Biomedical Engineering, M.S.B.E.

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College of Engineering (EN)
Department: Medical Engineering

Major Contacts, Deadlines, and Delivery Information

Concentrations:

Biomedical Imaging and Bioelectronics
Cell and Tissue Engineering
Molecular Medicine and Drug Delivery
Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation Engineering
Pharmacy

Also offered as a Bachelor’s/Master’s Pathways

Also offered as a Concurrent Degrees

Biomedical Engineering is a highly interdisciplinary major that combines engineering and the medical sciences. M.S.B.E. students at the University of South Florida work with a graduate advisor to design an individual training plan that draws on courses from engineering, medicine, public health, pharmacy, business, and the life sciences. Graduates are trained to solve complex problems in areas such as artificial organs, biomaterials, biomechanics, biosensors and instrumentation, computational modeling, drug development and targeting, diagnostic imaging, neuroscience, prosthetic devices, and regenerative medicine.

The M.S.B.E. program capitalizes on USF’s strengths in Engineering and in the Health Sciences and collaborations with affiliate institutions, including the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the James Haley Veterans Administration Hospital, and Tampa General Hospital, to develop and commercialize new technologies that spawn growth of biomedical companies throughout the region and catalyze scientific discoveries that lead to better health care and improved quality of life.

Students in the Major may choose to specialize in one of several nationally recognized areas of biomedical engineering strength at USF, including:

•   Biomedical Imaging
•   Bioelectronics
•   Cell and Tissue Engineering
•   Molecular Medicine
•   Drug and Gene Delivery
•   Neuroengineering
•   Rehabilitation Engineering

Major Research Areas: Biomedical Imaging, Bioelectronics, Cellular-level drug discovery and Tissue Engineering, Molecular Medicine, Drug and Gene Delivery

Admission Information

Must meet University Admission and English Proficiency requirements as well as requirements for admission to the major, listed below.

An undergraduate Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering or equivalent
GRE with preferred minimum scores:
- Quantitative > 75th percentile
- Verbal > 50th percentile
- Analytical Writing 4.0 or better
Statement of purpose and CV
Two (2) letters of reference

Note: Exceptionally qualified students with bachelor’s degrees in other disciplines may be admitted into the BME M.S. Major on a case-by-case evaluation of their credentials.

Curriculum Requirements

Total Minimum Hours: 30 credit hours

Core Requirements - 6 Credit Hours
Life Science and Analytics Requirements - 9 Credit Hours
Elective Course Requirements - 15 Credit Hours
Optional Concentration - 9 Credit Hours (may apply towards elective requirement)
Optional Thesis - 6 Credit Hours (may apply towards elective requirement)

Core Requirements (6 Credit Hours)

BME 5913 Research and Innovation Principles and Practice Credit Hours: 3
BME 6725 Biomedical Data Analysis Credit Hours: 3

Life Science and Analytics Requirements (9 Credit Hours)

Students are required to take one (1) life science course from the list below:
BME 6000 Biomedical Engineering Credit Hours: 3
BME 6410 Engineering Physiology Credit Hours: 3
BME 5313 Molecular and Cellular Engineering Credit Hours: 3
GMS 6605 Basic Medical Anatomy Credit Hours: 3
AND

Students are required to take two (2) analytics courses from the list below:
BME 6510 Biomedical Signals and Systems Analysis Credit Hours: 3
BME 6634 Biotransport Phenomena Credit Hours: 3
BME 6931 Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering Credit Hours: 1-3
Selected Topics Courses taken as:
- Connectomics Credit Hours: 3
- Advanced Mechanics of Biological Materials Credit Hours: 3
BME 7718 Advanced Mathematics for BME Credit Hours: 3
EEE 6514 Biomedical Image Processing Credit Hours: 3
EEE 6542 Random Processes in Electrical Engineering Credit Hours: 2
EEE 6586 Speech Signal Processing Credit Hours: 3
EEL 6752 Digital Signal Processing II Credit Hours: 3
EEL 6935 Selected Electrical Topics Credit Hours: 1-3 taken as Linear and Matrix Algebra (3 Credit hours for this program)
EIN 6936 Special Industrial Topics III Credit Hours: 1-3 taken as Data-Driven Model Complex Systems (3 Credit hours for this program)
EML 6069 Advanced Mathematics for Mechanical Engineers Credit Hours: 3
EML 6105 Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics Credit Hours: 3
EML 6311 Advanced Controls Credit Hours: 3
EML 6653 Applied Elasticity Credit Hours: 3
ECH 6285 Advanced Transport Phenomena Credit Hours: 3
ECH 6506 Chemical Engineering Kinetics Credit Hours: 3
EML 6713 Advanced Fluid Mechanics Credit Hours: 3

Elective Requirements (15 Credit Hours)

Students are required to take fifteen (15) credit hours of any combination of courses from the list below or non-BME courses approved by the graduate program coordinator. Students pursuing a master’s thesis can count up to six (6) hours of thesis research towards the elective requirement. Students who complete one of the optional concentrations may count up to nine (9) hours toward the elective requirement.

BME 5313 Molecular and Cellular Engineering Credit Hours: 3
BME 6000 Biomedical Engineering Credit Hours: 3
BME 6055 Modern Biomedical Technologies Credit Hours: 3
BME 6107 Biomaterials I: Material Properties Credit Hours: 3
BME 6410 Engineering Physiology Credit Hours: 3
BME 6500 Bioelectricity Credit Hours: 3
BME 6510 Biomedical Signals and Systems Analysis Credit Hours: 3
BME 6563 Biomedical Optical Spectroscopy and Imaging Credit Hours: 3
BME 6537 Introduction to Medical Imaging Credit Hours: 3
BME 6573 Nano-medicine Credit Hours: 3
BME 6634 Biotransport Phenomena Credit Hours: 3
BME 6905 Directed Independent Study Credit Hours: 1-9
BME 6931 Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering Credit Hours: 1-3
Selected Topics Taken as:
- Connectomics Credit Hours: 3
- Fundamentals of BioMEMS Credit Hours: 3
BME 6944 Biomedical Engineering Industrial Internship Credit Hours: 1-6
BME 6971 Research for Master’s Thesis Credit Hours: 2-6
BME 7718 Advanced Mathematics for BME Credit Hours: 3
BME 5910 Directed Research in Bioengineering Credit Hours: 1-9 (1-3 Credits for this program)
Or other graduate course approved by the Graduate Program Director.

Optional Concentrations

Biomedical Imaging and Bioelectronics Concentration (9 Credit Hours)

Completion of the concentration fulfills 9 credit hours of the MS elective requirement. Any courses taken to fulfill the Life Science and Analytics requirements of the BME MS program cannot be counted for the Concentration, and any courses taken to fulfill one Concentration cannot be counted towards another Concentration.

Required Concentration Course:
BME 6500 Bioelectricity Credit Hours: 3
And select six (6) credit hours from the following:
BME 6055 Modern Biomedical Technologies Credit Hours: 3
BME 6510 Biomedical Signals and Systems Analysis Credit Hours: 3
BME 6537 Introduction to Medical Imaging Credit Hours: 3
BME 6563 Biomedical Optical Spectroscopy and Imaging Credit Hours: 3
BME 6931 Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering Credit Hours: 1-3
Selected Topics taken as:
- Bioelectronics Credit Hours: 3
- Fundamentals of BioMEMS Credit Hours: 3
BME 7718 Advanced Mathematics for BME Credit Hours: 3
Or other graduate course approved by the BME Director

Cell and Tissue Engineering Concentration (9 Credit Hours)

Completion of the concentration fulfills nine (9) credit hours of the MS elective requirement. Any courses taken to fulfill the Life Science and Analytics requirements of the BME MS program cannot be counted for the Concentration, and any courses taken to fulfill one Concentration cannot be counted towards another Concentration.

Required Concentration Course:
BME 6107 Biomaterials I: Material Properties Credit Hours: 3
And select six (6) credit hours from the following:
BME 5313 Molecular and Cellular Engineering Credit Hours: 3
BME 6410 Engineering Physiology Credit Hours: 3
BME 6931 Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering Credit Hours: 1-3
Selected Topics taken as:
- Regenerative Medicine Credit Hours: 3
EML 6290 Micro and Nano Manufacturing Credit Hours: 3
EML 6930 Special Problems I Credit Hours: 1-3
Special Problems taken as:
- Biofluids and Bio-inspired Design (3 Credit Hours)
PHA 6118 Nanomaterials, BioMEMS, and Nanodevices in Medicine Credit Hours: 3
GMS 6069 Translational Biotechnology Credit Hours: 3
GMS 6111 Basic Medical Pathology Credit Hours: 3
GMS 6773 Stem Cells and Brain Repair Credit Hours: 3
Or other graduate course approved by the BME Director

Molecular Medicine and Drug Delivery Concentration (9 Credit Hours)

Required Concentration Course:
BME 6634 Biotransport Phenomena Credit Hours: 3
And select six (6) credit hours from the following:
BME 5313 Molecular and Cellular Engineering Credit Hours: 3
BME 6055 Modern Biomedical Technologies Credit Hours: 3
BME 6500 Bioelectricity Credit Hours: 3
BME 6573 Nano-medicine Credit Hours: 3
BME 6931 Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering Credit Hours: 1-3
Selected Topics taken as:
- Regenerative Medicine (3 Credit Hours)
BCH 6627 Molecular Basis of Disease Credit Hours: 4
PHA 6119 Micro-/Nanoscale Drug Delivery Systems Credit Hours: 3
PHA 6148 Nanoformulations and Nanopharmaceuticals Credit Hours: 3
GMS 6101 Molecular and Cellular Immunology Credit Hours: 3-4
GMS 6069 Translational Biotechnology Credit Hours: 3
GMS 6410 Advanced Topics in Cardiovascular Disease Credit Hours: 2
GMS 7930 Selected Topics Credit Hours: 1-3
Selected Topics taken as:
- Applied Bioinformatics (3 Credit Hours)
Or other graduate course approved by the BME Director

Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation Engineering Concentration (9 Credit Hours)

Required Concentration Course:
EML 6801 Robotic Systems Credit Hours: 3
And select six (6) credit hours from the following:
BME 6107 Biomaterials I: Material Properties Credit Hours: 3
BME 6410 Engineering Physiology Credit Hours: 3
BME 6500 Bioelectricity Credit Hours: 3
BME 6510 Biomedical Signals and Systems Analysis Credit Hours: 3
BME 6931 Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering Credit Hours: 1-3
Selected Topics include:
- Connectomics (3 Credit Hours)
GMS 6771 Aging and Neuroscience Credit Hours: 3
Or other graduate course approved by the BME Director

Pharmacy Concentration (9 Credit Hours)

Completion of the concentration fulfills nine (9) credit hours of the M.S. elective requirement.

Required Concentration Course:
BME 6573 Nano-medicine Credit Hours: 3
And select six (6) credit hours from the following:
BME 6634 Biotransport Phenomena Credit Hours: 3
PHA 6118 Nanomaterials, BioMEMS, and Nanodevices in Medicine Credit Hours: 3
PHA 6119 Micro-/Nanoscale Drug Delivery Systems Credit Hours: 3
PHA 6146 Introduction to Nanotechnology Credit Hours: 3
PHA 6147 Nanotechnology and Risk Management Credit Hours: 3
PHA 6148 Nanoformulations and Nanopharmaceuticals Credit Hours: 3
Or other graduate course approved by the BME Director

Comprehensive Exam

Students in the non-thesis track must pass a written Comprehensive Examination in their final semester of the master’s program. The exam is evaluated by a department faculty member. Poor performance based on faculty judgment will result in failure of the exam. If a student does not pass on the first attempt, he/she may request in writing to repeat the exam, which is evaluated by a different faculty member. Students who fail the Comprehensive Examination the second time will be dismissed from the Major without awarding of a master’s degree.

For students in the thesis track, the thesis and oral defense serve as the Comprehensive Examination and the thesis committee serve as the assessment body. Poor performance based on the judgment of the committee will result in failure of the exam. If a student does not pass on the first attempt, he/she may request in writing to repeat the exam. Students who fail the exam the second time will be dismissed from the Major without awarding of a master’s degree.

Optional Thesis (6 Credit Hours)

Students completing a thesis are required to take six (6) credit hours of the thesis research course below. After completion students must write and orally defend their thesis research to a thesis committee. Poor performance based on the judgment of the thesis committee will result in failure of the exam. If a student does not pass on the first attempt, he/she may request in writing to repeat the exam. Students who fail the exam the second time will be dismissed from the Major without awarding of a master’s degree.

BME 6971 Research for Master’s Thesis Credit Hours: 2-6 (6 Credits required for this program)

Continuation to the Ph.D. Program

Students who wish to continue on for a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering (or other discipline) must apply for Ph.D. admission through the Office of Graduate Studies.