MS in Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE)

Washington State University

The department of Biological Systems Engineering integrates the biological sciences and engineering for the development of engineering solutions to agricultural, food and natural systems.

Student Learning Outcomes:

All graduates will be able to:

Academia:

Possess a national and international reputation for excellence in their area.
Value the significance of quality original scholarly work.
Contribute to the knowledge base within their discipline.
Attract funding for their research.
Provide leadership to professional organizations.

Industry:

Effectively manage engineering research and/or development research teams.
Provide leadership in developing industry standards of practice.
Be creative and innovator.
Develop profitable products or revenue-saving manufacturing procedures.
Provide vision for future direction of their companies and for the industry.

Government Service:

Provide expert technical knowledge in decision-making processes.
Provide leadership within their technical and professional societies.
Contribute to the development of public policies.
Provides global perspective to the use of technical knowledge.

4 General Research Emphasis Areas
Agricultural Automation Engineering

Develop engineering solutions for processes and equipment to meet the needs of specialty crop production.

Bioenergy and Bioproducts Engineering

Develop engineering processes to produce useful, high-value products from the byproducts of agricultural operations and other sources of plant biomass.

Food Engineering

The application of engineering to the production of safe, nutritious food.

Land, Air, Water Resources & Environmental Engineering (LAWREE)

Engineering applications related to hydrologic processes at the field level or at the scale of large watersheds. Application of engineering and biological principles to the study the environmental impact of managed biological systems, including agriculture, confined animal operations, aquaculture, and natural resources.

Facilities Overview

BSE has several major facilities with modern analytical equipment available to graduate students including a state-certified Water Quality and Waste Analysis Laboratory, a computerized GIS and Environmental Modeling Laboratory, a food processing pilot plant and other food processing laboratory equipment, and a controlled atmosphere facility.

Graduate students have used facilities at the USDA’s Conservation Research Farm in Pullman and at WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, Washington.

Faculty members who have substantial collaborative arrangements with food processing companies or government laboratories send students to off-campus laboratories to use highly specialized equipment or to learn advanced techniques.