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Biological Systems Engineering Curriculum
133 total credit hours are required for graduation with a B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering. For more detail on the department courses listed below, consult the on-line version of the Undergraduate Bulletin. BSEN course specifics.
Although the curriculum can be completed in eight semesters, many students take longer in order to participate in internships and co-op assignments with companies, international exchange studies, and part-time research projects in the department. These opportunities give BSEN students practical, hands-on experience to learn about careers in engineering.
First Year | Semester 1 | Credit hours | |
| BSEN 100 | Introduction to Biological Systems Engineering and Agriculture Engineering | 1 | |
| CHEM 113 | General Chemistry I | 4 | |
| Chem 109 may be substituted with permission of adviser. | |||
| ENGR 10 | Freshman Engineering Seminar | 0 | |
| MATH 106 | Analytic Geometry and Calculus I | 5 | |
| Electives | ACE | 6 | |
| Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 | |||
| 16 total | |||
Semester 2 | |||
| BSEN 112 | Computer-Aided Problem-Solving | 2 | |
| CHEM 114 | Fundamental Chemistry II | 3 | |
| Chem 110 may be substituted with permission of adviser. | |||
| MATH 107 | Analytic Geometry & Calculus II | 4 | |
| PHYS 211 | General Physics I | 4 | |
| Elective | Organizational Skills | 3 | |
| Choose from a list of 40+ courses available from adviser | |||
| 16 total | |||
Second Year | Semester 3 | ||
| BSEN 225 | Engineering Properties of Biological Materials | 3 | |
| CHEM 251/253 or 255/257 or 261/263 | Organic Chemistry & Lab | 4 | |
| ENGR 20 | Sophomore Engineering Seminar | 0 | |
| JGEN 200 | Technical Communication I | 3 | |
| MATH 208 | Analytic Geometry and Calculus III | 4 | |
| MECH 223 | Engineering Statics | 3 | |
| 17 total | |||
Semester 4 | |||
| BSEN 130 | Computer-Aided Design | 2 | |
| BSEN 244 | Thermodynamics of Living Systems | 3 | |
| LIFE 120/120L | Fundamentals of Biology I and Lab | 4 | |
| MATH 221 | Differential Equations | 3 | |
| MECH 373 | Engineering Dynamics | 3 | |
| Elective | Computer Programming | 1 | |
| Choose from: BSEN 212a, BSEN 212b, or BSEN 212e | |||
16 total | |||
Third Year | Semester 5 | ||
| LIFE 121/121L | Fundamentals of Biology II and Lab | 4 | |
| CIVE 310 or MECH 310 or CHME 332 | Fluid Mechanics Transport | 3 | |
| ELEC 211 | Elements of Electrical Engineering I | 3 | |
| IMSE 321 or MATH 380 | Engineering Statistics & Data Analysis Statistics & Applications | 3 | |
| BSEN Elective* | Emphasis area | 3 | |
| 16 total | |||
Semester 6 | |||
| BSEN 344 | Biological & Environmental Transport Processes | 3 | |
| BSEN Elective* | Emphasis area | 3 | |
| BIOC 321 or BIOC 431 | Elements of Biochemistry Biomolecules and Metabolism | 3 | |
| Elective | Oral Communication | 3 | |
| Choose from: ALEC 102; COMM 209, COMM 210, COMM 283, or COMM 286; GERM 303; JAPN 202; JGEN 300; RUSS 304; SPAN 303 | |||
| Elective | Engineering or Science emphasis | 3 | |
| Electives | ACE | 3 | |
| Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 | |||
18 total | |||
Fourth Year | Semester 7 | ||
| BSEN 460 | Instrumentation & Controls | 3 | |
| BSEN 470 | Design I in Agriculture and Biological Systems Engineering | 1 | |
| BSEN 206 | Engineering Economics | 3 | |
| BSEN Elective* | Emphasis area | 3 | |
| Elective | ACE | 3 | |
| Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 | |||
| Elective | Engineering or Science emphasis | 3 | |
| 16 total | |||
Semester 8 | |||
| BSEN 480 | Design II in Agriculture or Biological Systems Engineering | 3 | |
| ENGR 400 | Professional Ethics & Social Responsibilities | 1 | |
| BSEN Elective* | Emphasis area | 3 | |
| Elective | ACE | 3 | |
| Choose one course from not yet satisfied ACE outcomes 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 | |||
| Elective | Engineering emphasis | 3 | |
| Elective | Biological Science | 5 | |
| BIOS 203 is not acceptable; a minimum of two BIOS, BIOC or equivalent laboratory courses, or two courses with laboratories, is required within the 16 hrs of biological sciences and biochemistry courses | |||
| 18 total | |||
Total credit hours required for graduation: | 133 | ||
*BSEN Emphasis Courses | |||
Food and Bioproducts | |||
| BSEN 303 | Principles of Process Engineering | 3 | |
| BSEN 444/446 | Biomass and Bioenergy Engineering Unit Operations of Biological Processing | 3 | |
Biomedical Engineering | |||
| BSEN 311 | Biomedical Signal and System Analysis | 3 | |
| BSEN 317 | Intro to Biomedical Engineering | 3 | |
| BSEN 414 or 416 or 418 | Medical Imaging Systems Intro to Biomaterials Tissue Engineering | 3 | |
Water and Environment Engineering | |||
| BSEN 326 | Intro to Environmental Engineering | 3 | |
| BSEN 350 | Soil and Water Resources Engineering | 3 | |
| BSEN 441 or 453 or 455 or 458 | Animal Waste Management Irrigation & Drainage Systems Engineering Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Engineering Groundwater Engineering | 3 | |
Tracks/Options/Concentrations/Emphases Requirements
An emphasis area requires a student to take 21 hours of engineering and science-based courses. A minimum of 15 hours must be selected from courses offered by the College of Engineering. Within the 15 hours, a minimum of 12 hours must be BSEN courses or engineering courses crosslisted with BSEN. Of the BSEN or BSEN crosslisted courses, one must be a 300-level course of a primary emphasis area, one must be a 300-level course of a secondary emphasis area and one must be a 400-level course of a primary emphasis area. Water and Environment emphasis requires both BSEN 326 and BSEN 350, Food and Bioproducts emphasis requires BSEN 303, and Biomedical emphasis requires BSEN 317 as primary emphasis area courses,
Grade and Bulletin Requirements
A grade of C- or better is required for all Biological Systems Engineering required courses and electives that are to count toward graduation, with the exception of ACE 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 electives. In addition to the “Bulletin Rule” of the College of Engineering, students transferring into the Department of Biological Systems Engineering must follow the bulletin in effect at the time of their transfer into the department.
University Honors Program
Several BSEN classes are available as honors-designated courses or on a “contract basis.” Honors thesis research is fulfilled by completion of a minimum of 3 credits of BSEN 499H (Honors Thesis) under the auspices of a department faculty member. Honors design projects (BSEN 480H) also satisfy University Honors Program requirements with the approval of department faculty.