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New bioengineering degree approved
The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) has approved
Clemson University’s request to offer a Bachelor of Science
in bioengineering. The degree program will begin in the fall, and
was developed in collaboration with the University of South Carolina,
which has a complementary B.S. program in biomedical engineering.
The USC program also received CHE approval.
Bioengineering, which is sometimes termed biomedical engineering,
involves the application of science, mathematics and engineering
principles to biomedical systems. A key goal of bioengineers is
to develop devices, processes and biotechnologies to improve medical
practice and healthcare delivery. Devices such as the pacemaker,
orthopedic implants, non-invasive diagnostic imaging and human insulin,
have all been developed through bioengineering.
Clemson bioengineering professor Martine Laberge says the program
will fill a void in the state.
“In the past, no South Carolina schools offered this degree,
so students would have to leave the state to pursue an undergraduate
degree in bioengineering. Hopefully, this will keep the best and
the brightest students here in South Carolina, while sustaining
a much-needed workforce for the medical industry of the future.”
Clemson’s bioengineering program began in 1963 with the offering
of a Ph.D. degree. A master’s was added in 1966. Clemson is
known as the international birthplace of the field of “biomaterials,”
building blocks of medical devices such as the “Clemson Knee”
and the “Clemson Hip.” A strategic partnership with
the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and the Greenville
Hospital University Medical Center was formed in recent years.
Clemson academicians estimate that when fully implemented the bioengineering
program will sustain a graduating class of at least 50 seniors annually.
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