闪播福利库

Program Overview

Terry Howell Jr.
Head of the Department
203 Engineering Hall
479-575-6800

Jin-Woo Kim
Graduate Coordinator
479-575-3402
jwkim@uark.edu

Degrees Conferred:
M.S.B.E. (BENGMS) in Biological Engineering
Ph.D. (BENGPH) in Engineering

Biological Engineering (BENG) (M.S.B.E.)

Primary Areas of Faculty Research: The biological and agricultural engineering program is unique in that it is linked administratively to听the College of Engineering and the Division of Agriculture.听 At present, the department is experiencing growth in teaching, research and service.听 In particular, departmental research continues to strengthen and expand in its two broad areas:听

Biotechnology Engineering 鈥� Biotechnology at the micro- and nano-scale, food processing, food safety and security, bio-energy, developing new products from biomaterials, biotransformation to synthesize industrial and pharmaceutical products, bioinstrumentation, bio-nano interfacing and molecular self-assembly, bio-nano plasmonics, and bio-nano sensing.

Ecological Engineering 鈥� Integrates ecological principles into the design of sustainable systems to treat, remediate, and prevent pollution to the environment. Applications include mathematical modeling of watershed process, stream restoration, watershed management, water and wastewater treatment design, ecological services management, urban greenway design and enclosed ecosystem design.

M.S.B.E. in Biological Engineering

Admission to the Degree Program

Admission to the Biological Engineering graduate program is a three-step process. First, the prospective student must be admitted to graduate standing by the 闪播福利库 of Arkansas Graduate School. Second, the student must be accepted into the department鈥檚 program on the basis of academic transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, a resume, and standardized test scores.听Students with a non-engineering degree or a non-ABET accredited engineering degree must complete the minimum deficiency coursework for non-engineering majors. A general summary of admission requirements is given below:

1. B.S. degree in engineering from an ABET accredited program or equivalent.听
2. GPA of 3.00 or higher on the last 60 hours of a B.S. degree.
3. Students whose first language is not English must demonstrate English-language proficiency as required by the Graduate School. Find out more about .

Finally, a member of the faculty who is eligible (graduate status of group III or higher) must agree to serve as the major adviser to the prospective student.

Detailed requirements are in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Graduate Student Handbook, available at .听

Requirements for the Master of Science Degree

Minimum 30 hours: Both thesis and non-thesis options are available for the M.S.B.E. degree. In general, pursuing the thesis option is supported by research or teaching assistantships and conducting research under the guidance of a major advisor. Students pursuing the non-thesis options are typically not sponsored. For either option, all coursework must be approved by the student's program advisory committee. Students with a non-engineering degree or a non-ABET accredited engineering degree must complete the minimum deficiency coursework for non-engineering majors (see below). A general summary of degree requirements is given below. Detailed requirements may be obtained from听the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Graduate Student Handbook, available at听. Students should also be aware of Graduate School requirements with regard to M.S. degree ().听

M.S.B.E. Thesis Option

A minimum of 24 hours of acceptable course credit is required beyond the B.S. Degree plus 6 semester hours of 叠贰狈骋听6000痴 Master's Thesis. Except for those enrolled in the accelerated M.S.B.E. program, courses taken prior to acceptance for graduate study cannot be used to meet this requirement. The following describes the general requirement of M.S.B.E. Thesis Option:

1. Complete not less than 24 semester hours of coursework and a minimum of 6 semester hours of thesis (叠贰狈骋听6000痴).听Of the 24 hours required for the M.S. degree, no听more than 12 semester hours of coursework presented for the MS degree听can be at the 4000听level. All 4000-level courses used toward the M.S. degree must be approved by the Graduate School. All students should meet the following requirements:
   1. At least one advanced mathematics or statistics course.
   2. 1 hour of 叠贰狈骋听58001 Graduate Seminar.
   3. At least听9 hours of formal coursework at the 5000 level or higher (excluding Thesis and Seminar) in Biological Engineering (BENG).听This course work will need to include two of the three following courses: 叠贰狈骋听51003 Advanced Instrumentation in Biological Engineering, 叠贰狈骋听56103 Simulation Modeling of Biological Systems, and 叠贰狈骋听57003 Design and Analysis of Experiments for Engineering Research.
   4. At least 6 hours of 叠贰狈骋听6000痴 Master's Thesis.
2. Earn a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 on all graduate courses attempted. The minimum acceptable grade on a graduate course is 鈥淐.鈥�
3. Select, in consultation with the major advisor, Program Advisory Committee and prepare, in consultation with the committee, a written Program of Study within the first semester.
4. Satisfactorily pass a written thesis research proposal at least one semester before听completing all other requirements.听
5. Satisfactorily pass a final oral examination and complete and submit a thesis.
6. Prepare a paper suitable for submission as a refereed article from research done for a thesis. It is not required that the paper be submitted for publication, but it must be prepared and approved by the major professor.
7. Complete Exit Review.

M.S.B.E. Non-Thesis Option

A minimum of 30 hours of acceptable course credit is required beyond the B.S. Degree and should include 3 semester hours of technical project and report. Except for those enrolled in the accelerated M.S.B.E. program, courses taken prior to acceptance for graduate study cannot be used to meet this requirement.听鈥�

1. Complete not less than 30 semester hours of coursework acceptable to the committee that includes 3 semester hours of technical project and report (叠贰狈骋听5000痴). No听more than 12 semester hours of coursework presented for the MS degree听can be at the 4000 level. All 4000-level courses used toward the M.S. degree must be approved by the Graduate School. All students should meet the following requirements:
   1. At least one advanced mathematics or statistics course.
   2. 1 hour of 叠贰狈骋听58001 Graduate Seminar.
   3. At least听9 hours of formal coursework at the 5000 level or higher (excluding Technical Project and Report, and Seminar) in Biological Engineering (BENG).听This coursework will need to include two of the three following courses:听 叠贰狈骋听51003 Advanced Instrumentation in Biological Engineering, 叠贰狈骋听56103 Simulation Modeling of Biological Systems, and 叠贰狈骋听57003 Design and Analysis of Experiments for Engineering Research.
   4. At least 3 hours of 叠贰狈骋听5000痴 Advanced Topics in Biological Engineering.
2. Earn a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 on all graduate courses attempted. The minimum acceptable grade on a graduate course is 鈥淐.鈥�
3. Complete Exit Review.听

Deficiency Course Requirement for Students with non-Engineering Degree:听Prior to completing the above-listed M.S. degree requirements, students admitted to the M.S.B.E. program without an ABET-accredited or equivalent engineering degree must demonstrate engineering competence by passing 18 hours of the following deficiency engineering course work. The deficiency coursework does not count toward the course requirements of the M.S.B.E. degree. The required deficiency courses are:

1. A minimum of 15 credit hours of 2000 level or above of engineering courses (with course prefix BENG, BMEG, CHEG, CVEG, CENG, ELEG, INEG, or MEEG) currently allowed for credit within the BENG undergraduate program.
2. Minimum of 3 credit hours of one of the following BENG courses: 叠贰狈骋听36503 Renewable Energy Engineering, 叠贰狈骋听47403 Food and Bio-Product Systems Engineering, 叠贰狈骋听49303 Sustainable Watershed Engineering, or 叠贰狈骋听46603 Sustainable Biosystems Designs.听

Specific deficiency courses are to be determined in consultation with the student鈥檚 major advisor and advisory committee. Please note that courses in addition to those listed above may be required for students without required prerequisites for the deficiency courses (such as life sciences and/or math/physics/chemistry prerequisite courses).听

Accelerated M.S.B.E. Degree听

High-achieving undergraduate students seeking a Bachelor of Science degree in biological engineering (B.S.B.E.) at the 闪播福利库 of Arkansas, who choose to pursue graduate studies in biological engineering (BENG), may participate in the accelerated Master of Science听program in BENG (M.S.B.E.).听Eligible B.S.B.E. students can count up to 12 credit hours of BENG or science elective courses towards their M.S.B.E.听degree. The 12 credit hours must be from the courses that satisfy the M.S.B.E. degree requirements and must be taken during the final 12-month period of their undergraduate degree on the Fayetteville campus of the 闪播福利库 of Arkansas. They may include a maximum of 6 hours of 4000-level courses, but the remaining hours must be that of 5000-level courses.听All 4000-level courses used toward the M.S. degree must be approved by the Graduate School.

The degree requirements of the accelerated M.S.B.E. program are identical to those of the M.S.B.E. program (thesis and non-thesis options). Students must complete either at least 24 hours of coursework and at least 6 hours of 叠贰狈骋听6000痴 Master's Thesis (thesis option) or at least 27 hours of coursework and at least 3 hours of 叠贰狈骋听5000痴 Advanced Topics in Biological Engineering (non-thesis option). The coursework hours (24 or 27 hours) include up to 12 hours transferred from the B.S.B.E. degree.

Biological engineering undergraduate students interested in the accelerated M.S.B.E.听degree should apply to the program prior to starting the second-to-last semester of their undergraduate program.听To be eligible, students must have a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher, and submit the normal application materials required by the graduate school for the M.S.B.E.听degree program.听For students that have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, the submission of GRE score is waived.

Detailed requirements may be obtained from听the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Graduate Student Handbook, available at 听Students should also be aware of Graduate School requirements with regard to听M.S. degrees ().

Ph.D. in Engineering

Admission to Degree Program:听Admission to the Biological Engineering graduate program is a three-step process. First, the prospective student must be admitted to graduate standing by the 闪播福利库 of Arkansas Graduate School. Second, the student must be accepted into the department鈥檚 program on the basis of academic transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, a resume, and standardized test scores.听Finally, a member of the faculty who is eligible (graduate faculty status of group I) must agree to serve as the major advisor to the prospective student. Students holding either engineering or non-engineering degrees are eligible to apply. Eligibility criteria are as follow:

• Engineering academic background: Students with a B.S. or M.S. degree in engineering or engineering equivalent are eligible to apply for the Ph.D. program.
• Non-engineering academic background:听Students with a non-engineering background may be admitted into the Ph.D. program; however, must complete the minimum deficiency coursework for non-engineering majors.

An explanation of admission requirements and procedures can be found in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Graduate Student Handbook, available at听.

Degree Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering with a Concentration in Biological Engineering: (Minimum 78 hours).听 Degree requirements are given below, however, explanation of requirements and procedures may be obtained from听the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Graduate Student Handbook, available at听. Students should also be aware of Graduate School requirements with regard to doctoral degrees (catalog.uark.edu).

1. All students must complete a minimum of 78 semester hours of graduate-level credit beyond the engineering bachelor鈥檚 degree, including a minimum of 48 semester hours of coursework and a minimum of 30 semester hours of dissertation research credits.
   1. Students entering听directly听with a B.S. degree: Of the 78 hours required for the Ph.D. degree, up to 12 semester hours of 4000-level courses may be taken for graduate credit in the first 30 semester hours of coursework.听 The remaining credits (minimum of 66 semester hours, 36 semester hours of coursework and 30 semester hours of dissertation) must be at the 5000 level or above.
   2. Students entering听with a master's听degree: Upon recommendation of the student鈥檚 advisory committee, a student who has entered the Ph.D. program after a master鈥檚 degree听may receive credit for up to 30 semester hours toward the required 78 credit hours. If the 30 hours includes master鈥檚 thesis research, the advisory committee may credit up to 6 hours of thesis research toward the minimum dissertation research requirement.听 All subsequent coursework presented for the Ph.D. degree must be at the 5000 level or above.
   3. Students with a non-engineering B.S. and/or M.S. degrees: In addition to the requirements in 1 or 2 above, students must complete 18 hours of deficiency engineering coursework to demonstrate engineering competence.
2. Complete a minimum of nine semester credit hours of coursework in a set of coherent courses in a related subject area approved by the student鈥檚 advisory committee.
3. Earn a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 on all graduate courses attempted. The minimum acceptable grade on a graduate course is 鈥淐.鈥�
4. Satisfactorily pass a preliminary examination (Note that the Engineering College defines this examination as a qualifying examination).听After completing the course requirements, the prospective candidate must take the preliminary examination. Students may retake a failed preliminary exam once, contingent upon approval of the student鈥檚 advisory committee. A student who fails the preliminary examination twice will be terminated from the program.
5. Satisfactorily pass a proposal defense. The prospective candidate must present the dissertation research proposal to the advisory committee after completing the听 preliminary examination, and at least one year before completing all other requirements. Students may retake a failed proposal defense once, contingent upon approval of the student's advisory committee. A student who fails the proposal defense twice will be terminated from the program.
6. 听Satisfactorily pass a final comprehensive oral examination and complete and submit a dissertation.
7. Candidates must prepare a paper suitable for submission to a refereed journal from research done for a dissertation.
8. Complete Exit Review.

Deficiency Course Requirement for Students with non-Engineering Degree:听Prior to completing the above-listed Ph.D. degree requirements, students admitted to the Ph.D. program without an ABET-accredited or equivalent engineering B.S. and/or M.S. degrees must demonstrate engineering competence by passing 18 hours of the following deficiency engineering coursework. The deficiency course work does not count toward the course requirements of the Ph.D. degree. The required deficiency courses are:

1. A minimum of 15 credit hours of 2000 level or above of engineering courses (with course prefix BENG, BMEG, CHEG, CVEG, CENG, ELEG, INEG, or MEEG) currently allowed for credit within the BENG undergraduate program.
2. Minimum of 3 credit hours of one of the following BENG courses: 叠贰狈骋听36503 Renewable Energy Engineering, 叠贰狈骋听47403 Food and Bio-Product Systems Engineering, 叠贰狈骋听49303 Sustainable Watershed Engineering, and 叠贰狈骋听46603 Sustainable Biosystems Designs.

Specific deficiency courses are to be determined in consultation with the student鈥檚 major advisor and advisory committee. Note that courses in addition to those listed above may be required for students without required prerequisites for the deficiency courses (such as life sciences and/or math/physics/chemistry prerequisite courses).

Detailed requirements may be obtained from听the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department Graduate Student Handbook, available at听. Students should also be aware of Graduate School requirements with regard to听doctoral degrees (catalog.uark.edu).

Graduate Faculty

Costello, Thomas听A., Ph.D. (Louisiana State 闪播福利库), M.S.Ag.E., B.S.Ag.E. (闪播福利库 of Missouri-Columbia), Associate Professor, 1986, 1992.
Haggard, Brian听Edward, Ph.D. (Oklahoma State 闪播福利库), M.S. (闪播福利库 of Arkansas), B.S. (Missouri 闪播福利库 of Science and Technology), Professor, 2006, 2011.
Henry, Christopher听Garrett, Ph.D. (闪播福利库 of Nebraska-Lincoln), M.S., B.S. (Kansas State 闪播福利库), Associate Professor, 2011, 2018.
Kim, Jin-Woo, Ph.D. (Texas A&M 闪播福利库), M.S. (闪播福利库 of Wisconsin-La Crosse), B.S. (闪播福利库 of Iowa), Professor, 2001, 2011.
Koparan, Cengiz, Ph.D., M.S. (Clemson 闪播福利库), M.B.M. (Cambridge College), B.S. (Ankara 闪播福利库), Assistant Professor, 2023.
Li, Yanbin, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State 闪播福利库), M.S. (闪播福利库 of Nebraska-Lincoln), B.S. (Shenyang Agricultural 闪播福利库), Distinguished Professor, Tyson Endowed Chair in Biosensing Engineering, 1989, 2003.
Liang, Yi, Ph.D. (闪播福利库 of Alberta, Canada), M.S., B.S. (China Agricultural 闪播福利库, Beijing, China), Associate Professor, 2007, 2014.
Matlock, Marty听D., Ph.D., M.S., B.S. (Oklahoma State 闪播福利库), Professor, 2001, 2009.
Osborn, G.听Scott, Ph.D. (North Carolina State 闪播福利库), M.S., Ag.E., B.S. (闪播福利库 of Kentucky), Associate Professor, 2001, 2007.
Runkle, Benjamin听R.K., Ph.D., M.S. (闪播福利库 of California鈥揃erkeley), B.S. (Princeton 闪播福利库), Assistant Professor, 2014.
Ubeyitogullari, Ali, Ph.D. (闪播福利库 of Nebraska-Lincoln), M.S., B.S. (Middle East Technical 闪播福利库, Turkey), Assistant Professor, 2021.
VanDevender, Karl, Ph.D. (闪播福利库 of Arkansas), M.S., B.S. (Mississippi State 闪播福利库), Professor, 1995, 2004.
Verma, Lalit听R., Ph.D. (闪播福利库 of Nebraska-Lincoln), M.S. (闪播福利库 of Montana), B. Tech. (J.N. Agricultural 闪播福利库, Jabalpub, India), Professor, 2000.
Wang, Dongyi, Ph.D. (闪播福利库 of Maryland), B.S. (Fundan 闪播福利库, Shanghai, China), Assistant Professor, 2021.
Zhu, Jun, Ph.D. (闪播福利库 of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), M.S., B.S. (Zhejiang 闪播福利库, Hangzhou, China), Professor, 2013.