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Undergraduate Certificate

The undergraduate certificate in biomanufacturing is a great option for students who want the flexibility to explore the biomanufacturing field. The certificate requires an introduction to biomanufacturing course and one course in either upstream or downstream processing. Afterwards, students can choose from a list of courses that complement biomanufacturing, including over 15 unique BTEC courses that offer students a wide range of expertise and experiences related to the industry. Students will work with BTEC's manager of student programs to develop a cohesive set of courses that suited to their interests and which will help them gain key skills valuable for their intended career goals.

Below are examples of topic areas students may pursue.

The undergraduate certificate is open to degree seeking and non-degree seeking students. Students who complete the minor or post baccalaureate certificate in biomanufacturing are not eligible for the undergraduate certificate.


Requirements

Prerequisites

Students interested in adding our certificate should have a background in biology and chemistry. If you attend a university other than NC State, you may contact our academic team to discuss if you meet these requirements.

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BIO 183 Introductory Biology: Cellular and Molecular Biology 4
CH 101 or CH 103 Chemistry - A Molecular Science 3
CH 221 or CH 225 Organic Chemistry I 3

Additional prerequisites may be required depending on the student's area of interest and the courses they would like to take as part of the certificate.

To be eligible to apply for the certificate, students must have:

  • Completed BIO 183 AND CH 101 (or 103) AND CH 221 (or CH 225) or equivalent courses with a C- or better.

Non-degree seeking students should discuss prerequisite requirements and fit in the program with BTEC's manager of student programs. Students who already have a bachelor's degree are encouraged to complete the post-baccalaureate certificate instead.

Certificate requirements

A minimum of 12 credit hours is required to earn the undergraduate certificate. Review the four categories below to see how hours are allocated.

1. Introductory Seminar Pertaining to Biomanufacturing (1 credit)

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BEC 220 Introduction to Drug Development and Careers in Biomanufacturing 1

2. Base Biomanufacturing Sequence (2 credits)

Students will choose one of the following base sequence courses:

Upstream operations
Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BEC/CHE 463 Fermentation of Recombinant Microorganisms 2
Downstream operations
Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BEC 330 Principles and Applications of Bioseparations 2

3. Biomanufacturing Elective Courses (4 credits)

To advance their biomanufacturing knowledge in their area of interest, students will work with the manager of student programs to select four credit hours from the following list. Courses used in other areas of this certificate may not be counted twice.

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BEC 330 Principles and Applications of Bioseparations 2
BEC 425 Molecular Biology for Biomanufacturing 2
BBS/BEC 426 Upstream Biomanufacturing Laboratory 2
BEC 436 Introduction to Downstream Process Development 2
BEC 445 Cell Line Development for Biomanufacturing 2
BEC/CHE 463 Fermentation of Recombinant Microorganisms 2
BEC 475 Global Regulatory Affairs for Medical Products 3
BEC 480 cGMP Fermentation Operations 2
BEC/BME 483 Tissue Engineering Technologies 2
BEC 485 cGMP Downstream Operations 2
BEC 488 Animal Cell Culture Engineering 2
BEC 515 Biopharmaceutical Product Characterization Techniques 2

4. Electives (5 credits)

Students may select five electives hours from the following list, including any 400 or 500 level BEC course. Courses used in other areas of this certificate may not be counted twice.

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BAE/BBS 425 Industrial Microbiology and Bioprocessing 3
BCH 351
or BCH 451
General Biochemistry
Principles of Biochemistry
3
4
BEC 448 Bioreactor Design 2
BEC 462 Fundamentals of Bio-Nanotechnology 3
BEC 495 Special Topics Course in Biomanufacturing Varies
BEC 497 Biomanufacturing Research Projects 2 maximum
BEC 4** Any 400 Level BEC course Varies
BEC 5** Any 500 Level BEC course Varies
BIT 410 Manipulation of Recombinant DNA 4
BIT 466 Animal Cell Culture Techniques 2
GN 311 Principles of Genetics 4
MB 455 Microbial Biotechnology 3

Contact and declaring certificate

For additional information about the BTEC undergraduate certificate and to request adding the undergraduate certificate, contact the manager of student programs.