Boston University

The College of Arts and Sciences of the Boston University offers combined BA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and an MA in Biotechnology programs. The course structure of the program lays strong emphasis on the basics of biology and chemistry which then gets translated into a specialized program in biotechnology.

The focus of the program is to encourage the students to not only pick careers in the biotechnology industry but also to allow them to explore allied fields such as biochemistry and molecular biology. It is done with the intention of promoting research in areas that can lead to fundamental contributions to the field of biotechnology. Regular upgrading of the courses to meet the challenges faced by the biotech industry and research is one of the hallmarks of the program.

The faculty at the center loves to train young minds to become responsible biotechnology engineers by inculcating in them a passion for innovation and research. The students are encouraged to work on the emerging areas of the discipline and work on industry-based projects at the postgraduate level.

Areas of Expertise:

Biomaterials

Synthetic and Systems Bioengineering

Neural Engineering

Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Engineering

Biomechanics and Mechanobiology

Nanotechnology and Sensing

Computational Modeling and Data Sciences

List of Labs:

Hearing Research Center

Biomolecular Engineering Research Center

Center for Computational Neuroscience & Neural Technology (CompNet)

Center for Future Technologies in Cancer Care

Biological Design Center

Program in Bioinformatics

Boston University’s Department of Computer Science offers a plethora of undergraduate programs that include a BA in Computer Science with Mathematics and Statistics besides a BA in Linguistics and Computer Science and BA/MS in Computer Science. The department has earned a reputation of offering state-of-the-art master’s programs in Computer Science or Artificial Intelligence.

The department believes that major breakthroughs in a highly competitive field like CS are possible only when a strong emphasis is laid on training the students in the fundamentals. Such a rooted approach is then further augmented by driving the students towards innovation by encouraging them to think out of the box. The programs are regularly redesigned to keep the emerging trends in the industry and discipline as focus areas of study. It allows the students to get exposed to real-world problems and gives them precious industry experience.

The faculty has a wide research experience in the major areas of the computer sciences which they translate into research projects and Ph.D. guidance.

The major research areas at the department include:

Algorithms and Theory

Data Mining and Management

Machine Learning

Networking

Security

Software Design, Systems

Graphics

The department is constituted of 42 dedicated faculty members, most of them engaged in active research and publishing regularly in leading journals of the discipline.

Areas of Expertise:

Automation, Robotics and Control

Computational Biology

Production, Service and Energy Systems

Information Sciences

Communications and Networking

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department offers BS, MEng, MS and Ph.D. (post bachelor’s and post master’s) in Electrical Engineering at Boston University, and an MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering program. Undergraduate concentrations in Technology Innovation, Nanotechnology and Energy Technology are available. Mater’s students have the option of specializing in Data Analytics, Cybersecurity or Robotics. 

The department has committed itself to create the most urgently needed solutions and technologies through path-breaking innovations in teaching and research. The faculty has focused on creating a cross-disciplinary learning experience for the master’s students keeping in view the growing application base of the discipline.

The department has fostered a culture of developing strong industry linkages with the companies in and around the region. The efforts in this direction reciprocate as a valuable immersion experience and healthy placement records for the students. The department also offers a Late Entry Accelerated Program (LEAP) for those undergraduates whose degrees are outside of engineering but want to switch careers and enter the technology field.

Areas of Expertise: 

Imaging and Optical Science

Intelligent Computation, Data Science and Cyber-Physical Systems

Electrical and Computer Bioengineering

Mobile/Cloud Computing with Security

Photonics, Electronics and Nanotechnology

Students who are willing to study Industrial Engineering at Boston University can opt for Systems Engineering or Product Design and Manufacture programs. The College of Engineering offers MS in Product Design and Manufacture and a certificate in Product Design. Systems Engineering department offers MS (thesis and non-thesis options), MEng and Ph.D. programs in Systems Engineering.

The Systems Engineering programs at the university have been designed with the belief that systems can be built, modified and managed only when engineers are taught to look beyond the physical aspects of the engineering or industrial systems. The faculty lays special emphasis on the role of systems engineers to help the scientific and managerial components of the systems become mutually beneficial to each other.

The Division of Systems Engineering has recently got a boost in the form of a Center of Information and Systems Engineering. The research focus of the department is on Automation and Robotics, Communications and Networking, Production, Service and Energy Systems and Computational Biology.

The Product Design and Manufacturing programs have received a push from the newly established state-of-the-art Engineering Product Innovation Center that includes CAD software and hardware, robotics manufacturing line and 3D printers. Besides this, the students are trained for the challenges of the professional world through high-quality internships with leading companies and excellent classroom and practical training by a faculty that is leading major innovation projects in the discipline.

The main research areas at the department include:

Operations Research

Manufacturing Automation and Control

Lean Supply Chain Design

Manufacturing Operations Management.

The department has 33 dedicated faculty members that bring their breadth and depth of research experience to teaching and furthering innovation.

List of Labs:

Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation

The Materials Science and Engineering Department takes pride in redefining and expanding the meaning of “interdisciplinary”. It believes that materials science has the maximum potential amongst all engineering disciplines to fundamentally alter the world of technology and bring lasting and significant changes in society. The department has geared itself towards focusing on technologies that can make everyday life more comfortable yet productive.

The department offers MS (thesis and non-thesis options), MEng and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. It has a core a faculty strength of 54 which include specialists from other engineering and science disciplines and ensure a strong interdisciplinary compass of the department.

It is the vast research experience of the faculty and numerous ongoing projects that have allowed the department to choose some of the most challenging research areas and lead this promising engineering discipline forward. Research is backed by individual investigator labs that are one of their kinds in the US and a core research facility.

Areas of Expertise:

Nanomaterials

Materials for Energy and Environment

Biomaterials

Electronic and Photonic Materials

List of Labs:

Center for Polymer Studies

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University is the place where passion meets innovation to produce thinkers and leaders of the future. The department offers MS, BS/MS (accelerated) and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with concentrations in some of the most challenging fields like aerospace mechanics, robotics, materials, and manufacturing. The department believes that talent in this fundamental engineering field can be nurtured by channelizing it to solution-based thinking to solve real-world problems.

The department has a faculty strength of 55 primary and affiliated faculty which bring enormous research experience to the classrooms and labs. They design the program and course structures in the most innovative ways so that the students are able to develop problem-solving skills with the use of interdisciplinary approaches and out-of-the-box thinking. Special emphasis is laid on driving the students’ skills and curiosity towards industry-based immersion experiences and project work so that they start a few steps ahead of their peers when they stand at the doorstep of their professional careers.

The vast breadth and depth of the faculty’s research engagements allow the department to focus on a wide range of research areas. The department’s affiliation with state-of-the-art research centers and labs enriches the research experience of students and enhances the quality and quantity of research output in mechanical engineering and its allied disciplines.

Areas of Expertise:

Acoustics and Vibrations

Robotics and Controls

Sustainable Energy

MEMS and Nanotechnology

Materials; Biomechanics

Fluid Dynamics

Computational Sciences

Engineering

The Department of Physics of Boston University offers:

BA in Physics (Interdisciplinary Option)

BA in Physics (Graduate Option)

BA in Astronomy & Physics

BA in Philosophy & Physics

BA in Physics & Education

BA/MA in Physics

BA/MA in Astrophysics & Space Physics.

The Department of Biology offers:

BA, MA, and Ph.D. in Biology.

The Department of Chemistry offers:

BA in Chemistry (major)

BA in biochemistry

BA/MA in Chemistry

An interdisciplinary major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics offers:

BA with specialization in: Pure and Applied Mathematics Calculus Statistics Mathematics and Computer Science Mathematics and Philosophy Economics and Mathematics Mathematics and Education

Pure and Applied Mathematics

Calculus

Statistics

Mathematics and Computer Science

Mathematics and Philosophy

Economics and Mathematics

Mathematics and Education

It also offers a BA/MA in Mathematics. BA, MS, MA, and Ph.D. in Statistics programs are also available. Ph.D. in Pure and Applied Mathematics is also offered by the department.

The school has evolved as the center for instilling in the students a love for fundamental sciences in an environment which is inclined towards applied sciences. However, the success of the departments of pure sciences lies in the fact that it has actively contributed to the development of major technologies by enabling a bridge between the challenges of innovation and basic sciences.

The faculty at the department has committed itself to offer courses that touch the most pressing challenges faced by the world of technology and scientific research. It believes that technology can solve the problems of society more efficiently and smoothly only when students are trained to rethink and innovate at the very roots of science.

Each department offers immersion experience with the leading research labs, companies, and government agencies and lays special emphasis on imparting skills that allow the students to start their professional careers a step ahead of their competitors if they do not wish to enter the world of research.

Boston University prides itself on being associated with three Nobel laureates in science. Sheldon Lee Glashow won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979 for his work on electroweak interactions. Daniel Tsui won the Nobel in Physics for his contributions to solid-state physics in 1998. The most recent Nobel laureate from the university was Osamu Shimomura in Chemistry in the year 2008 for his work in organic chemistry.