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This is an archived copy of the 2013-15 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

The mission of the Department of Biomedical Engineering is to develop clinically translatable solutions for human health by training the next generation of biomedical engineers, cultivating leaders, and nurturing the integration of science, engineering, and medicine in a discovery-centered environment. The main educational objective is to provide a thorough training in the fundamentals of engineering science, design, and biology. The curriculum is designed to provide concepts central to understanding living systems from the molecular and cellular levels to the tissue and organismal levels. The curriculum incorporates principles of vertical integration, leading to the choice of a technical area (biomedical imaging and instrumentation, cell and biomolecular engineering, or computational biomedical engineering), and culminates in a team capstone design experience. Research, industrial, and clinical internships provide students with novel educational experiences and unique perspectives on biomedical engineering applications. Students are expected to develop an understanding of industrial, research, and clinical biomedical engineering environments; an understanding of regulatory issues and biomedical ethics; the ability to create, identify, formulate, and solve biomedical engineering problems; the ability to design systems to meet needs in medical/life science applications; an understanding of life processes at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal levels; the ability to use instrumentation and to make measurements and interpret data in living systems; and an appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of biomedical engineering research.

Program Outcomes

Graduates of the biomedical engineering program are expected to have

  • An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
  • An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
  • An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
  • An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
  • An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
  • An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
  • An ability to communicate effectively
  • The broad education necessary to understand what impact engineering solutions have in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
  • A recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in lifelong learning
  • A knowledge of contemporary issues
  • An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice

Program Educational Objectives

Achievement of the preceding program outcomes gives students the foundation for accomplishing the biomedical engineering program educational objectives. A few years after graduation, students are expected to be able to

  • Conduct themselves with exemplary professional ethics and highest integrity
  • Demonstrate a quantitative, analytical, and systems approach to problem solving in their professional practice
  • Demonstrate a continuous quest for professional excellence and success
  • Participate in continuing education to expand their knowledge of contemporary professional issues
  • Exhibit effective scientific, technical, communication, and resource management skills in their professional practice

Curriculum

Course requirements are divided into three categories: basic sequence courses, major sequence courses, and other required courses. In addition, each student must complete the University’s core curriculum . In some cases, a course that fulfills one of the following requirements may also be counted toward core curriculum or flag requirements; these courses are identified below.

To ensure that courses used to fulfill the social and behavioral sciences and visual and performing arts requirements of the core curriculum also meet ABET criteria, students should follow the guidance given in Degrees .

In the process of fulfilling engineering degree requirements, students must also complete coursework to satisfy the following flag requirements: one independent inquiry flag, one quantitative reasoning flag, one ethics and leadership flag, one global cultures flag, one cultural diversity in the US flag, and two writing flags. The independent inquiry flag, the quantitative reasoning flag, the ethics and leadership flag, and the two writing flags are carried by courses specifically required for the degree; these courses are identified below. Courses that may be used to fulfill flag requirements are identified in the Course Schedule.

The first two years of the curriculum consist of basic sequence courses for all biomedical engineering students. Subsequent enrollment in major sequence courses and one of three technical areas is restricted to students who have received credit for all of the basic sequence courses and have been admitted to the major sequence. Requirements for admission to a major sequence are given in Admission and Registration . Enrollment in other required courses is not restricted by completion of the basic sequence.

Prior to registration, students must receive approval from the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Advising Office for courses to be used to fulfill technical and nontechnical course requirements. The student must take all courses required for the degree on the letter-grade basis and must earn a grade of at least C- in each, except for those listed as Remaining Core Curriculum Courses.

 

 Courses Sem Hrs
Basic Sequence Courses  
5
14
8
3
12
  • Physics 303K, 303L, 103M, 103N (Physics 303K and 303L may be used to fulfill the science and technology, part I, requirement of the core curriculum; both courses carry a quantitative reasoning flag)
 8
3
  Total 53
Major Sequence Courses  
28
  • Approved technical area electives
 15-17
  • Engineering electives
    Note: The technical area option chosen by the student determines the minimum number of semester hours required for the approved technical area electives and the engineering electives. However, the total minimum number of semester hours required for the major sequence courses remains forty-nine.
 4-6
  Total 49
Other Required Courses  
7
Remaining Core Curriculum Courses  
3
  • American and Texas government
 6
  • American history
 6
  • Social and behavioral sciences
 3
  • Visual and performing arts
 3
   • Undergraduate Studies 302 or 303 (some sections carry a writing flag) 3
  Total 31
Minimum Required 133

Technical Area Options

The technical area option allows the student to build on the biomedical engineering core curriculum by choosing fifteen to seventeen semester hours of technical area coursework in biomedical imaging and instrumentation, cell and biomolecular engineering, or computational biomedical engineering. Each student should choose a technical area by the end of the sophomore year and plan an academic program to meet the area requirements during the next two years.

Preparation for health professions. Students who plan to attend medical, veterinary, or dental school in Texas must complete coursework in addition to that required for the BS in Biomedical Engineering in order to meet professional school admission requirements; those who plan to attend schools outside Texas may need additional coursework. The student is responsible for knowing and meeting these additional requirements, but assistance and information are available from full-time Career Coaches and part-time peer mentors in the Career Design Center in the College of Natural Sciences, PAI 5.03. Additional information about preparation for health professions is available online at http://cns.utexas.edu/careers/health-professions/ .

Preparation for law. There is no sequential arrangement of courses prescribed for a pre-law program. The Association of American Law Schools puts special emphasis on comprehension and expression in words, critical understanding of the human institutions and values with which the law deals, and analytical power in thinking. Courses relevant to these objectives deal with communication of ideas, logic, mathematics, social sciences, history, philosophy, and the physical sciences. Services for pre-law students are provided to students in all colleges by the Sanger Learning Center, JES A115. Additional information about preparation for law is available online.

Plan II Honors Program. Students enrolled in the Plan II Honors Program are encouraged to contact the  Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Advising Office, in addition to the Plan II Office to ensure that requirements for both programs are met. Plan II courses may count toward biomedical engineering program requirements.

Certificate programs. Biomedical engineering students may enrich their education through the following certificate programs.

Business Foundations Program. Students who wish to learn about fundamental business concepts and practices may take supplemental coursework that leads to the Business Foundations Certificate, awarded by the Red McCombs School of Business. The program is described in Degrees and Programs of the McCombs School. More information about the Business Foundations Program is available at http://new.mccombs.utexas.edu/bba/business-foundations from the McCombs School, and from the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Advising Office.

Elements of Computing. Students who wish to learn about computer science may take the coursework that leads to the certificate in the Elements of Computing, awarded by the Department of Computer Science. The program is described in Degrees of the College of Natural Science. More information about the Elements of Computing Program is available at http://www.cs.utexas.edu/academics/non_majors/elements/ , from the Department of Computer Science, and from the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Advising Office.

Technical Area 1, Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation

This technical area is designed for students interested in the general area of medical instrumentation and imaging science. The main objective is to prepare students to design and use biomedical instrumentation for imaging, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications, with focus on the new fields of molecular engineering, cell and tissue engineering, and biotechnology. A solid foundation, practical knowledge, and skills are established in analog and digital network analysis, software and hardware programming, electronic circuits, sensors, data acquisition systems, image and signal processing, and computational analysis of data as it applies to living systems.

Students must complete the following:

  1. The following three courses:
    Electrical Engineering 312, Software Design and Implementation I
    Electrical Engineering 438, Fundamentals of Electronic Circuits
    Electrical Engineering 445S, Real-Time Digital Signal Processing Laboratory

  2. Six hours of coursework chosen from the following list:
    Biomedical Engineering 347, Fundamentals of Biomedical Optics
    Biomedical Engineering 357, Biomedical Imaging Modalities
    Biomedical Engineering 374K, Biomedical Instrument Design; and Biomedical Engineering 374L, Applications of Biomedical Engineering Laboratory
    Electrical Engineering 445L, Embedded Systems Design Laboratory; and Electrical Engineering 445M, Embedded and Real-Time Systems Laboratory
    Electrical Engineering 347, Modern Optics
    Electrical Engineering 351M, Digital Signal Processing
    Electrical Engineering 371R, Digital Image and Video Processing
    Electrical Engineering 422C, Software Design and Implementation II

Technical Area 2, Cell and Biomolecular Engineering

The major objective of this area is to teach students how to integrate knowledge in cell and molecular biology with engineering analysis, so that they can address problems in molecular-based medicine. Three disciplines within this technical area are tissue engineering as it relates to the underlying molecular biology issues; materials science, with an emphasis on bioactive materials and construction of nanoscale devices and probes; and bioengineering analysis of infectious diseases and immunological responses.

Students must complete the following:

  1. The following two courses:
    Biomedical Engineering 339, Biochemical Engineering
    Biomedical Engineering 352, Engineering Biomaterials

  2. Nine hours of coursework chosen from the following list; at least three hours must be in biomedical engineering.
    Biomedical Engineering 344, Biomechanics
    Biomedical Engineering 354, Molecular Sensors and Nanodevices for Biomedical Engineering Applications
    Biomedical Engineering 376, Cell Engineering
    Biomedical Engineering 379, Tissue Engineering
    Chemical Engineering 350, Chemical Engineering Materials
    Approved upper-division biology courses
    Chemistry 328N, Organic Chemistry II, and Chemistry 128L, Organic Chemistry Laboratory; or Chemistry 320N, Organic Chemistry II, and Chemistry 220C, Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Technical Area 3, Computational Biomedical Engineering

The objective of this area is to provide students with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to design and use computational algorithms to address problems in biomedical research and health care. Examples include (a) designing medical decision aids using statistical and machine learning models, (b) dynamic modeling and computer simulation to study the biomechanics and control of movement, (c) development of thermodynamic models of dynamic processes at the microscopic and macroscopic scales in biological systems, and (d) image processing techniques for quantitative measurement and interpretation of biomedical images.

All students must complete the following:

  1. The following four courses:
    Electrical Engineering 312, Software Design and Implementation I
    Electrical Engineering 422C, Software Design and Implementation II
    Electrical Engineering 360C, Algorithms
    Mathematics 325K, Discrete Mathematics; or Philosophy 313K, Logic, Sets, and Functions

  2. Three hours of coursework chosen from the following list:
    Biomedical Engineering 341, Tools for Computational Biomolecular Engineering
    Biomedical Engineering 342, Biomechanics of Human Movement
    Biomedical Engineering 344, Biomechanics
    Biomedical Engineering 345, Graphics and Visualization Laboratory
    Biomedical Engineering 346, Computational Biomolecular Engineering
    Mathematics 340L, Matrices and Matrix Calculations
    Approved computer science courses

Engineering Electives 

Depending on which technical area is chosen, all students must complete four to six semester hours of engineering electives. At least three hours must be in a lecture or laboratory course. The remaining hours may be in a research project or an internship. The following may be counted toward this requirement: 

 


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