Undergraduate Degree Programs

Explore our Majors

VIDEO

OVERVIEW 

SUMMARY

Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org/

Entering Freshman FA24

 

Beginning with the Summer 2025 continuing student application cycle, students admitted to UCSD as first-year students will be able to apply to the Bioengineering majors once per year (between Summer and Fall quarters).  Note that space will be limited and acceptance to these majors is not guaranteed. Transfer students are unfortunately not eligible to apply as continuing students as time to degree would be impacted. For more information about the admission process and criteria please see the UC San Diego Selective Majors Page.

All 4 majors in the Bioengineering department are “selective,” meaning the demand for these majors exceeds capacity and enrollment is limited

Students interested in applying to the Bioengineering department must complete a set of screening courses (depending on which major you wish to apply for) prior to applying:

• Bioengineering and Bioengineering: Biotechnology: BILD 1 (biology); CHEM 6AB; MAE 8 (MatLab); Math 20ABC; Physics 2AB.
• Bioengineering: Bioinformatics: BILD 1; CHEM 6AB; CSE 11 (or CSE 8A and 8B); MATH 20ABC; PHYS 2AB.
• Bioengineering: BioSystems: CHEM 6AB; MATH 20ABC; PHYS 2AB.

All screening courses must be taken for a letter grade. If you have met some of the courses by Advanced Placement (AP) work, please be advised of the following: A minimum of 3 courses listed must have been completed at UC San Diego. If students can not meet this 3-course minimum due to prior credit, students may offer grades for MATH 20D (Differential Equations), MATH 18 (Linear Algebra) or MATH 20E (Vector Calculus) until the 3 course minimum has been met.

 

Entering Freshman FA23

 

As an entering Freshman, if you either apply but are not accepted into the "selective"  major directly from high school, OR if you didn't initially apply to one of those majors, you will be able to apply "one time only" to one of the four "selective" majors in the first week of school in the subsequent fall quarter, as you begin your Sophomore year as a “Continuing” student. 

• Bioengineering (BS)
• Bioengineering: Bioinformatics (BS)
• Bioengineering: Biosystems (BS) 
• Bioengineering: Biotechnology (BS)

If applying to the Bioengineering (BS) or Bioengineering: Biotechnology (BS) majors you must have already completed the following 9 lower division courses obtaining a grade of “C-“or above, before the start of your fall quarter, Sophomore year.

• MATH 20ABC (20AB = 2 courses in Calculus for Science & Engineering & 20C = Calculus & Analytic Geometry for Science & Engineering); 
• CHEM 6A (General Chemistry I) and CHEM 6B (General Chemistry II);
• PHYSICS 2A (Physics-Mechanics) & PHYSICS 2B (Physics-Electricity & Magnetism). PHYSICS 2AB are intended for physical science and engineering majors;
• MAE 8 (MATLAB Programming for Engineering Analysis)
• BILD 1 (Cell Biology).

If applying to the Bioengineering: Bioinformatics (BS) major, you must have already completed the following 9 or 10 courses, obtaining a grade of "C-" or above, before the start of your fall quarter, Sophomore year

• MATH 20ABC (20AB = 2 courses in Calculus for Science & Engineering & 20C = Calculus & Analytic Geometry for Science & Engineering)
• CHEM 6A (General Chemistry I) and CHEM 6B (General Chemistry II);
• PHYSICS 2A (Physics-Mechanics) & PHYSICS 2B (Physics-Electricity & Magnetism). PHYSICS 2AB are intended for physical science and engineering majors
• BILD 1 (Cell Biology)
• CSE 11 (Introduction to Computer Science and Object-Oriented Programming: Java) or CSE 8A (Java) and CSE 8B (Java B). CSE 8A/B are equivalent to CSE 11.

If applying to the Bioengineering: BioSystems (BS) major, you must have already completed the following 7 courses, obtaining a grade of "C-" or above, before the start of your fall quarter, Sophomore year

• MATH 20ABC (20AB = 2 courses in Calculus for Science & Engineering & 20C = Calculus & Analytic Geometry for Science & Engineering)
• CHEM 6A (General Chemistry I) and CHEM 6B (General Chemistry II)
• PHYSICS 2A (Physics-Mechanics) & PHYSICS 2B (Physics-Electricity & Magnetism). PHYSICS 2AB are intended for physical science and engineering majors.

If you have satisfied any of the required 9 courses by Advance Placement ("AP") in high school, the relevant "requirement" is satisfied and your GPA will be based on the other required courses (e.g., if you have AP credit for MATH 20A, your GPA will be based on the remaining 8 required courses). 

If you have met some of the courses by Advance Placement (“AP”) work, please be advised of the following:
A minimum of 3 courses listed must have been completed at UC San Diego. If students can not meet this 3-course minimum due to prior credit, students may offer grades for:

• MATH 20D (Differential Equations)
• MATH 18 (Linear Algebra) or MATH 20E (Vector Calculus) until the 3 course minimum has been met.

Each fall quarter, a certain number (determined on an annual basis) of “Continuing” Sophomore students who apply will be selected to enter the “impacted” Bioengineering (BS); Bioengineering: Biotechnology (BS); Bioengineering: Bioinformatics (BS); or Bioengineering: Biosystems (BS) major. The selection process is entirely based on students having the highest GPA obtained in the 8-10 screening courses.

 

Entering Transfers

 

As an entering Transfer student, if you either apply but are not accepted into the "selective" major directly from community college or another 4-year institution, OR if you didn't initially apply to one of those majors, you will be unable to apply to either of the “selective” majors at a future time.

This applies to following:

• Bioengineering (BS)
• Bioengineering: Bioinformatics (BS)
• Bioengineering: Biosystems (BS) 
• Bioengineering: Biotechnology (BS)

 

Graduation

 

You Must Satisfy “Departmental Major” AND “College” Requirements

UCSD has a very unique “college system” comprising seven colleges differing in educational philosophies and with regard to the type and number of required General Education (GE) courses you must complete. 

• Regardless of your major, you may be assigned to any of the six colleges.
• Please review information about the seven colleges in the online UC San Diego General Catalog, to assist you in determining which college may be the “right fit” for you!

As shown on the bottom line of the “Flowchart” for each of the four majors in Bioengineering, there are 10 “open” slots for completion of 40 units [10 humanities and social science (“HSS”) courses], toward satisfaction of college requirements. 

• Please note, that since some colleges require more than the 10 HSS courses, students in these colleges may take longer than 4 years to graduate. 
• Students should consult with their colleges to determine which “HSS” (General Education) courses to take.