Doctoral degrees for genetic engineering careers can be earned through graduate programs in biomedical engineering, biological engineering, cellular biology, and similar areas. All of these programs are interdisciplinary; they draw from biology, medicine, engineering, and other fields.

Core Courses and Electives

Depending on a graduate student’s area of emphasis, he or she might take courses about topics such as:

• Biomedical devices                                                                 • Biomedical imaging

• Bioremediation                                                                       • Biostatistics

• Ethical aspects of genetic engineering                               • Genetic disorders

• Forensic applications of genetics                                        • Human molecular genetics

• Molecular biology                                                                   • Nanotechnology

• Patent issues in genetic engineering                                   • Plant transformation

• Protein synthesis                                                                     • Vaccine production

Extra Requirements

In addition to taking core courses and electives, students typically have lab rotations. These provide exposure to different types of research. After a year or so of rotations, each student selects an area of interest and chooses a faculty mentor. Students can then eventually undertake original research projects in order to write dissertations.

Many biomedical engineering programs require students to pass a comprehensive examination after the first year of study in order to continue. Others require students to earn a master’s thesis before entering the Ph.D. program.

See for Yourself

Since graduate curricula are posted online, you can get more detailed information by visiting university websites. Here are some top programs:

• Rice University

• Stanford University

• Texas A&M University

• University of California – Davis

• University of Massachusetts – Lowell