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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING -
GRADUATE
www.miami.edu/engineering
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING - Dept. Code: BME
DEGREE PROGRAMS
The Department of Biomedical Engineering offers graduate
programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science (thesis
or non-thesis option) and Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical
Engineering. A 5-year BS/MS option is available for qualified
undergraduate students enrolled within the Department.
AREAS OF RESEARCH
The areas of research in Biomedical Engineering include
1. Biomedical instrumentation and devices
2. Medical imaging
3. Applications of computers to diagnostic and therapeutic
systems
4. Biomechanics, biofluid dynamics, hemodynamics
5. Biomaterials, Tissue and cellular engineering
6. Biomedical signal and image processing
7. Rehabilitation and neural engineering
8. Brain-computer interface
9. Biomedical optics and lasers
10. Medical physics and engineering
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
A. The Department of Biomedical Engineering uses the same
general graduate admission requirements as the College of
Engineering.
B. Students who hold a Bachelors degree in a field other
than engineering may be admitted to the graduate program and
to candidacy upon completion of appropriate undergraduate
courses, in addition to the regular requirements for the graduate
degree.
MASTER OF SCIENCE
A. The Master of Science degree offers the graduate student
an opportunity to obtain advanced training in selected areas
of biomedical engineering and to begin independent research.
B. General requirements for the M.S. degree are listed in
this Bulletin under Engineering and under Masters Degree-General.
C. Both a 30-credit thesis option and a 30 credit non-thesis
option are available.
D. There is also a 5-year BS/MS option available for qualified
undergraduate students enrolled within the Department.
E. The department admits four types of students to its MS
program:
1. Students with BS degrees in Biomedical Engineering or
similar engineering fields
2. Students with BS degrees in Electrical, Computer, Mechanical,
Chemical, or similar engineering fields
3. Students with BS degrees in Physics, Mathematics, Computer
Science, Chemistry, Biology or similar fields
4. Students with MD or similar degrees
F. Students in the last two groups are generally given conditional
admission and required to take additional undergraduate courses
in engineering, mathematics and science depending on their
previous course work as decided by the graduate program director
and the designated advisor.
G. There are three paths to earn a Master of Science degree
in Biomedical Engineering:
1. The Thesis Option requires a minimum of 30 credits beyond
the BS degree. These must include a minimum of 6 thesis
credits (BME 710) and the completion of at least two appropriate
courses at the 600 level.
2. The Non-Thesis Option requires a minimum of 30 credits
beyond the BS degree. These must include at least 3 credits
for an independent design or research project for which
the student enrolls in BME 605. In addition, at least three
appropriate courses at the 600 level must be completed.
3. The BS/MS Dual degree Program (see separate section
below).
H. The student’s overall graduate program is planned
by the student, advisor, graduate program director and the
thesis committee (for the thesis option).
1. The thesis committee consists of a minimum of 3 members.
2. Two members, including the chair of the committee, shall
be faculty members from the BME Department (primary or secondary),
and one member must be from outside the Department.
3. Outside members of the thesis committee can include
part-time faculty that teach within the Department.
4. One of the committee members must be a member of the
Graduate Faculty.
I. The three courses of the Unified Medical Sciences sequence
(BME 501, 502 and 503) were designed to apprise the engineer
of the basic knowledge in the life sciences necessary to work
in the broad field of biomedical engineering.
1. MS Students coming from traditional engineering field
with no biology/medicine backgrounds are required to complete
all of the three Unified Medical Sciences courses.
2. Other MS students are required to take at least two
of the three courses unless the student holds a degree in
medicine (MD, DO or equivalent) or an advanced degree (or
its equivalent) in the life sciences.
3. Each such exception requires the approval of the department's
faculty for the course of concern.
J. A specific requirement for all M.S. students is the completion
of a zero-credit course in Biomedical Engineering Seminar
(BME 680).
BS/MS 5-YEAR PROGRAM
This program is available only to qualified undergraduate
students enrolled within the Department as described in the
Undergraduate Bulletin.
A. This program permits students to receive a baccalaureate
degree (BSBE) and a Master of Science (MS) degree in five
years.
B. The two degrees are awarded simultaneously when the combined
requirements have been met for both degrees.
C. Qualified students who want to be enrolled in this program
must apply before the end of their junior year and meet all
pertinent graduate school and College of Engineering requirements.
D. In lieu of the 6-credit thesis requirement, the participants
complete either one significant design project or two shorter
duration projects by registering for BME 605 and 606.
E. The design project(s) is (are) monitored by at least
two mentors, one of the mentors must be a member of the primary
faculty in the department.
F. The project(s) is (are) completed by the acceptance of
a verbal presentation and a written report by the student’s
mentors.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
A. The goal of the PhD program in Biomedical Engineering
at the University of Miami is to prepare graduates for careers
in academia, industrial research and development, or government.
The program is designed to train students for advanced independent
research and technical innovation in biomedical engineering.
B. The general requirements for award of the Doctor of Philosophy
degree include:
1. Completion of a minimum of 60 credits beyond the Bachelor
of Science degree.
2. Satisfactory completion of a qualifying examination.
3. The submission, oral defense, and approval of a dissertation
proposal.
4. The submission and oral defense and approval of a dissertation.
There are no foreign language competency requirements for
the PhD in biomedical engineering.
C. The requirements for admission to the PhD program in biomedical
engineering usually include:
1. In general, the department admits three types of students
to its PhD program:
a) Students with MS degrees in Biomedical Engineering
or related science and engineering fields.
b) Students with MD degrees with undergraduate degrees
in sciences or engineering.
c) Highly qualified students with BS degrees in engineering
or sciences (direct BS to PhD track).
2. The general requirements for admission of BS students
to the doctoral degree program are consistent with the admission
requirements of the College of Engineering.
3. M.S. thesis candidates who wish to pursue a doctoral
degree can transfer to the doctoral degree program without
completing a thesis under the following general requirements:
a) Submission of a manuscript in a peer-reviewed scientific
journal in lieu of the thesis.
b) A letter of support by a faculty member who agrees
to serve as the student's Ph.D. dissertation advisor.
c) Approval of a change in status application by the
Department's Graduate Admissions Committee.
4. Regulations concerning admission, course requirements,
residence requirements, qualifying and final examinations,
and dissertation are listed in this Bulletin under Engineering
and Doctor of Philosophy.
D. The doctoral program in biomedical engineering requires
each student to pass a departmental qualifying screening examination.
1. The screening examination consists of three written
examinations on each of the following broad subjects:
a) basic engineering;
b) applied mathematics and computer science; and
c) applied physiology and medical science.
2. These examinations are usually offered once or
twice each year.
3. The examination must be taken the first time it
is scheduled after completion of the first two semesters.
4. A student may repeat once any or all parts of
the examination where the results were found unsatisfactory.
5. Students admitted to the doctoral program with
a BS degree that do not pass the qualifying examination
may complete the MS degree.
E. Following the successful completion of the departmental
qualifying screening examination, the student, with concurrence
from the faculty and the Graduate School, establishes a Dissertation
Committee (see Doctor of Philosophy section in this Bulletin)
and selects a dissertation topic.
1. The dissertation committee is composed of a minimum
of 5 members.
2. Three members, including the chair, shall be members
of the Graduate Faculty, and one member shall be from outside
the Department.
3. A minimum of three members, including the chair of the
committee, must be primary faculty members from the BME
Department.
4. A written dissertation proposal is submitted along with
an oral presentation to that committee.
5. Acceptance of a dissertation proposal in combination
with other examinations as determined by the committee to
assure the qualifications of the student for the doctorate
leads to candidacy for the Ph.D.
6. Successful defense of the dissertation leads to the
award of the PhD degree.
F. All students in the BME Doctor or Philosophy program are
required to complete the following course or credit requirements:
1. At least two of the following three courses: BME
501, BME502, BME503.
a. Students, who have completed these courses or similar
coursework in their previous MS programs, may substitute
technical electives for this requirement.
b. Students in the direct BS to PhD track and students
with no prior exposure to biology/medicine are required
to complete all three courses.
c. This requirement can only be waived for students
holding MD degrees.
2. A zero-credit Biomedical Engineering Seminar
course (BME 680). This requirement is not waived, even if
the student has taken this course in his/her MS program.
3. Students admitted with an MS degree must complete
at least 18 credits of graduate level course work followed
by at least 12 credits of dissertation work (BME 730 before
admission to candidacy or BME 740 after admission to candidacy).
A minimum of 6 course credits must be at the 600 level.
4. Students admitted with a BS degree must complete
at least 42 credits of graduate level course work followed
by at least 18 credits of dissertation work (BME 730 before
admission to candidacy or BME 740 after admission to candidacy).
A minimum of 12 course credits must be at the 600 level.
• 500 level courses are open to advanced undergraduates
and to graduate students; 600 level courses are open only
to graduate students and seniors with graduate standing.
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