Undergraduate research offers bioengineering students practical, hands-on training in experimental design, data collection/analysis, and dissemination. A wide range of research topics is available, spanning the diverse research interests of our faculty mentors. Tissue engineering, explant retrieval, drug delivery, and device design are just a few of the research areas undergraduates may work in.
Research can be performed during the academic semesters or in the summer with bioengineering faculty located on the main campus, the CUBEInC facility in Greenville, the CU/MUSC bioengineering program in Charleston, or through our study abroad programs in Singapore and Japan. Undergraduate researchers have presented their research at international scientific conferences such as the Biomedical Engineering Society and the Society for Biomaterials and have co-authored articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Academic courses offering research experiences are listed below. Credits earned through one or more of these research-based courses may be used to fulfill up to 6 of the 12 credits of BioE technical requirement. Additional credits (above 6) may be taken as free electives.
BioE 4510 Creative Inquiry
Creative inquiry offers team-based research projects typically spanning 2-3 semesters. A list of current BioE Creative Inquiry projects can be found on the University's Creative Inquiry page, all projects and faculty mentors can be searched.
BioE 4600 International Bioengineering Research Topics
BioE 4910 Mentored Undergraduate Research
These related courses provide mentored research opportunities during study abroad (4600) and at Clemson bioengineering facilities (4910). These courses offer a more independent research experience with a faculty mentor and graduate student supervisor. Students interested in BioE 4910 should visit the faculty webpage, and lab webpage and review the research descriptions to identify potential mentors working in areas of interest.
BioE H4910 Honors Mentored Undergraduate Research
The honors version of mentored research is available to all honors students and also provides the foundation for senior departmental honors. Honors-mentored research involves higher expectations for critical analysis of the literature, independent conduct of research, and oral/written communication of research results.
The department typically hosts almost 60 different Creative Inquiry sections (BioE4510). These are undergraduate student-driven team-based projects mentored by faculty and graduate students. The topics are varied and range from basic science studies to understanding cancer biology and development, translational research on tissue engineering for spinal disc repair, applied projects using machine learning and sensors to help with psychotherapy, and hands-on design of medical devices for low-resource settings.
In Bioengineering, students are usually selected for Creative Inquiry teams through a competitive application process and permission from faculty team leader(s).
Find information on projects and team leaders by searching for a section's leader by name or by searching for Bioengineering in the search bar.