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Explore our Majors

VIDEO

OVERVIEW 

SUMMARY

Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET

The Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) is an organization with a mission of serving the public through promotion, innovation, and advancement of quality education in fields including technology and engineering. ABET’s strategic plans include accreditation of educational programs and provides assurance that a program meets the quality standards in the profession for which the program prepares graduates to enter a global workforce. At UC San Diego, Bioengineering (BS), Bioengineering: Biotechnology (BS), and Bioengineering: BioSystems (BS) have a relatively heavy emphasis on engineering, whereas Bioengineering: Bioinformatics (BS) has a relatively heavy emphasis on basic sciences.

  • Bioengineering (BS) “accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.”
  • Bioengineering: Biotechnology (BS) 
    “accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.”
  • Bioengineering: BioSystems (BS) 
    “accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.”
  • Bioengineering: Bioinformatics (BS) NOT accredited 

WASC Accreditation

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is the regional organization providing umbrella accreditation for UC San Diego through its Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities. UC San Diego has been accredited by WASC since 1964.

Department & Major

Fall 2024 Enrollment

2024-2025 Degrees Conferred

BENG Total

553

146

Bioengineering

169

51

Bioengineering: Bioinformatics

105

128

Bioengineering: Biotechnology

 197 55

Bioengineering: BioSystems

82

12

Selective Status

What it Means if a Major is in “Selective” Status in the Department of Bioengineering

Entering Freshman FA25

 

Students admitted to UC San Diego as first-year students in Fall 2025 will be able to apply to the Bioengineering majors once per year (between Summer and Fall quarters following their first or second year).  The earliest these students will be able to apply is the Summer 2026 application. 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 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 Transfers

 

Continuing transfer students who entered UCSD in Fall 2024 are eligible to apply in Summer 2025 to one of our selective majors. This is an exception to regular policy.

This applies to following:

As an entering Transfer student in Fall 2025 or after, 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. 

 

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.