Why Berkeley and UCSF for your PhD?
One program – two universities – an unmatched experience
The Ph.D. in bioengineering is offered jointly by both UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. Our students have access to the full resources of both top schools, providing unparalleled opportunities for research, education and life.
Ranked #6 in bioengineering doctoral programs, we offer:
- a Ph.D. degree granted by both universities;
- access to world-class labs and facilities on both campuses;
- possible collaboration with over 140 faculty labs in dozens of disciplines;
- a lively student community with a retreat weekend each fall;
- active connections with the thriving Bay Area biotech ecosystem, including dozens of alumni startups;
- proximity to Berkeley’s gourmet food, San Francisco’s culture and nightlife, beautiful Bay Area parks and waters, and nearby mountains and beaches.
As the #1 public university in the world, a Tier 1 medical school for research, and the #1 hospital in California, Berkeley-UCSF has a wealth of relevant training programs ranked in the top five and ten. Together we are also the number one public recipient of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the top producer of NSF Graduate Research Fellows and Ford Foundation Fellows.
Berkeley is the #1 university in the world for producing startup founders, with over 1300 startups, and is ranked first for female graduates who started businesses, first for female-founded companies, and first for the amount of capital raised by women. Both campuses are firmly committed to achieving real-world impact from research advances, as well as to public service in equity, the environment, and health access.
A diverse student profile
223 current PhD students:
How do we train future leaders in the field?
The Berkeley-UCSF graduate program in bioengineering focuses strongly on research experience, supplemented by coursework chosen to strengthen knowledge in the student-selected major and minor fields of study.
- Incoming students create an individualized plan of coursework to meet their learning goals, in consultation with faculty, staff and peer advisors.
- Their plan will set a course to meet common program milestones.
- Additional courses are required in pedagogy and ethics, as well as cohort-building research seminars.
- Students complete research rotations in three faculty laboratories during their first year, before selecting a primary research lab and mentor. Rotations may be performed with core faculty in any affiliated department on either campus.
- All students also complete one term as a graduate student instructor and a qualifying exam, as well as their dissertation research.
- See more detailed program requirements
The mean and median time to degree is 5.0 years. Usually 2 semesters are spent in completing rotations, 4 semesters on formal course work and the qualifying examination, followed by 6 semesters performing research, culminating in the dissertation.
Community
All students are a part of BEAST, the BioEngineering Association of STudents. Members participate in research presentations, employer talks, meetings, happy hours and other fun activities. Through BEAST, students take leadership roles in planning the annual retreat, application review, prospective student visits, and program governance.
Berkeley-UCSF bioengineering welcomes a diverse population, including student parents, veterans, disabled persons, and students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Both campuses offer many support resources, as well as support and advising within our own program. Our universities are national leaders in diversity, equity, and inclusion (UCSF, Berkeley), and we are committed to fostering a welcoming and supportive environment invested in student success.
Careers
After over 40 years of training doctoral students, our alumni community includes C-Suite leaders in large and small biotech companies, founders and inventors of pioneering technologies, and distinguished faculty at universities from Taiwan and Stanford to Brown and Georgia Tech.
