The Department of Bioengineering was established in 2002 and is the first department at Stanford housed jointly in two schools: medicine and engineering. This fusion promotes scientific discovery and the development of new biomedical technologies and therapies that might otherwise not be possible. Though the department is new, it is poised to become one of the top bioengineering programs in the country due to the world-class faculty and students it has already attracted as well as the strengths of the schools it bridges. Currently, the department accepts only graduate students, but plans are under way to expand the program to include a bioengineering undergraduate major.

A main objective of the department is to establish an integrated, cohesive curriculum that will nurture a new breed of scientist and inventor—the bioengineer. Applying the tools of engineering—manipulation, modeling, and design processes—to the biological sciences, this new approach to scientific exploration will deepen our understanding of complex living systems and translate that knowledge into real-world therapies and devices that will improve human health. The department is eventually expected to comprise 24 faculty members.