General information

A B.S. or higher in an engineering, biological, physical or applied scientific discipline, good academic performance, and academic background aligned with technical electives. We also expect students to have some experience in research or design, and have an interest in technical innovation to improve clinical medicine. Strong candidates will also be self-motivated, and have evidence of good teamwork and communication skills.

The MAB program requires 44 credits that are completed over the course of one academic year (three quarters – September to June).

The Master of Applied Bioengineering program has been approved for a specific tuition and fees rate, listed as “Masters of Applied BioEngr” on the UW Office of Planning and Budget site. Tuition and fees change annually – please contact the Graduate Academic Counselor for more information.

No, at this time, MAB students are not financially supported by the Department of Bioengineering.

No, the Master of Applied Bioengineering program is a non-thesis degree program. If you are primarily interested in research, please read about our M.S. in Bioengineering degree. MAB students will have opportunities to learn about current bioengineering research in their technical electives, in the departmental seminars, and through various departmental special events.

Visit BioEngage, UWHires or Handshake to learn about employment opportunities.

If you are an international student, please contact the International Student Services Office.

MAB students are 100% responsible for paying for their tuition and benefits. MAB is an intensive full-time daytime degree program, with little time flexibility for MAB students to have a TA-ship or RA-ship. MAB students may apply for assistantships in Bioengineering and other departments; however, Ph.D. students have priority for these appointments.

We have 2 application options: 

Deadline 1: January 31, 11:59pm Pacific Time: Priority application deadline

Applications received prior to January 31st, will be reviewed in mid-late February with committee decisions sent out to applicants by mid-March.

  • Applicants must make their decision to accept or decline offers by April 30th.

Deadline 2: April 30, 11:59pm Pacific Time: Regular application deadline

Applications received between February 1 and April 30th will be reviewed in early May, with committee decisions sent out to applicants by mid-to-late May.

  • Applicants must make their decision to accept or decline offers by June 15th.

We will consider applications received after April 30th on a rolling basis pending available space. If you’re an international candidate we strongly encourage you to apply by April 30th in order to secure your visa.

Most applicants should have had exposure to some chemistry and biology in addition to (or included in) their major fields of study. Students should have a suitable academic background to successfully complete at least 15 credits of bioengineering technical electives. The recommended background is as follows:

Biomedical Imaging: Differential equations, linear algebra, physics (waves), circuits, DSP, some programming, such as MATLAB, and physiology is beneficial.
Molecular Bioengineering and Biomaterials: Biology (especially fundamentals of cell biology), general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry are beneficial.
Regenerative Medicine and Biomaterials: Biology (especially fundamentals of cell biology), general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry are beneficial

No. If you have a broad education and a bachelor’s degree in engineering, mathematics, the physical or life sciences, you may find a home here. We actively seek individuals with degrees in bioengineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, computer science, electrical engineering and related interdisciplinary fields. We pick the best applicants from a wide array of backgrounds.

This will be determined on a case-by-case basis based on the following criteria: experience in science or engineering research or design, relevant experience in biomedical industry and/or clinical settings, exposure to math, science and engineering course content sufficient to perform well in required technical electives, and a persuasive personal statement and strong letters of recommendation.

The UW Graduate School requires that applicants have earned at least a 3.0 grade-point-average (on a 4 point scale) from a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S. or its equivalent from a foreign institution for the last 90 graded quarter credits or 60 graded semester credits from a baccalaureate degree (for a Master’s, doctoral, or professional degree, the total cumulative average may be used).

If you earned additional credits from an accredited institution after your degree, you may include these credits in calculating your GPA.

Graduate programs may consider an applicant with a GPA below a 3.0. Graduate programs must submit an admission petition to the Dean of the Graduate School and receive approval before an offer is made.

GRE scores are optional.

Yes. Please refer to the UW Graduate School Memo 8 for detailed information regarding the English Language Proficiency Requirement.

If submitting, GRE scores need to be sent electronically, directly from ETS to University code: 4854. A Department code should no longer be required, but if it is, you can enter: TOEFLiBT: 99 GRE (paper?based centers): 19448 GRE electronic department code: 1603. In addition to the 6?week process to have your scores sent to the correct department at the University of Washington, it also takes at least 24 hours for your electronic GRE scores to be matched to your SUBMITTED Graduate School Application. To ensure that your official GRE scores are matched before the deadline, it is best to submit your application at least 48 hours before the deadline. For more information about where to send your English Language Proficiency exam scores, please visit the UW Graduate School’s Frequently Asked Questions – International Students. English Language Proficiency exam scores can take a few weeks to process, so it important to take the exams early to ensure that the scores reach UW before the deadline.

Request letters from mentors who can describe your motivation and qualification for the MAB program. The strongest letters of recommendation come from mentors who have seen you in an academic or professional environment, and who can speak to your academic ability, design or research skills, teamwork and communication skills. Recommendations must be submitted by the deadlines, late or incomplete applications will not be reviewed or considered. You should track the status of the letters of recommendation by logging back into the online application.

If you wish to be considered for the quarter/year you meant to apply for, you must resubmit a new application by the deadline, and then contact the department to have your other application withdrawn. The department cannot transfer materials from one application to the other on your behalf. If you select the wrong quarter/year but have not yet submitted your application, it is possible for you to change the quarter and year in your application, yourself, before submitting the application to the Graduate School.

If you wish to be considered by the deadline you must resubmit a new application and then contact the department to have your other application withdrawn. The department cannot transfer materials from one application to the other on your behalf.

While it is not possible to be automatically reconsidered for a different program after the application has been denied, you can submit a separate application for the MAB program by the appropriate deadlines. Applicants who apply to the Ph.D./M.S, programs typically have a strong interest in Bioengineering research. Conversely the MAB is a project-based degree program in biomedical engineering. You are encouraged to contact the Graduate Academic Counselor, discuss what would make you a stronger candidate, and reapply.

To check the status of these documents, please log back into your application prior to contacting the UW Department of Bioengineering. If your official GRE and English Language Proficiency Scores have been received you will see a “check mark” next to your “TESTS” category of your application. If your letter(s) of recommendation has/have been received, you will see “RECEIVED” next to the name of your recommender(s). Please note, it takes 48 hours for scores and letters of recommendation to match with an application after the application has been successfully submitted.

No, the GRE subject test is not required.

An unofficial transcript is any transcript that you have received or have uploaded from your former institution. The UW Bioengineering requires unofficial transcripts to be uploaded directly into a candidate’s application by the deadline.

The University of Washington defines an official transcript as a transcript that is sent directly to the Graduate School from your former institution. If you are an international student who is unable to access official transcript copies, but you do have an official transcript at home, the Graduate School will only accept this copy if it is hand delivered to the Graduate School at the time it is requested. Official transcripts are only required after a student has been made an offer to the Department of Bioengineering. The Department and the Graduate School will provide instructions regarding which transcript(s) to send directly to the Graduate School from the former institution. Candidates can access this information by logging back into their applications once an offer has been made.

For the initial review process, only unofficial transcripts are required.

All application materials, including letters of recommendation are required to be submitted by the January 31 deadline. No late or incomplete applications will be considered. Out of fairness to all of our applicants, and to our admissions committee members, who have a tight review schedule, we cannot make any exceptions to this policy.

If your courses AND their GPA’s and credit information are recorded on your undergraduate institution unofficial transcript, you do not need to provide unofficial transcripts from the other institutions you attended.

If you did not apply for any awards for your graduate studies, please respond: “N/A” or “not applicable.” If you are in the process of applying for grants or fellowship, please respond: I am in the process of applying for X, Y, and Z. If you have received a fellowship or grant for your graduate studies, please respond with the name and some information about the award.

Please do not submit this request until you have received an offer and decided that you will be attending the University of Washington. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mandates that all schools verify that students requesting an I-20 or DS-2019 show proof of readily accessible and adequate financial resources for themselves and any dependents they declare without resorting to unauthorized employment. Learn more about the financial ability requirement.

Application fee waivers are available for McNair fellows and Posse scholars, in addition to students who indicate financial need and have filed a FAFSA. To apply for the application fee waiver, please submit your application no less than 1 week prior to the deadline, as it takes several days for your request to process. Fee waiver requests are reviewed by the Graduate School every day M-F, but not on the weekend. Toward the end of the application, there is a drop down option (or a box you can select) where you can select an “apply for application fee waiver” option.

We expect to send out MAB admissions notifications for priority applicants by mid-March, for regular applicants by mid-May and within 3 weeks of receiving an application during rolling admissions.


If you are waiting to hear, keep checking the email account you submitted with your online application and also log back into your application profile.


The MAB program is a one year cohort program, where students work closely as a team with the UW Bioengineering MAB Design Instructor and MAB faculty. MAB students also work closely with the Graduate Academic Counselor throughout the program.