MIT Department of Biological Engineering

Restricted Electives

Guidelines for Course 20 Restricted Electives

  • BE Restricted electives in BE should prepare students for advanced graduate work or for practice.
  • Restricted Electives should be advanced (Jr/Sr) subjects with at least some pre-reqs from fresh/soph curriculum.
  • Survey subjects (no or minimal pre-reqs) should in general be taken for unrestricted elective credit
  • Individual advisors can work with students to provide flexibility; e.g., an advisor may suggest that a student take an intro-level subject as an unrestricted elective and a pair of upper-level subjects as restricted electives
  • Beginning with the BE Class of 2024 it is recommended at least one BE restricted elective should have a Course 20 number (20.xxx), but is not required.
  • Students who wish to obtain credit for a restricted elective that does not appear on the list may petition the BE UG programs committee. Petitioning is not a mere formality –the committee seriously evaluates the addition of new subjects to the list based on student interest, but some requests are not approved on either a global or individual level hence you must have alternate plans if your petition is not approved. If you wish to petition, you should fill out a petition form in the BE UG Programs office (Room 16-267). The UG programs committee meets 2-3 times per term. You should allow 6-8 weeks to have your petition considered after submission. Petitions should be submitted at least one term in advance of enrollment, so that alternate plans can be implemented if the petition is not approved.

3 BE Restricted Electives are required (33-36 units)

4 Unrestricted Electives are required (48 units)