Biological Engineering

a collage of images depicting black and white diagrams, microscopic images, and colored bar graphs.

"Measure, Model, Manipulate, Make" (A collage of Course 20 lab images.) (Image courtesy of the Biological Engineering department at MIT.)


MIT is a leader in the field of biological engineering, engaging in visionary research and collaborations with industry and government.

Our research in the synthesis of engineering and biology technologies results in major innovations in diverse areas, including developing imaging systems to help understand the origins of cancer and harnessing biomaterials for controlled drug release and tissue regeneration.

Students, professors, and researchers in biological engineering explore issues of physical and chemical sciences such as biochemistry, biophysics, pharmacology, and toxicology from both a molecular life science and an engineering perspective. Throughout the curriculum, our educational programs interweave major concepts of biological engineering with a number of important focus areas, including:

  • Biological and physiological transport phenomena
  • Biological imaging and functional measurement
  • Biomolecular engineering and cell and tissue engineering
  • Computational biology and bioinformatics
  • Genetic toxicology
  • Macromolecular biochemistry and biophysics
  • Metabolism of drugs and toxins
  • Microbial pathogenesis
  • Carcinogenesis
  • Biomechanics
  • Genomics, proteomics, and glycomics

Biological Engineering Courses

Course # Course Title Level
20.010J Introduction to Bioengineering (BE.010J) Undergraduate
20.011J Statistical Thermodynamics of Biomolecular Systems (BE.011J) Undergraduate
20.020 Introduction to Biological Engineering Design Undergraduate
20.102 Macroepidemiology (BE.102) Undergraduate
20.104J Chemicals in the Environment: Toxicology and Public Health (BE.104J) Undergraduate
20.106J Systems Microbiology Undergraduate
20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering (Spring 2010) Undergraduate
20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering (Fall 2007) Undergraduate
20.110J Thermodynamics of Biomolecular Systems Undergraduate
20.180 Biological Engineering Programming Undergraduate
20.181 Computation for Biological Engineers Undergraduate
20.219 Becoming the Next Bill Nye: Writing and Hosting the Educational Show Undergraduate
20.309 Biological Engineering II: Instrumentation and Measurement (Fall 2006) Undergraduate
20.310J Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Biomechanics Undergraduate
20.320 Analysis of Biomolecular and Cellular Systems Undergraduate
20.330J Fields, Forces and Flows in Biological Systems Undergraduate
20.340J Materials for Biomedical Applications Undergraduate
20.342 Molecular Structure of Biological Materials (BE.442) (Fall 2005) Undergraduate
20.370J Quantitative Physiology: Cells and Tissues (Fall 2004) Undergraduate
20.371J Quantitative Physiology: Organ Transport Systems Undergraduate
20.380J Biological Engineering Design Undergraduate
20.390J Foundations of Computational and Systems Biology (Spring 2014) Undergraduate
20.470J Quantitative Physiology: Cells and Tissues (Fall 2004) Undergraduate
20.201 Mechanisms of Drug Actions Graduate
20.203 Neurotechnology in Action Graduate
20.400J Perspectives in Biological Engineering Graduate
20.409J Biological Engineering II: Instrumentation and Measurement (Fall 2006) Graduate
20.410J Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics (BE.410J) Graduate
20.411J Cell-Matrix Mechanics Graduate
20.416J Topics in Biophysics and Physical Biology Graduate
20.420J Biomolecular Kinetics and Cellular Dynamics (BE.420J) Graduate
20.430J Fields, Forces, and Flows in Biological Systems Graduate
20.440 Analysis of Biological Networks (BE.440) Graduate
20.441J Biomaterials-Tissue Interactions Graduate
20.442 Molecular Structure of Biological Materials (BE.442) (Fall 2005) Graduate
20.450 Molecular and Cellular Pathophysiology (BE.450) Graduate
20.451J Design of Medical Devices and Implants Graduate
20.453J Biomedical Information Technology Graduate
20.462J Molecular Principles of Biomaterials Graduate
20.482J Foundations of Algorithms and Computational Techniques in Systems Biology Graduate
20.483J Noninvasive Imaging in Biology and Medicine Graduate
20.490J Foundations of Computational and Systems Biology (Spring 2014) Graduate

Archived Biological Engineering Courses

Some prior versions of courses listed above have been archived in OCW's DSpace@MIT repository for long-term access and preservation. Links to archived prior versions of a course may be found on that course's "Other Versions" tab.

Additionally, the Archived Biological Engineering Courses page has links to every archived course from this department.