List of engineering branches

Engineering is the discipline and profession that applies scientific theories, mathematical methods, and empirical evidence to design, create, and analyze technological solutions, balancing technical requirements with concerns or constraints on safety, human factors, physical limits, regulations, practicality, and cost, and often at an industrial scale. In the contemporary era, engineering is generally considered to consist of the major primary branches of biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, materials engineering and mechanical engineering. There are numerous other engineering sub-disciplines and interdisciplinary subjects that may or may not be grouped with these major engineering branches.

Biomedical engineering

Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications.

Subdiscipline	Engineering scope	Major specialties
Bioinformatics	Data science within the scope of digital tools to collect and analyze biomedical data, such as DNA	Information engineering Computational biology Genomics Molecular modelling Systems analysis Database management
Bioinstrumentation	Electronics & Measurement within the scope of devices and tools that are used in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, often overlapping with biotechnology	Neuroscience Biomechatronics Photonics Instrumentation Biosensors Medical devices
Biomaterials	Materials science related to interfacing materials with or within the body	Ceramic engineering Polymer engineering Metalworking Biocompatibility Implant design Drug delivery
Biomechanics	Mechanical systems involving kinematics, material deformation, artificial organs, transport of chemical substances across biological membranes, and flow related to biological substances inside and outside the body	Military engineering Sports engineering Rehabilitation engineering Ergonomics Prosthetics Fluid dynamics Accident reconstruction
Biomolecular engineering	Biological systems	Genetic engineering Chemical engineering Molecular engineering Chemistry Synthetic biology Systems biology Nanotechnology
Clinical engineering	Healthcare systems within the scope of hospital-related functions, including data management, instruments, and monitoring systems	Facilities engineering Radiation protection Project engineering Healthcare technology management Logistics Cybersecurity
Medical imaging	Visualization systems for biological systems, such as MRI, EEG, PET, and CT	Image processing Computer vision Signal processing Medical physics 3D reconstruction Artificial intelligence
Neural engineering	Brain–computer interface related to recording and processing signals from brain activity for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, often with the goal of replacing/restoring lost sensorimotor abilities	Neuromodulation Neuroprosthetics Cognitive engineering Signal processing Biosignal processing Neurochips Neurorobotics
Pharmaceutical engineering	Process architecture within the scope of pharmaceuticals and drug delivery	Process engineering Project engineering Manufacturing Drug design Quality control Scalability
Regenerative medicine	Tissue systems	Tissue engineering Cellular engineering Tissue culture 3D bioprinting Stem cell therapy

Chemical engineering

Chemical engineering is the application of chemical, physical, and biological sciences to developing technological solutions from raw materials or chemicals.

Subdiscipline	Engineering scope	Major specialties
Electrochemical engineering	Large-scale electrosynthesis of chemicals, electrowinning and chemical energy storage
Explosives engineering
Molecular engineering	Chemical behavior and interactions at a molecular level	Biomolecular engineering – for biological systems Genetic engineering – modification and manipulation of genes
Process engineering	Chemical processes at an industrial level

Civil engineering

Civil engineering comprises the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and natural built environments.

Subdiscipline	Engineering scope	Major specialties
Environmental engineering	Applications of environmental science	Ecological engineering – design, monitoring, and construction of ecosystems Fire protection engineering – as applied to the outdoor environment and wildfires Natural resources engineering Sanitary engineering – separation and removal of community sewage; increasingly interdisciplinary as a branch of environmental engineering
Geotechnical engineering	The behavior of earth materials and soil and rock mechanics, often in preparation of a project site	Mining engineering – extracting and processing mineral ore from a natural environment
Municipal or urban engineering	The coordination and management of municipal infrastructure networks
Structural engineering	Structures that support or resist structural loads.	Architectural engineering – building design and construction Construction engineering – construction procedures and management Earthquake engineering – structures subject to seismic loading Ocean engineering – offshore structures Pavement engineering – road structures subject to dynamic loading Wind engineering – structures subject to wind effects * Tropical cyclone engineering – hurricane-force winds and emergency preparedness
Transport engineering	Facilities and infrastructure for any form of transportation of people and cargo	Railway engineering – rail transport Traffic engineering – roadways Bicycle transportation engineering – cycling infrastructure Highway engineering – major roadways
Water resources engineering	Technical application of hydrology	Coastal engineering – construction within the coastal zone, often directed at combating erosion and storm surges *Hard and soft engineering of shorelines Groundwater engineering – modifying groundwater by withdrawing or adding fluids Hydraulic engineering – supply and drainage of fluids River engineering – modification of a river's course, flow, or other characteristics

Electrical engineering

Electrical engineering comprises the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism.

Subdiscipline	Engineering scope	Major specialties
Broadcast engineering	Radio and television broadcasting	Radio-frequency engineering – radio-band signal devices
Computer engineering	Electronic computing devices	Computational engineering – computational engineering models Cybersecurity engineering Data engineering – systems which collect and use vast amounts of data Hardware engineering – physical computer equipment Information engineering – generation, distribution, analysis, and use of information in systems Network engineering Software engineering – application of computer science to software Teletraffic engineering – transportation traffic theory applied to telecommunications
Electronic engineering	Low-power electrical circuits using of active components such as semiconductor devices	Control engineering – regulation of automated systems through sensors and corrective feedback Electronics denotes a broad engineering field that covers subfields such as analog electronics, digital electronics, consumer electronics, embedded systems and power electronics. Electronics engineering deals with the implementation of applications, principles, and algorithms developed within many related fields, for example solid-state physics, radio engineering, telecommunications, control systems, signal processing, systems engineering, computer engineering, instrumentation engineering, electric power control, robotics, and many others Instrumentation engineering – automated measurements Signal processing – analysis, modifying and synthesizing electronic signals Telecommunications engineering – processing and transmitting information through wired or wireless communications
Microwave engineering	Devices operating at microwave frequencies	Microwave imaging Radar engineering RF microwave engineering
Optical engineering	Technologies that utilize light	Optoelectronics Optomechanics Photonics
Power engineering	Generation and distribution of electric power	High voltage engineering, involves the understanding of electromagnetic phenomena of large voltages and currents, as applied to the holistic power system design and its components, such as transformers, electric motors, electric generators, switchgear, to create coordination and harmony Power plant engineering Power system design, the development of a specific solution to address a power need, such as a new substation, a new power line, power system protection and so on Power system operations and control, involves plant and system operation, where protocols for the safe and continuous operation of individual equipment, subsystems, power plants, or the whole power system are developed and applied Power system planning, involves the modelling of power systems to analyse the management of current and future electricity demand Protection and control, involves the design of power system protection, measurements, metering, telecommunications, and so on

Material engineering

Materials engineering is the application of material science and engineering principles to understand the properties of materials. Material science emerged in the mid-20th century, grouping together fields which had previously been considered unrelated. Materials engineering is thus much more interdisciplinary than the other major engineering branches.

Subdiscipline	Engineering scope	Major specialties
Biomaterial	Materials implanted in the body	-
Ceramic engineering	Inorganic, non-metallic materials	-
Composite material engineering	Composite materials, materials with two or more macroscopic phases
Computational materials science	The use of modeling, simulation, theory, and informatics to understand materials	Electronic structure – analysis of electron energies and spatial distribution Density functional theory – method of calculating material properties Molecular dynamics – simulation of atomic movements and resulting material changes Phase field models – continuum treatments of interfaces, properties and their evolution
Corrosion engineering	Management and measurement of corrosion	-
Electronic materials	Semiconductors and other electronic materials	-
Forensic materials engineering	Analysis of material evidence to identify materials, determine the cause of failure, or reconstruct a crime or accident
Material characterisation	Methods of investigating material structure and properties	Electron diffraction Electron Microscopy Spectroscopy X-ray diffraction
Metallurgical engineering	Metals including alloys, typically excluding polymer or ceramics	Metal alloys – combinations of elements that results in a metal Metal working – industrial fabrication of metallic materials
Nanotechnology	Nanoscale materials, dimensions less than 100 nm	Biomedical nanoengineering – nanomedicine Electronic nanoengineering – nanoelectronics Instrumentation engineering – as applied to nanosensors Materials nanoengineering – nanomaterials Nanoengineering – application of nanotechnology to traditional engineering fields
Polymer engineering	Polymer materials	-
Surface engineering	Surfaces of solid materials	Tribology – friction and wear of surfaces in relative motion
Welding engineering	Permanent joining of metallic and non-metallic materials using heat, pressure, or both, with or without filler materials	Fusion welding – arc welding, laser welding, electron beam welding Solid-state welding – friction welding, friction stir welding, diffusion bonding Resistance welding – spot, seam, projection welding Brazing and soldering – joining using filler metals below base material melting point Welding metallurgy – microstructural evolution, phase transformations, heat-affected zone (HAZ) Welding processes and automation – robotic welding, additive manufacturing Weld design and structural integrity – joint design, residual stresses, distortion Weld inspection and quality assurance – non-destructive testing (NDT), weld defects, standards and codes

Mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineering comprises the design and analysis of heat and mechanical power for the operation of machines and mechanical systems.

Subdiscipline	Engineering scope	Major specialties
Acoustical engineering	Analysis and control of vibration and sound	Architectural acoustics Bioacoustics – sound production and reception in animals Noise control Psychoacoustics Underwater acoustics Vibration control
Energy engineering	Energy systems, with an emphasis on efficiency and sustainability
Industrial plant engineering	Industrial machines and equipment	Air compressors Conveyors Escalators Fans and blowers Hydraulics Piping systems Pneumatics Pumps
Manufacturing engineering	Technologies, practices and systems for manufacturing	Cutting Electrical discharge machining Metalworking Woodworking
Optomechanical engineering	Mechanical aspects of optical systems	Cameras Fiber optics Laser systems Optical instrumentation Telescopes
Power plant engineering	Field of engineering that designs, constructs, and maintains different types of power plants. Serves as the prime mover to produce electricity.	Coal-fired power plants Geothermal power plants Hydroelectric power plants Diesel engine power plants Solar power plants Tidal power plants Wind turbine power plants
Sports engineering	Sports equipment
Thermal engineering	Heating or cooling of processes, equipment, and enclosed environments	Air conditioning Heating, ventilating Refrigeration
Vehicle engineering	Systems and equipment that propel and control vehicles	Aerospace engineering Automotive engineering Naval and marine engineering Railway engineering