The University of Maryland (UMD) is now accepting applications for Fall 2021 enrollment in the B.S. in Biocomputational Engineering (BCE) program. One of the first such programs in the U.S., the UMD Biocomp degree is designed to train students in the fundamentals of engineering and life sciences with strong skills in computational methods and data science.
Biocomp students will work toward their University of Maryland, College Park degree while studying at The Universities at Shady Grove campus – home to a brand-new, six-level, 220,000-square-foot Biomedical Sciences and Engineering (BSE) education facility. Biocomp students will have direct access to 20 fully equipped teaching laboratories, a cutting-edge product design laboratory and maker space, and expanded student services. Not only will Biocomp students work and study alongside others in their program, but they’ll also engage with students and researchers enrolled in dozens of other University System of Maryland programs – including cybersecurity and data science students (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), and robotics, information science, and biological sciences students (UMD).
All the while, students will work toward their degree at the epicenter of one of the nation’s fastest-growing biotech corridors, where biotech, health care, and life science companies operate in close proximity to the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and countless other government resources.
Did you know… Maryland is home to more than 500 biotech firms and 2,700 life science organizations? In addition, companies and firms like AstraZeneca, Emergent Biosolutions, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Kite Pharma, ACell, Novavax, and Precigen operate in the area.
The Biocomp program will provide students with a breadth of fundamentals in the field of bioengineering – a discipline grounded in physics, chemistry, and biology – and quantitative problem solving. Unlike students who opt for a degree in bioengineering or the life sciences, Biocomp students will dive deeper into the worlds of computation and data science to hone their skills in Python, C++, and R, as well as machine learning, data visualization, computer modeling, and molecular lab technologies. Biocomp graduates will be prime candidates for careers in the biopharma, biotech, and biomedical industries, including as bioinformatics scientists, bioinformaticians, synthetic biology consultants, software engineers, statistical geneticists, health informatics consultants, and image processing specialists.
Who can apply for Fall 2021?
Prior to being admitted to the Biocomp major, students must satisfy the UMD A. James Clark School of Engineering Limited Enrollment Program (LEP) gateway course requirements and related prerequisite courses with at least 60 credits (or an associate’s degree). Students are welcome to apply to the Biocomp degree program as transfer students from community college or four-year institutions. For more information regarding requirements and course equivalencies, please visit our Admissions Page. In addition, we offer a breakdown of which courses satisfy the Clark School’s requirements.
The best – and easiest – way to build your Biocomp application plan is to book a meeting with our program coordinator Emily Bailey. Emily will walk you through your personalized pathway to the Biocomp degree so that you can plan to hit the ground running this fall! Those looking to enroll this fall should keep in mind that the priority deadline for merit-based scholarship consideration is March 1st, but applications will be accepted through June 1st.
