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, computational biomedical engineering, or biomechanics), and culminates in a team capstone design experience. 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.
Portable Computing Devices
Students entering biomedical engineering are required to have a laptop computer at their disposal. Laptops do not need to be brought to campus on a daily basis, but individual courses may require that a laptop be brought to certain lectures, labs, and/or exams. Minimum requirements for the laptop are listed on the department's website.
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 United States 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 three long semesters of the curriculum consist of basic sequence and supporting courses for all biomedical engineering students. Subsequent enrollment in major sequence courses starting the fourth semester, and one of four 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 Academic 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.
| Requirements | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Sequence Courses | ||
| Biology | ||
| BIO 206L | Introductory Laboratory Experiments in Biology | 2 |
| BIO 311C | Introductory Biology I | 3 |
| Biomedical Engineering | ||
| BME 203L | Introduction to Biomedical Engineering Design | 2 |
| BME 303 | Introduction to Computing | 3 |
| BME 311 | Network Analysis in Biomedical Engineering | 3 |
| BME 113L | Introduction to Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering | 1 |
| BME 214L | Computational Fundamentals of Biomedical Engineering Design | 2 |
| BME 333T | Engineering Communication (writing and an ethics and leadership flag) | 3 |
| Chemistry | ||
| CH 301 | Principles of Chemistry I | 3 |
| CH 302 | Principles of Chemistry II | 3 |
| CH 204 | Introduction to Chemical Practice | 2 |
| CH 320M | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| or CH 328M | Organic Chemistry I | |
| Mathematics | ||
| M 408C | Differential and Integral Calculus (mathematics; quantitative reasoning flag) | 4 |
| M 408D | Sequences, Series, and Multivariable Calculus | 4 |
| M 427K | Advanced Calculus for Applications I (quantitative reasoning flag) | 4 |
| Physics | ||
| PHY 303K | Engineering Physics I (part I science and technology; quantitative reasoning flag) | 3 |
| PHY 303L | Engineering Physics II (part I science and technology; quantitative reasoning flag) | 3 |
| PHY 103M | Laboratory for Physics 303K | 1 |
| PHY 103N | Laboratory for Physics 303L | 1 |
| Rhetoric and Writing | ||
| RHE 306 | Rhetoric and Writing (English composition) | 3 |
| Major Sequence Courses | ||
| Biomedical Engineering | ||
| BME 335 | Engineering Probability and Statistics | 3 |
| BME 343 | Biomedical Engineering Signal and Systems Analysis | 3 |
| BME 344 | Biomechanics | 3 |
| BME 245L | Experimental Principles of Biomedical Engineering Design (writing flag) | 2 |
| BME 349 | Biomedical Instrumentation | 3 |
| BME 352 | Engineering Biomaterials | 3 |
| BME 353 | Transport Phenomena in Living Systems | 3 |
| BME 355 | Molecular Engineering | 3 |
| BME 261L | Development and Analysis in Biomedical Engineering Design | 2 |
| BME 365R | Quantitative Engineering Physiology I | 3 |
| BME 365S | Quantitative Engineering Physiology II | 3 |
| BME 370 | Biomedical Engineering Capstone Design I (writing flag) | 3 |
| BME 371 | Biomedical Engineering Capstone Design II (independent inquiry flag) | 3 |
| Approved technical area electives | 12 | |
| Other Required Courses | ||
| CH 128K | Organic Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| CH 353 | Physical Chemistry I | 3 |
| or CH 353M | Physical Chemistry I for Life Sciences | |
| BCH 369 | Fundamentals of Biochemistry | 3 |
| Remaining Core Curriculum Courses | ||
| E 316L | British Literature (humanities) | 3 |
| or E 316M | American Literature | |
| or E 316N | World Literature | |
| or E 316P | Masterworks of Literature | |
| American and Texas government | 6 | |
| American history | 6 | |
| Social and behavioral sciences | 3 | |
| Visual and performing arts | 3 | |
| UGS 302 | First-Year Signature Course (some sections carry a writing flag) | 3 |
| or UGS 303 | First-Year Signature Course | |
| Minimum Required | 133 | |
Technical Area Options
The technical area option allows the student to build on the biomedical engineering core curriculum by choosing twelve semester hours of technical area coursework in biomedical imaging and instrumentation, cell and biomolecular engineering, computational biomedical engineering, or biomechanics. Within some technical areas, career emphases are available for students to focus coursework toward a particular career track. Students have flexibility to take technical elective coursework from more than one career emphasis under the same technical area. 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 pre-health professions coaches and part-time peer mentors in the Health Professions Office 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 Center for Strategic Advising & Career Counseling, JES A115 and to engineering students by the Engineering Career Assistance Center (ECAC) in ECJ 2.400. 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 Academic 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 and from the McCombs School.
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 https://www.cs.utexas.edu/undergraduate-program/academics/elements-computing , and from the Department of Computer Science.
Technical Area 1, Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation
This technical area is designed for students interested in the general area of medical imaging science and instrumentation design. Two career emphases are available in this area: biomedical imaging and biomedical instrumentation.
Career Emphasis A: Biomedical Imaging
The main objective of this emphasis is to prepare students for a career in biomedical imaging. A solid foundation, practical knowledge, and skills are established in optics, imaging modalities, and image and signal processing.
While students are required to select twelve hours from any of the Technical Area 1 electives, the following are recommended for the biomedical imaging career emphasis:
Biomedical Engineering 347, Fundamentals of Biomedical Optics
Biomedical Engineering 357, Biomedical Imaging Modalities
Electrical Engineering 347, Modern Optics
Electrical Engineering 351M, Digital Signal Processing
Electrical Engineering 371R, Digital Image and Video Processing
An approved upper-division biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, or physics course
Career Emphasis B: Biomedical Instrumentation
The main objective of this emphasis is to prepare students to design and use biomedical instrumentation for imaging, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications. 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.
While students are required to select twelve hours from any of the Technical Area 1 course options, the following are recommended for the biomedical instrumentation career emphasis:
Biomedical Engineering 374K, Biomedical Instrument Design
Biomedical Engineering 374L, Applications of Biomedical Engineering Laboratory
Electrical Engineering 312, Software Design and Implementation I
Electrical Engineering 319K, Introduction to Embedded Systems
Electrical Engineering 438, Fundamentals of Electronic Circuits I Laboratory
Electrical Engineering 445L, Embedded Systems Design Laboratory
Electrical Engineering 445M, Embedded and Real-Time Systems Laboratory
Electrical Engineering 445S, Real-Time Digital Signal Processing Laboratory
Electrical Engineering 351M, Digital Signal Processing
Technical Area 2, Cellular 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. Two career emphases are available in this area: biomaterials/regenerative medicine and nanotechnology.
Career Emphasis A: Biomaterials/Regenerative Medicine
The objective of this emphasis is to prepare students for a career in biomaterials and regenerative medicine engineering. This emphasis includes solid foundation in cell and tissue engineering, biomaterials, and pharmacology. While students are required to select twelve hours from any of the Technical Area 2 course options, the following are recommended for the biomaterials/regenerative medicine career emphasis:
Biology 320, Cell Biology
Biology 325, Genetics
Biology 326M, Introductory Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Biomedical Engineering 339, Biochemical Engineering
Biomedical Engineering 376, Cell Engineering
Biomedical Engineering 379, Tissue Engineering
An approved topic of Chemical Engineering 379, Topics in Chemical Engineering
Chemistry 320N, Organic Chemistry II and 220C, Organic Chemistry Laboratory; or 328N, Organic Chemistry II and 128L, Organic Chemistry Laboratory
Pharmacy 338, Introduction to Pharmacology
An approved upper-division biomedical engineering, chemical engineering or mechanical engineering course
Career Emphasis B: Nanotechnology
The objective of this emphasis is to prepare students for a career in nanotechnology. This emphasis includes solid foundation in nanodevices and sensors, biological physics, and nanocomposites. While students are required to select twelve hours from any of the Technical Area 2 course options, the following are recommended for the nanotechnology career emphasis:
Biomedical Engineering 346, Computational Biomolecular Engineering
Biomedical Engineering 354, Molecular Sensors and Nanodevices for Biomedical Engineering Applications
Chemical Engineering 322, Thermodynamics
Chemical Engineering 339P, Introduction to Biological Physics
An approved topic of Chemical Engineering 379, Topics in Chemical Engineering
Chemistry 320N, Organic Chemistry II and 220C, Organic Chemistry Laboratory; or 328N, Organic Chemistry II and 128L, Organic Chemistry Laboratory
An approved topic of Mechanical Engineering 379M, Topics in Mechanical Engineering
An approved upper-division biomedical engineering, chemical engineering or mechanical engineering course
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.
Students must select twelve hours from the following:
Biomedical Engineering 345, Graphics and Visualization Laboratory
Biomedical Engineering 346, Computational Biomolecular Engineering
Biomedical Engineering 348, Modeling of Biomedical Engineering Systems
Biomedical Engineering 358, Medical Decision Making
Electrical Engineering 312, Software Design and Implementation I
Electrical Engineering 319K, Introduction to Embedded Systems
Electrical Engineering 422C, Software Design and Implementation II
Electrical Engineering 360C, Algorithms
Electrical Engineering 371R, Digital Image and Video Processing
Mathematics 325K, Discrete Mathematics
Mathematics 340L, Matrices and Matrix Calculations
A computer science course from an approved list
Technical Area 4, Biomechanics
The major objective of this area is to provide students with knowledge of the structure and function of biological systems by means of the methods of mechanics. Students will learn skills to apply engineering principles to understand how living systems function at all scales of organization and to translate this understanding to the design of devices and procedures that will improve diagnostic and therapeutic methods in health care.
Students must select twelve hours from the following:
Biomedical Engineering 342, Biomechanics of Human Movement
Biomedical Engineering 359, Cellular and Molecular Biomechanics
Biomedical Engineering 362, Introduction to Nonlinear Dynamics in Biological Systems
Chemical Engineering 339P, Introduction to Biological Physics
Kinesiology 326K, Kinesiology: Biomechanical Analysis of Movement
Mechanical Engineering 324, Dynamics
Mechanical Engineering 326, Thermodynamics
Mechanical Engineering 344, Dynamic Systems and Controls and 144L, Dynamic Systems and Controls Laboratory
Mechanical Engineering 354, Introduction to Biomechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering 372J, Robotics and Automation
An approved upper-division biomedical engineering or mechanical engineering course