Undergraduate Program

Sample Course Sequences

Questions?

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Contact Dottie Welch, the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

All students majoring in biomedical engineering complete a common freshman year.

Examples of the first two (common) years and schedules for completing the B.S. BME degree in each of the four areas of concentration are given below.

First & Second Year (all students)

In the first semester of the freshman year everyone takes the four-credit Introduction to Biomedical Engineering survey course.

1st Year

Fall
  • MTH 161* – Calculus IA
  • CHM 131 – Chemistry Concepts I (lab)
  • BME 101 – Intro to BME
  • Primary Writing or H/SS
Spring
  • MTH 162* – Calculus IIA
  • CHM 132 – Chemistry Concepts II (lab)
  • PHY 121 – Mechanics (lab)
  • Primary Writing or H/SS
  • * An alternative to the MTH 161 and 162 sequence is the MTH 141, 142, and 143 sequence. Careful attention must be paid to the effects of this longer sequence, including the possible need to take a course in the summer following the first year. The MTH 171 series can be used to fulfill the Math requirements.

2nd Year

Fall
  • MTH 163 or 165† – Differential Equations
  • PHY 122 – Electricity & Magnetism (lab)
  • BIO 110 – Principles of Biology I
  • BME 201 – Fund. of Biomechanics
  • BME 201L – MATLAB for Biomechanics – 1cr.
Spring
  • MTH 164†† – Multidimensional Calculus
  • Basic Science Elective or 1st concentration course†††
  • BME 210 – Biosystems & Circuits (lab)
  • H/SS
  • † Either MTH 163 or 165 will satisfy the math requirements of the BME program.
  • †† MTH 164 may be taken before MTH 163 – both courses are taught Fall & Spring.
  • ††† CTE students should take CHE 243, Biomechanics should take BME 226, and Medical Optics should take OPT 261.

Biomechanics

The Biomechanics concentration provides students with preparation for careers involving injury prevention or design of medical devices and artificial organs. For example, by focusing on subjects such as strength of materials and fluid mechanics, students will be able to apply their knowledge to fields such as cardiovascular disease or orthopedics.

3rd Year

Fall
  • Elective
  • H/SS
  • BME 221 – Biomedical Compuation
  • Basic Science Elective
Spring
  • BME 123 – Thermodynamics
  • BME 226 – Introduction to Solid Mechanics
  • BME 230 – Signals & Measurements in BME
  • Basic Science Elective

4th Year

Fall
  • BME 260 – Quantitative Pysiology
  • BME 295 – Design Seminar
  • BME 225 – Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
  • Upper Level BME or Elective
  • H/SS
Spring
  • BME 296 – Senior Design
  • Upper Level BME or Elective
  • Elective
  • Elective

Biosignals & Biosystems

The Biosignals & Biosystems concentration prepares students to apply theory and practice of signal processing and dynamical systems to biological physiological, and biomedical systems. The field includes biosignals processing (e.g., ECG, EMG, speech), medical imaging, biomedical instrumentation, neuroengineering, and dynamic modeling of biological systems.

3rd Year

Fall
  • ECE 241 – Signals
  • ECE 221 – Electronic Devices & Circuits or ECE 230 – Electromagnetic Waves
  • BME 221 – Biomedical Computation
  • Basic Science Elective
Spring
  • Elective
  • H/SS
  • BME 230 – Signals & Measurements in BME
  • Basic Science Elective

4th Year

Fall
  • BME 260 – Quantitative Physiology
  • BME 295 – Design Seminar (2 cr.)
  • Upper Level BME or Elective
  • ECE 246 – Digital Signal Processing
  • H/SS
Spring
  • BME 296 – Senior Design
  • Upper Level BME or Elective
  • Elective
  • Elective

Cell & Tissue Engineering

The Cell & Tissue Engineering concentration can be defined as the application of engineering tools and concepts to the study and manipulation of living cells and tissues. This concentration is necessarily interdisciplinary, combining tools and ideas from the fields of biology, engineering, applied mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Some recent areas of interest within this concentration are gene therapy, the creation of replacement cartilage, and stem cell expansion.

3rd Year

Fall
  • Elective
  • CHE 225 – Thermodynamics
  • BME 221 – Biomedical Computation
  • Basic Science Elective
Spring
  • CHE 243 – Fluid Dynamics
  • H/SS
  • BME 230 – Signals & Measurements (lab)
  • Basic Science Elective

4th Year

Fall
  • BME 260 – Quantitative Physiology
  • BME 295 – Design Seminar (2 cr.)
  • Upper Level BME or Elective
  • CHE 244 – Heat & Mass Transfer
  • H/SS
Spring
  • BME 296 – Senior Design (lab)
  • Upper Level BME or Elective
  • Elective
  • Elective

Medical Optics

The Medical Optics concentration provides the student with a balanced load of courses in biology as well as in optics. The ultimate aim is to produce an engineer at home in the intersection of these two fields and able to tackle problems and generate solutions requiring expertise in both, such as novel flourescence microscopy methods and the use of lasers in medical diagnosis and surgery.

3rd Year

Fall
  • Elective
  • H/SS
  • BME 221 – Biomedical Computation
  • Basic Science Elective
Spring
  • OPT 241 – Geometrical Optics
  • OPT 261– Interference & Diffraction
  • BME 230 – Signals & Measurements in BME
  • Basic Science Elective

4th Year

Fall
  • BME 260 – Quantitative Physiology
  • BME 295 – Design Seminar (2 cr.)
  • Upper Level BME or Elective
  • OPT 224 – Laser Systems or Elective
  • H/SS
Spring
  • BME 296 – Senior Design
  • OPT 262 – Electromagnetic or Elective
  • Upper Level BME or Elective
  • H/SS

At least one of the four electives must be a Technical Elective. Humanities, Social Sciences, Upper Level BME & Elective courses can be taken in any semester.