The 21st Century is being viewed by observers worldwide as the ‘Bio Century’

- Biotechnology Industry Organization

What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is technology based on biology. It combines biological disciplines like genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology and cell biology with technical disciplines like chemical engineering, information technology, and robotics.

As information technology drove economic progress in the latter part of the 20th Century, there are expectations that biotechnology will be a significant factor for progress in the early part of the 21st century. Organizations are using biotechnology in drug development, medical treatments, agriculture and food processing, biosecurity and biofuels, with new techniques and applications for biotechnology continuously being discovered.

In agriculture and medicine, biotechnology techniques have produced new and improved foods, virus resistant crop plants and animals, advances in insect resistance, new antibiotics, vaccines for malaria, improved ways of producing insulin, diagnostic tests for hereditary cancers and Huntington's disease and treatments for AIDS.

Increasingly, biotechnology is also being applied to problems in the environment and in energy. Genetically engineered micro-organisms and plants clean up toxic wastes from industrial production and oil spills. Genetic methods are used to identify particular populations of endangered species. Minute traces of animal or plant remains are used to track and convict poachers. Genetic analysis helps botanical gardens, zoos, and game farms improve their breeding programs by determining the genetic diversity of various plant and animal populations. Microbes are making it economically feasible to produce ethanol for running machinery from corn stover, wheat straw, sugar cane waste and other agricultural crop residues.

Our Program Highlights

Our Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology is specifically designed to:

• Develop adaptable students with a strong foundation in skills that are relevant to the changing world of biotechnology
• Offer practical, hands-on biotechnology training with cutting-edge biotechnology research and teaching - utilizing the laboratory, the classroom or virtual environments where appropriate

Our Program Strengths

• Interdisciplinary
• Internship opportunities in the medical and biotechnology industry
• Only biotech program in the region that integrates molecular biology, bioprocessing and nanobiotechnolgy with an emphasis on environmental biotechnology
• Guest lectures by biotech industry experts fosters collaborative interactions

We provide two curriculum tracks:

1. Bioprocessing
2. Bioinformatics

This gives students the flexibility to tailor their degree based on their interest, educational background and career goals. These tracks, in combination with core courses, provide our students with a broad exposure to the field of biotechnology. The presence of the Texas Medical Center and a growing biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry helps to place this program at the forefront of biotechnology education.