Master of Engineering in Biopharmaceutical Processing

Program Overview

Master of Engineering in Biopharmaceutical Processing

Program Overview

The Master of Engineering (MEng) in Biopharmaceutical Processing program at Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) is a two-year program that spans the gap between the life sciences and engineering to deliver a multidisciplinary, career-focused education. Building upon your STEM background, our MEng program allows you to gain technical knowledge, hands-on skills, and real-world problem-solving abilities through lab work, internships, and collaborative research endeavors.

Program Details

• Format: In-Person
• Start Term: Fall
• Duration: Full-time 2 years
• Application Deadline: December 8 (priority), rolling admissions thereafter
• Cost: $18,500 per term
• Scholarship Support: 100% of students who enrolled in 2024 received scholarship support

Learning Outcomes

• PLO1: Students use bioprocessing principles to design processes necessary to translate basic life science discoveries into commercial products, which benefit society.
• PLO2: Students can contribute productively on an interdisciplinary team to work on complex process engineering challenges associated with the biomanufacturing of biologics.
• PLO3: Students understand and evaluate the biopharmaceutical industry's production, research and development, IP, regulatory, business, and marketing functions.
• PLO4: Students communicate effectively in an external environment of scientists, engineers, and business professionals.
• PLO5: Students adhere to ethical principles in research, development, regulatory, and quality issues inherent in the biopharmaceutical and related industries.

Curriculum

Our 60-credit curriculum enriches your education by providing a dynamic blend of coursework, labs, internships, and team-based capstone projects. Gain practical skills in cell culture, upstream and downstream process development, analytical technologies, and data-driven computational methods. You’ll also expand your industry expertise by learning about regulatory standards, quality control, facility design, and ethical considerations.

Team Master's Project (TMP)

In the first year of your MEng program, you participate in a Team Master’s Project. This industry-sponsored project allows you to collaborate with industry liaisons and gain essential real-world experience to imagine what a biopharmaceutical career will be like.

Team Design Project (TDP)

As a second-year MEng student, you complete the capstone Team Design Project (TDP), which provides real-world experience of taking a drug molecule candidate to full-scale production.

Career Paths

Earning a Master of Engineering in Biopharmaceutical Processing degree ensures you keep pace with the rapidly evolving biopharmaceutical industry and drive healthcare innovation. Through your rigorous studies, you refine your technical competencies and strategic skills needed to pursue roles in development, design, and manufacturing, such as:

• Process development (PD) scientist and engineer
• Manufacturing science and technology (MSAT) specialist
• Field application scientist or engineer
• Process design engineer
• Process technology transfer and validation specialist
• Project management

Where KGI Alumni Work

As a KGI graduate, you stand apart in the field. Your hands-on training establishes you as a front-runner, positioned with robust research experience and hard-earned technical skills. After graduating, our MEng in biopharmaceutical process alumni have gone on to work at prestigious companies, such as:

• Abzena
• Allogene
• Ambrx
• Amgen
• AstraZeneca
• Atara Bio
• ATUM
• BioMarin
• Bionova Scientific
• Boehringer Ingelheim
• Catalent
• Celltheon
• FDA
• Genentech
• GenVivo
• Gilead
• Just Evotec Biologics
• Kite
• Repligen
• Sanofi
• Sartorius
• Takeda
• ThermoFisher Scientific
• Upside Foods

Program Faculty and Staff

• Saurav Datta, Program Director (MEng), Assistant Professor - Bioprocessing
• Shiva Abdolrahimi, Assistant Professor in Bioprocessing
• Steven Casper, Henry E. Riggs Professor of Management, Program Director (MBS), Professor of Management
• Julio ("Cesar") Espinoza, Assistant Professor of Bioinformatics and Data Analytics
• Gargi Ghosh, Associate Professor of Bioprocessing
• Larry Grill, Research Professor
• Anna Hickerson, Henry E. Riggs Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Program Director (MSMDE), Associate Professor
• Jamie Liu, Laboratory Safety Manager
• Yun Liu, Associate Professor, Finance
• Joshua Morris, Joe & Vi Jacobs Professor of Ethics, Associate Vice Provost
• Christina Stickles, Administrative Coordinator