Instrumentation Laboratory | 2 |
| ENGL 200 Writing and Rhetoric Workshop II | 3 |
17 |
|
| Spring semester, junior year | |
| BIOL 218 Cell Biology | 3 |
| BIOZ 152L Introduction to Biological Science Laboratory II | 1 |
| CLSE 302 Transport Phenomena II | 3 |
| CLSE 312 Chemical Reaction Engineering | 3 |
| CLSE 409 Chemical Process Control | 3 |
| Engineering technical elective | 3 |
16 |
|
| Summer semester, junior/senior year | |
| ENGR 410 Review of Internship | 1 |
| Fall semester, senior year | |
| CLSE 440 Unit Operations Laboratory | 2 |
| ENGR 402 Senior Design Studio I | 1 |
| ENGZ 402L Senior Design Studio I Laboratory | 2 |
| PHIL 201 Critical Thinking about Moral Problems | 3 |
| STAT 541 Applied Statistics for Engineers and Scientists | 3 |
| Life science technical elective | 3 |
14 |
|
| Spring semester, senior year | |
| ENGR 403 Senior Design Studio II | 1 |
| ENGZ 403L Senior Design Studio II Laboratory | 2 |
| General education requirement – natural/physical science | 3 |
| General education requirement – social/behavioral science | 3 |
| Life science engineering electives | 6 |
15 |
|
| Total minimum requirement | 130 |
Technical electives: Suggested electives for the life sciences track follow and life science engineering electives must be chosen from this list. Students must have nine credit hours in life science engineering courses and three credit hours of engineering technical electives. Students are strongly encouraged to take ENGL 200 or another research and academic argument course during the fall semester of the junior year to prepare for writing assignments in upper-level engineering courses. All electives must be selected with the agreement of the student’s academic adviser.
Total credits: All chemical and life sciences engineering majors must complete a minimum of 130 credit hours in order to graduate. A grade of C or better is required in all School of Engineering courses. Also, students should refer to the D grade policy.
Technical electives
Some courses may have prerequisites.
Life sciences engineering
EGRC 325 Bioengineering
EGRC 549 Process Biotechnology
ENGR 305 Sensors and Measurements
ENGR 460 Undergraduate Honors Research in Life Sciences Engineering
ENGR 461 Stem Cell Engineering
Life sciences
BIOL 300 Biotechniques Laboratory
EGRC 591 Special Topics in Engineering: Introduction to Polymers in Medicine
ENVS 330/BIOL 332 Environmental Pollution
ENVS 335/GEOG 335 Environmental Geology
ENVS 550 Ecological Risk Assessment
ENVS 591 Topics in Environmental Studies
ENVZ 335L/GEOZ 335L Environmental Geology Laboratory
Biosciences and biotechnology
BIOL/PHIS 206 Human Physiology
BIOL 218 Cell Biology
BIOL 301 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
BIOL 302 Animal Embryology
BIOL 308 Vertebrate Histology
BIOL 310 Genetics
BIOL 311 Animal Physiology
BIOL 314/FRSC 314 Introduction to Molecular Biology
BIOZ 310L Laboratory in Genetics
BIOZ 311L Animal Physiology Laboratory
CHEM/MEDC 310 Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design
In addition, any ENGR 491 Special Topics in Engineering or ENGR 492 Independent Study in Engineering course taught by faculty from the School of Engineering can be used as a technical elective by agreement with the student’s academic adviser. Many electives on the life sciences list have prerequisites. The electives listed have been chosen carefully to ensure that the prerequisites are met by courses in the life science engineering track or are met by also taking a listed elective. Additional courses may fulfill technical elective requirements and may be taken with prior written permission of the program head.
Core curriculum requirements
Chemical and life science engineering majors fulfill the Tier II core curriculum requirements via selection of courses in the topical areas as follows:
- Quantitative literacy: MATH 200
- Research and academic writing: ENGL 200 or another research and academic writing course
- Humanities/fine arts: PHIL 201
- Social/behavioral sciences: one course from approved Tier II list
- Natural/physical sciences: one course from approved Tier II list