Biochemical Engineering Major

Biochemical engineers are in high demand in the rapidly growing biotechnology/pharmaceutical, biofuels and biorefinery industries. As the biotechnology industry expands and matures, there is increasing need for engineers who can move products from the research stage to the pilot scale and ultimately to large scale manufacturing. As they fill this need, engineers must understand the production, purification, and regulatory issues surrounding biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Biochemical engineers are also critical for the development and commercialization of sustainable and economic processes to produce liquid transportation fuels from biomass, algae and waste streams from other manufacturing processes. Future “biorefineries” will include coproduction of a wide range of chemical feedstocks, oils, and polymers thereby contributing to the economic viability of larger volume, lower valued compounds such as biofuels.

Biochemical engineers—with their strong foundations in chemistry, biological sciences, and chemical process engineering—are in a unique position to tackle these problems. Biochemical engineers apply the principles of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, and engineering to develop, design, scale-up, optimize, and operate processes that use living cells, organisms, or biological molecules for the production and purification of products (such as monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, therapeutic proteins, antibiotics, industrial enzymes, ethanol and more complex biofuels); for health and/or environmental monitoring (such as diagnostic kits, microarrays, biosensors); or for environmental improvement (such as bioremediation). An understanding of biological processes is also becoming increasingly important in the industries that traditionally employ chemical engineers, such as the materials, chemicals, food, energy, fuels, and semiconductor processing industries.

Program Objectives

The objectives of the Biochemical Engineering program at the University of California at Davis are to graduate biochemical engineers who:

  1. are employed in a technical area related to biochemical engineering, chemical engineering or another area of their choosing that utilizes their skills as identified in the Biochemical Engineering program outcomes, and/or are admitted to pursue a graduate or professional degree;
  2. contribute to their profession and society through engineering practice, research and development, teaching/education, or in governmental, regulatory or legal aspects.

Program Outcomes

Upon graduation, we expect our students to have an ability to:

  1. apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
  2. design and conduct experiments, and to analyze and interpret data
  3. design processes to meet desired performance specifications
  4. function effectively on teams
  5. use engineering methods to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
  6. recognize their professional and ethical responsibilities
  7. communicate proficiently in written and oral form
  8. understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context
  9. engage in life-long learning
  10. understand contemporary issues impacting the society and the profession
  11. use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary engineering practice

Contribution of Required ECH/ECM Courses to Program Outcomes (PDF)

Accreditation

The Biochemical Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology. (ABET).

For more information regarding accreditation and why you should choose an accredited program, please visit ABET's website, or contact:

Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET
111 Market Place, Suite 1050
Baltimore, MD 21202-4012
Tel: (410) 347-7700