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Graduate Certificates

Graduate students and working professionals can earn a new credential to kick-start or advance their career in the biopharmaceutical industry. 

On-Campus Students

There are two graduate certificates designed for on-campus students. The Upstream Biomanufacturing and Downstream Biomanufacturing graduate certificates offer NC State graduate students and working professionals the opportunity for hands-on learning in BTEC’s industry-scale simulated cGMP facilities. NC State graduate students enrolled in a Ph.D., M.S., or M.R. (non-thesis based, classroom-only master’s) program can apply for the on-campus certificates.

Engineering Online Students

For distance education students, the Online Biomanufacturing Graduate Certificate is an excellent option for gaining a BTEC credential without being onsite. The Online Biomanufacturing Graduate Certificate is only available to online students enrolled through the Engineering Online program.

Each certificate requires 12 hours of graduate coursework, which can be transferred to the Master of Biomanufacturing program.

Course requirements

Click on a red "+" icon to see required and elective courses for a specific certificate program. Click on a red "-" icon to hide the detailed information. For your reference, download the BTEC Graduate Certificates Course Checklist (PDF).

Upstream Biomanufacturing Graduate Certificate

Core courses

(9 credits required)

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
CHE 563 Fermentation of Recombinant Microorganisms (small-scale fermentation) 2
BBS 526 Upstream Biomanufacturing Laboratory (intermediate-scale fermentation) 2
BEC 580 cGMP Fermentation Operations (industry-scale fermentation) 2
BEC 577 Advanced Biomanufacturing and Biocatalysis 3

Elective courses

(Minimum of 3 credits required)

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BEC 575 Global Regulatory Affairs 3
MB 554
or
ISE 589		 Project Management 
or
Project Management for Engineers		 3 each
BIT 566 Animal Cell Culture Techniques 2
BEC 588 Animal Cell Culture Engineering 2
BEC 525 and
BEC 545		 Molecular Biology for Biomanufacturing
and
Cell Line Development		 2 each
BIT 510 Core Technologies in Molecular and Cellular Biology 4

Downstream Biomanufacturing Graduate Certificate

Core courses

(9 credits required)

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BEC 532 Biological Processing Science (small-scale purification) 2
BEC 536 Introduction to Downstream Process Development (intermediate-scale purification) 2
BEC 585 cGMP Downstream Operations (industry-scale purification) 2
BEC 575 Global Regulatory Affairs 3

Additional courses

(Minimum of 3 credits required)

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BEC 515 Biopharmaceutical Product Characterization Techniques 2
BEC 577 Advanced Biomanufacturing and Biocatalysis 3
CHE 752 Separation Processes for Biological Materials 2
BUS 554
or
ISE 589		 Project Management
or
Project Management for Engineers		 3

Online Biomanufacturing Graduate Certificate

Core courses

(9 credits required)

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BEC 591 cGMP Biomanufacturing Operations (fall only) 3
BEC 575 Global Regulatory Affairs 3
BEC 577 Advanced Biomanufacturing and Biocatalysis 3

Elective courses

(Minimum of 3 credits required)

Course # Course Title Credit Hours
BEC 572 Drug Delivery: Theory and Modern Practices (spring only) 3
EM 530 Project Management 3

Admission requirements

To enroll in a BTEC certificate program, applicants must meet the following conditions:

  1. Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree in science or an engineering discipline.
  2. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or have completed a 500-level BTEC (BEC) course with a grade of B or better.
  3. Non-NC State students must apply through the NC State Graduate School. Students already admitted or enrolled in a graduate degree program can contact the Assistant Director of Academic Programs to declare the certificate. These students do not need to apply to the graduate school again.