Mar 29, 2024  
Graduate Record 2018-2019 
    
Graduate Record 2018-2019 [ARCHIVED RECORD]

Biomedical Engineering


Return to: School of Graduate Engineering and Applied Science  


Department of Biomedical Engineering
Box 800759, Health System
Charlottesville, VA 22908
434-924-5101
bme-dept@virginia.edu
http://bme.virginia.edu/
Programs/Course: Biomedical Engineering  

Biomedical engineering deals with the interface between technology, biology, and medicine. It draws on the life sciences and medicine, as well as all the physical, mathematical, and engineering fields. Students from a variety of undergraduate disciplines, including biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science, enter this graduate program and work toward its goals of better health care and enhanced understanding of biological systems.

The Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program encompasses a core curriculum of engineering with an emphasis on computation and modeling, mathematics, and life sciences with an emphasis on physiology, cell and molecular biology that reinforces and extends the diverse undergraduate bases of entering students.

Students seeking the Master of Engineering degree develop competence in a field of direct application of engineering to health care. Cellular engineering, computer applications, biomechanics, and image processing, are chief areas of such specialization. Each M.E. student develops a practical project in his or her area of specialization. The project is a departmental requirement for the M.E. degree, applying beyond the 30-credit minimum course requirement. The M.E. degree requires from two to four academic semesters plus one summer.

Students planning careers in development, design, or teaching usually pursue the Master of Science degree that requires a thesis based on an independent research project. Substantial emphasis is placed on the research project that will be the basis of their master’s thesis, which is expected to be of publishable caliber. The final M.S. exam (oral) focuses on the master’s thesis as well as on areas covered by the student’s program of study. The M.S. degree is designed to prepare students for careers in teaching, industry, and government organizations, and for entry into the Doctoral Program in Biomedical Engineering. Course work in the life sciences and engineering disciplines, completion of a research project under the guidance of a faculty advisor, and documentation of the research in a written thesis are required. Interaction with both the academic and professional scientific and engineering community is also encouraged through participation in seminars, scientific meetings, and publication of research results in scientific journals. Areas of research specialization include molecular bioengineering; magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy; image processing; systems biology; ultrasound imaging; instrumentation; genetic engineering; theoretical and experimental study of cellular biomechanics; mechanotransduction; cardiovascular and neurological systems; and vascular remodeling. Twenty-four credits of graduate courses and a defense of the submitted thesis describing the student’s research are required.

The Ph.D. program is geared to students planning careers in research in either industry or academic institutions. Advanced courses are followed by dissertation research in vascular engineering, medical imaging, systems biology, genetic engineering, cellular and molecular engineering, orthopedic engineering, biomechanics, biomaterials, or targeted drug delivery. Doctoral students extend the core program with courses in advanced physiology, cell and molecular biology, mathematics, and engineering. The Ph.D. normally requires three years beyond the master’s, or five beyond the baccalaureate, to achieve the necessary interdisciplinary competence. Exceptional students may choose a double-degree program that, after a minimum of six years, leads to a simultaneous Ph.D. and M.D. For this option, students must be formally admitted to both the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of Medicine (M.D./Ph.D. program, MSTP). In addition, a specialized and accelerated program is available for medical doctors who want to acquire a Ph.D. degree (M.D. to Ph.D. program).

M.S. and Ph.D. students may choose from a variety of laboratories to conduct their research. Students benefit from the facilities and collaborators in the Schools of Medicine, Engineering and Applied Science, and Graduate Arts and Sciences. These activities and resources bring the student into contact with the problems and methods typical of such diverse fields to achieve the breadth and judgment that are the goals of the Ph.D. program.

The department is located in a 30,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Biomedical Engineering and Medical Sciences Building. The building is in the heart of the School of Medicine in close proximity to the hospital and basic medical science departments. It includes modern teaching facilities, laboratories for student projects, physiological and biochemical studies, animal surgery, cell culture, molecular biology, computer clusters, imaging systems, instrument development, and shops for instrument maintenance and fabrication.