Undergraduate Studies
Advising FAQ
Topics:
a. CHEM 105
b. General Education/Social Sciences/Humanities
c. Retaking a Course
d. Tutoring for Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics
e. Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements
f. Credit/No Credit
II. Off Campus Educational/Work Opportunities
Curriculum/Course Credit:
CHEM 105
Course credit for CHEM 105 is a required for Bioengineering majors. The requirement is not waived with Advanced Placement (AP) credit for CHEM 104. Effective for classes entering Fall 2005 and beyond.
General Education/Social Science/Humanities
Of the 28 credit hours that Bioengineering majors must have in the General Education/Social Science/Humanities category, 18 hours must be in Social Sciences/Humanities and meet the following requirements:
At least 6 hours must be in Social and Behavioral Science; 6 hours must be in Humanities and Arts. One course must be Western. One course must be Non-Western. One course must be Advanced Composition .
A list of currently approved General Education Courses by Category is located at this URL. http://courses.uiuc.edu/cis/gened/urbana/2007/Fall/
Retaking a Course
You are allowed to retake a course. If you received a grade of “D” or higher, you have earned the degree credit for the course. If you retake a course, the new grade does not replace the old grade. The new grade will be added to your transcript as a 2nd grade for a duplicate course. The GPA hours will be averaged in your overall GPA.
Although a “D” grade is passing, students are strongly encouraged to retake a course, especially if it is a core course or a prerequisite for another course. A “D” indicates that the student is lacking sufficient mastery of the materials to continue in that subject.
Free Tutoring
There is information on available free tutoring provided by the College of Engineering.
Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements
A student must have a grade-point average of at least 2.0 in the math, science and engineering courses in order to remain in good standing and to graduate. To qualify for registration for the Bioengineering courses shown in the third year of the curriculum, a student must have completed, with a combined 2.25 grade point average, the mathematics, engineering and science courses shown in the first two years of the curriculum.
Credit/No Credit
All courses that are specifically required for your major or that count as general education requirements CANNOT be taken as Credit/No Credit.
Also, be aware of the regulations at the following link to the student code, such as the instructor will not know that you are taking it for Credit/No Credit and will assign a grade. C- or better is credit, so you will still have to do the homework and take the exams.
Student Code:
http://www.admin.uiuc.edu/policy/code/article_3/a3_3-105.html
(5) Any lower- or upper-division course may be chosen under the credit-no credit option except courses used to satisfy the University’s general education requirements, courses designated by name or area by the major department for satisfying the major, minor, or field of concentration, or those specifically required by name by the college for graduation.
Off Campus Educational/Work Opportunities:
Note: You must obtain approval from the Bioengineering Department Office prior to accepting an opportunity to be off-campus during an academic semester. Please contact the office for an approval form. It must be signed by your advisor or the Chief Undergraduate advisor. If you are interested in an academic or work opportunity that would take you away from campus for a semester, please consult with an advisor as soon as possible in your curriculum.
Study Abroad
Most Study Abroad opportunities for the College of Engineering are handled by its International Programs in Engineering (IPENG) Office located on the 2 nd floor of Engineering Hall. Please visit their web site to learn more about program opportunities. The Campus Study Abroad Office lists campus-wide opportunities including IPENG programs.
To get a course or courses approved for credit:
For Technical courses:
Review the courses that would be offered at the other university. Select courses that you feel would be appropriate for degree credit and indicate the corresponding UIUC course number. Fill out the course planning form from the Study Abroad Office with this information and then submit this form along with the corresponding detailed course information for each international course to the Chief Undergrad Advisor, Professor Brad Sutton, for review. Typically the course information from the university's web site is sufficient but if further detail is needed (e.g. a syllabus etc.); Professor Sutton will let you know. Once the courses are reviewed, Professor Sutton will make the determination of what credit will be given and complete the Study Abroad course planning form.
For Gen Ed/Social Sciences/Humanities courses:
The International Programs in Engineering (IPENG) Office makes the determination on credit for General Education, Social Sciences, or Humanities courses. Complete the course planning form and submit to IPENG.
Credit/No Credit vs. Graded Option for Study Abroad:
For Study Abroad, the student has the option of selecting credit/no credit or graded when they fill out the course planning form prior to taking the course. If you select graded then the course grade would count toward your GPA. You have until the half way point of school term to change that decision and must file the appropriate paperwork with IPENG.
Gen Ed/Social Sciences/Humanities courses taken for credit/no credit can be counted for degree credit. This is an exception made for Study Abroad.
Semester Coop/Internship Work Experience
Work experience is strongly encouraged for Bioengineering majors, particularly for those who plan to enter the workforce after the undergraduate degree. Employers typically do not hire freshmen year summer. However, there have been exceptions, and freshmen students should attend career fairs for the experience of interacting with potential employers.
Students should sign up in the Engineering Career Services (ECS) Office in 3270 DCL to take advantage of the many services they provide to students including: on campus interviews, access to online job search resources; online resume posting for employers, and resume and interviewing workshops. The sign up fee is $35 and is valid for the duration of your career at UIUC College of Engineering.
Minors
In order to officially declare a minor, College of Engineering students must complete the “Statement of Intent to Enroll in a Campus-Approved Minor”, obtain the signature of an advisor in the department offering the minor, and return the signed form to the College of Engineering (COE) Academic Programs Office in room 206 Engineering Hall. Some minors have special requirements that must be met prior to completing the form. Please consult the web site of the department offering the minor for further information. Please refer to the “Statement of Intent to Enroll in a Campus-Approved Minor”. This form may be submitted after 30 hours have been earned. Please refer to the Provost Office web site for further information on declaring a campus-approved minor.
Bioengineering Minor (for Non Bioengineering Majors):
The Bioengineering minor is only available to engineering students in the College of Engineering or the Departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering or Agricultural and Biological Engineering in the College of LAS.
Engineering students can obtain and complete the “Statement of Intent to Enroll in a Campus-Approved Minor” in the COE Academic Programs Office in room 206 Engineering Hall.
The Bioengineering minor is essentially a minor in the Life Sciences and therefore of little benefit to non-engineering students. The following presentation titled “Advice to Undergraduates" includes recommendations for MCB/other LAS students to prepare for careers in bioengineering.
Business Minor:
To apply for the minor in Business Administration:
Please review the information located on the College of Business web site.
To apply, you must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in the four prerequisite courses listed on this web site. Once you have completed the four prerequisite courses and have at least 60 credit hours earned, complete the “Statement of Intent to Enroll in a Campus-Approved Minor” and apply for the minor with the College of Business in room 214 David Kinley Hall.
Applications are accepted for fall term only. Applications are only accepted during the month of May of the preceding fall term. Applications will be reviewed by the College of Business in June. The College of Business will screen all statements and approve a select number of applicants to pursue the Business Minor. You will be contacted by the College of Business at your UIUC email address with the decision. Applicants are usually notified of a decision in August.
Please Note: Registration for most upper level BADM courses is restricted to Business majors during priority registration. If there are spots left after priority registration or the date the College sets, the course will open up for registration by non-majors. If you have been approved for a minor in business, you should be given access to register during priority registration with the majors.
Chemistry Minor:
A list of course requirements to obtain the Chemistry minor is located at
Bioengineering students can most easily fulfill the requirements in Option 2 given the Chemistry requirements in the Bioengineering curriculum. For those with AP credit for CHEM 102 and CHEM 104 who received waivers for CHEM 103 and/or CHEM 105 (prior to Fall 2006), you do not have to take these courses to obtain the minor. You can select another Chemistry course to count for the two hours credit. You must complete 20 hours total and that 6 hours of the 20 total hours must be at the 300 level or above.
Students may declare the Chemistry minor by completing the “Statement of Intent to Enroll in a Campus-Approved Minor”. Students should then go to the Chemistry Dept, room 168 Noyes to have the form signed. Return the signed form to COE Academic Programs office in room 206 Engineering Hall.
Please Note: CHEM 494 is listed as restricted to Chemistry majors. Once students are approved for the minor this restriction is lifted. AFTER you have declared the chemistry minor, you may contact Kathy Dysart in 203 MSEB or at 333-1440 to get permission to enroll in CHEM 494 if you have difficulty registering.
Math Minor:
A list of course requirements to obtain the Math minor is located at
Students should have successfully completed the calculus sequence before applying for the minor. To apply for the Math minor, students should complete the “Statement of Intent to Enroll in a Campus-Approved Minor” and obtain the signature of a Math advisor in 313 Altgeld. Return the signed form to the COE Academic Programs office in room 206 Engineering Hall.
The Hoeft Technology & Management Program offers a minor in Technology & Management to undergraduate students in the College of Business and the College of Engineering. Applications are accepted early in the spring semester. Students eligible to apply must have sophomore standing in degree credit hours AND planned graduation within 4 semesters of the semester of application. For more information, http://www.techmgmt.uiuc.edu/ .
Spanish:
Information on requirements to obtain the minor in Spanish is located
on this web page for the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. You will also find information on opportunities to complete the minor through a semester Study Abroad.
To declare the minor in Spanish, students will need to complete the “Statement of Intent to Enroll in a Campus-Approved Minor”, obtain the signature of an advisor in Spanish, and return the signed form to the COE Academic Programs office in room 206 Engineering Hall.
Double Majors
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:
There is a reciprocal agreement between the College of Engineering (COE) and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) that allows students to double major in departments of those 2 colleges. A second major requires a minimum of 30 hours in addition to the degree requirements of your primary major.
The students should go to COE Academic Programs office in 206 Engineering Hall to obtain the appropriate form. On the form, students must plan out the courses they would take to accomplish both the 132 hours required in Bioengineering and the 30 additional hours required to obtain the second major. Students should complete the form with the assistance of their Bioengineering department advisor and obtain their advisor's signature once completed. Students should then proceed to the LAS Central Student Office in room 270 Lincoln Hall LAS 333-1700 to meet with an appropriate advisor there and obtain an LAS advisor signature. Once the form is completed, return the form to COE Academic Programs office for the signature of COE Advising Dean Umberto Ravioli.
College of Business :
Students cannot double major in Business. Students can minor but must apply for the Business minor with the College of Business . (See Minors).
Pre-Med
The Bioengineering undergraduate curriculum no longer includes a concentration track in Pre-Med. It has been determined that the majority of the basic curriculum requirements for Pre-Med can be accommodated within the core undergraduate curriculum for Bioengineering majors.
Please refer to the Career Center web site for up-to-date information on basic required courses for Pre-Med. Any students interested in Pre-Med are encouraged to meet with a Career Center Pre-Health advisor as soon as possible. Students are also advised to subscribe to the Health Careers Weekly electronic newsletter which contains useful information pertaining to preparation for Pre-Health careers. The newsletter is published each Friday during the school year.
Of the suggested or recommended list of basic courses to prepare for Pre-Med:
Bioengineering majors take CHEM 102/103, CHEM 104/105, CHEM 232/233 (Organic Chemistry),
MCB 150, MCB 354 OR MCB 450 (Biochemistry),
MCB 402 (Replacing with BIOE 398 BS)/404, PHYS 211/ 212/213.
James Scholar Honors Program
The Chief Advisor acts as the James Scholar Honors Advisor. Please contact bioen@illinois.edu.
Freshmen James Scholars must complete one of the following James Scholar Honors activities:- Complete an honors section of a course (designated with “H” in the course catalog) typically during the second semester of the freshman year.
- With the agreement of the course instructor for a “non-honors” course, complete an Honors Credit Learning Agreement (HCLA) to transform a “non-honors” course into an “honors” course. http://jamesscholar.cen.uiuc.edu/fr_hcla.php
Sophomore James Scholars must complete the design of their honors contract http://jamesscholar.cen.uiuc.edu/contracts.php and obtain the approval signature of the Chief Advisor AND they must complete one James Scholar honors activity.
An honors contract in Bioengineering must list courses which total a minimum of 12 hours of graded course work showing coherence in focus and purpose and including one of the following options:- Contain at least two upper level (typically 400-level) courses outside the required courses in the Bioengineering major curriculum.
- Complete an engineering or campus approved minor.
Effective for students entering Fall 2006 and beyond: Bioengineering majors pursuing the Chemistry minor and following option 2 of the Chemistry minor sequence must complete an additional 400-level chemistry course to receive approval for their honors contract. The student must complete the honors contract under “Make your own Plan” and list the chemistry courses being taken and cannot simply insert Chemistry in the “Minor” blank.
Students are strongly advised to select and complete one course from their honors contract as their James Scholar honors activity for Sophomore year. Alternatively, students can choose to take another honors course or course with HCLA to fulfill the requirement for the honors activity. If a student chooses a course not on their honors contract, they must still complete the minimum 12 hours graded course work to fulfill an honors contract.
Junior and Senior James Scholars must take at least one course in Junior year and one course in Senior year from their honors contract. All courses in the honors contract must be completed prior to graduation to receive James Scholar honors designation on the student record.Campus Honors Program (CHP)
Information on the Campus Honors Program can be found at this URL. http://www.honors.uiuc.edu/
