Bioengineering

Types of Degrees Bioengineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many bioengineering & biomedical engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	3,671
Doctor’s Degree	1,361
Graduate Certificate	113

What Bioengineering Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to bioengineering and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Bioengineering Majors

Bioengineering majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Bioengineering Majors

A major in bioengineering prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Bioengineering Majors

Bioengineering majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Bioengineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with bioengineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Biomedical Engineers	7.0%	$88,550
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Bioengineering?

Roughly 50% of the graduates are women, and 50% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of bioengineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	556
Black or African American	148
Hispanic or Latino	295
White	1,348
International Students	1,113
Other Races/Ethnicities	211

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Bioengineering. About 30.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Bioengineering

Some degrees associated with bioengineering may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for bioengineering careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	45.7%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	5.7%
Master’s Degree	26.5%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.2%
Doctoral Degree	13.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	5.4%

Online Bioengineering Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	9	0
Bachelor’s Degree	20	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	175	4
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	137	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By UC Davis College of Engineering under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.