Bioengineering


A person conducting an experiment in a clean room

A student working in a lab

Overview

From cancer treatment and tissue engineering to improved drug delivery and neuromuscular therapies, KU’s Bioengineering Program is helping students to find cures, promote well-being, and build healthy communities. KU offers a bioengineering certificate and a biomedical minor through chemical engineering and mechanical engineering — including pre-med options — and an accelerated path to a graduate degree.

Programs Offered

Bioengineering certificate
Accelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree in bioengineering
Pre-medical and biomedical options in chemical engineering
Biomechanics option for mechanical engineering

KU Bioengineering is characterized by an entrepreneurial spirit and has an established track record of startup success. These efforts are bolstered by KU’s Innovation Park, which offers state-of-the-art lab and office facilities to support innovation-driven and technology-focused companies and entrepreneurs.

KU Bioengineering has strengths in biomedical product design, bioimaging, biomaterials, biomechanics, and biomolecular engineering. The faculty are highly collaborative and strive to cultivate strong relationships with professionals, businesses, and government agencies, with the goal of establishing productive collaborations of translational research that truly makes a difference.

More than 80 faculty from more than 30 multidisciplinary departments and centers across KU and the KU Medical Center are affiliated with KU’s Bioeingeering Program.

A student working in the lab

Bioengineering Degree Pathways

  • BioEngineering
    • Biochemical
    • Biomechanical
  • Bioengineering Certificate
    or
    Biomedical Engineering Minor
    • Pre-Medical
    • Pre-Nursing
    • Pre-Pharmacy
    • Pre-Physical Therapy
  • Accelerated M.S. in Bioengineering

KU’s Bioengineering program is closely tied to the KU medical center (KUMC). KUMC is the only national cancer institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the region, and one of only 31 centers with a designation as a national institutes of health Alzheimer’s disease center.

A student carefully handling a pair of tweezers

Who Hires KU Engineers

  • Abbott Labs
  • Amgen
  • Beckman Coulter Diagnostics
  • Becton Dickinson
  • Boehringer Ingelheim
  • Boston Scientific
  • Bristol Myers Squibb
  • Catalent Pharma Solutions
  • CritiTech Particle Engineering
  • Solutions
  • Epic Systems
  • Evoke Medical
  • Merck
  • MRIGlobal
  • National Institutes of Health
  • PSC Biotech
  • Pfizer
  • Athletics companies
  • Biomedical device firms
  • Biotechnology
  • Environmental companies
  • Health care
  • Manufacturing companies
  • Pharmaceutical firms
  • State/federal government
  • Columbia University
  • Duke University
  • Georgia Tech
  • KU Medical Center
  • MIT
  • Ohio State
  • Penn State
  • Stanford University
  • University of California-San Diego
  • University of Maryland
  • University of Washington-Seattle

Bachelor's degree candidates national average* starting salary range:

Chemical Engineering: $71,500 - $77,000

Mechanical Engineering: $70,000 - $73,500

*Salaries from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)