Graduate Program: Biological Systems Engineering

The mission of the Biological Systems Engineering graduate program is to provide advanced training in the engineering discipline that integrates life sciences with engineering. The specific objectives of our program are:

  1. to enhance the capacity for teaching and research in biological systems engineering, and
  2. to train the future generation of professionals to address challenges associated with the sustainable production, management, and use of biological materials.

These objectives reflect the mission of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department in which our program resides, i.e., to discover, develop, apply, and disseminate knowledge for sustainable production, management, and use of biological materials, and to educate students for this work. To achieve this goal, our program focuses on three research Areas of Excellence: 1. Agricultural and Natural Resources Engineering, 2. Biotechnology Engineering, and 3. Food Engineering.  Within these areas, we offer a wide variety of opportunities for research at the interface of engineering and the life sciences and have a long tradition and respected reputation for research in biological systems engineering; we are consistently ranked as one of the top seven departments in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.

With approximately 40 graduate students and 25 faculty members, we can offer you a high level of personal attention. Our faculty members bring in approximately $5 million in research funding per year, offering you opportunities to conduct research in areas such as biotechnical engineering; energy systems; food engineering; biosensors; environmental, ecological, and resource engineering; machine systems; and aquaculture.

Majority of our students receive financial support to pursue graduate education in our program. While several of our students receive internal (UC Davis or Biological Systems Engineering) or external fellowships (Fulbright, home country, etc.), many others are supported as Graduate Student Researchers (GSR) or Teaching Assistants (TA). We also offer several nonresident tuition (NRT) fellowships for well qualified students.

Our students take classes in the College of Engineering, College of Biological Sciences and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Davis is centrally located, with easy access to the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley, the Northern California coast, the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe. The campus is home to both the Mondavi Performing Arts Center, with its outstanding calendar of events, and the Arts and Recreation Center (ARC), so UC Davis has all your interests covered, whether they are intellectual, cultural or physical.

To meet your specific needs, we also offer five different degree options: Integrated B.S./M.S., M.S., Master of Engineering, Ph.D. and Doctor of Engineering. If you’re interested in admission, the university strongly encourages you to apply online at: http://www.gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/b4apply.htm