Biomedical Engineering (PhD)

Doctoral Degree

Doctoral students must complete a program of 30 points of credit beyond the M.S. degree. The core course requirements (9 credits) for the doctoral program include the course in computational modeling of physiological systems (BMEN E6003 COMP MODELING-PHYSIOL SYSTEMS), plus at least one graduate-level course in the Applied Mathematics or Statistics department and one graduate-level course in the following departments: Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a graduate-level Biostatistics course such as BMEN E4110 BIOSTATISTICS FOR ENGINEERS. If BMEN E6003 COMP MODELING-PHYSIOL SYSTEMS has already been taken for the master’s degree, a technical elective can be used to complete the core course requirement. If one or both graduate-level applied mathematics courses have been taken for the master's degree, technical elective(s) can be used as a substitution. Students must register for BMEN E9700 BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING SEMINAR and for research credits during the first two semesters of doctoral study. Remaining courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser to prepare for the doctoral qualifying examination and to develop expertise in a clearly identified area of biomedical engineering. Students should not receive more than two "C" or below letter grades.

All graduate students admitted to the doctoral degree program must satisfy the equivalent of two semesters’ experience in teaching (one semester for M.D./Ph.D. students). This may include supervising and assisting undergraduate students in laboratory experiments, grading, and preparing lecture materials to support the teaching mission of the department. The requirement must be completed by the 3rd year of graduate studies. The Department of Biomedical Engineering is the only engineering department that offers Ph.D. training to M.D./Ph.D. students. These candidates are expected to complete their Ph.D. program within 3.5 years, with otherwise the same requirements as those outlined for the Doctoral Degree program.

Doctoral Qualifying Examination

Doctoral candidates are required to pass a qualifying examination. This examination is given once a year, and it should be taken after the student has completed 30 points of graduate study. The qualifying examination consists of an oral exam during which the student presents an analysis of assigned scientific papers, as well as answers to questions in topics covering applied mathematics, quantitative biology and physiology, and material. The committee consists of the thesis adviser and two BME core faculty members approved by the graduate studies committee. A written analysis of the assigned scientific papers must be submitted prior to the oral exam. A minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 without research credit grades is required to register for this examination.

Doctoral Committee and Thesis

Students who pass the qualifying examination must have a core BME faculty member who will serve as their primary research adviser or co-adviser. Each student is expected to submit a research proposal and present it to a committee that consists of three BME faculty members (two must be core BME faculty members, including research adviser) before the end of year 4. The committee considers the scope of the proposed research, its suitability for doctoral research and the appropriateness of the research plan. The committee may approve the proposal without reservation or may recommend modifications. In general, the student is expected to submit their research proposal after five semesters of doctoral studies. In accordance with regulations of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, each student is expected to submit a thesis and defend it before a committee of five faculty, one of whom holds primary appointment in another department or school or university. Every doctoral candidate is required to have had at least one first-author full-length paper accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal prior to recommendation for award of the degree.