	Graduate Programs
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Ph.D. Program

Overview

The Ph.D. program, based on a curriculum that balances breadth and depth, is designed to train students for faculty and leadership biomedical engineering positions at universities, in hospitals, and in industry. Students pursue coursework and research in a wide range of potential areas as represented by the faculty (see Research Portfolio). Most graduate students join a research group and start thesis research soon after the beginning of the first semester of residence. The requirements are flexible, allowing the student to develop a program that is best suited to his/her background and career goals. In addition, a practicum provides training opportunities at local medical centers for translational research and clinical exposure. The no-nonsense timeline allows completion of Ph.D. training in about 4.5 years based on Bachelor's level preparation, and possibly as short as 3 years for students with an M.S. degree. The Department of Biomedical Engineering has a graduate student monitoring system that evaluates the progress each semester and ensures that students finish in a timely manner. Unless the student receives a fellowship elsewhere, all Ph.D. students are supported with full financial aid that covers tuition and stipend.

Direct Entry into the Ph.D. Program

Direct Entry is for students entering without an M.S. degree. Candidates for this option should typically expect to spend at least three years or equivalent in full-time graduate study. While thesis research generally starts after the first month of entry, much of the first year is devoted to the study of fundamental courses and basic training for research. Efforts are then shifted to thesis research starting the second year.

Students of Direct Entry must satisfactorily complete at least 192 course units (roughly equivalent to 64 credit points elsewhere), which include at least 84 units of formal coursework and at least 24 units of thesis research. The coursework consists of at least eight courses, at most 21 units of which may be advanced undergraduate courses while the rest must be at graduate level, and at least four courses must be 12-unit. In addition, three of the courses must be 9 or more units each to cover three out of five core areas - molecular/cellular biology, physiology, bioimaging/bioinformatics, biomaterials, and biomechanics. Among the electives is a practicum that provides training at a major medical center. The student must also take 42-701 Biomedical Engineering Seminar during each semester of residence. If the student with an M.S. degree is accepted into the direct Entry program, his/her background may be evaluated for a possible reduction of course requirements.

Advanced Entry into the Ph.D. Program

Qualified candidates with an approved M.S. degree may be accepted as Advanced Entry students. These students must satisfactorily complete at least 96 course units (roughly equivalent to 32 credit points elsewhere), which include at least 42 units of formal coursework and at least 24 units of thesis research. The coursework consists of at least four courses, at most 9 units of which may be advanced undergraduate courses while the rest must be at graduate level (500 or higher), and at least two courses must be 12-unit. In addition, three of the courses must be 9 or more units each to cover three out of five core areas - molecular/cellular biology, physiology, bioimaging/bioinformatics, biomaterials, and biomechanics. Among the electives is a practicum that provides training at a major medical center. The student must also take 42-701 Biomedical Engineering Seminar during each semester of residence.

General Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree

The minimum residency on campus is one year. Certain phases of the training may be completed on a part-time basis except for international students. Students of both Direct and Advanced Entry must take the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination at the very beginning of the second year (one retake is allowed), with the purpose of ensuring that the student has a firm grasp of fundamentals and the ability to perform Ph.D. research.

The remainder of the training is devoted principally to completion of the thesis, which must be on a biomedical engineering topic. The Ph.D. thesis must embody the results of extended, original, coherent research, and should demonstrate the candidate’s ability to conduct an independent investigation, to abstract principles, and to interpret in a logical manner facts revealed by the research. The student must take the Ph.D. Proposal Examination within the first three years in residence, with the purpose of assessing the knowledge necessary for the research, the conception of the scope of the work, and familiarity with the methods to be used. The student must complete the thesis and pass the oral defense within six years of passing the Ph.D. Qualifier.

In addition to the above requirements, all Ph.D. students must complete three semesters as a Teaching Assistant, and must take 42-701 Biomedical Engineering Seminar during each semester in residence. Detailed requirements are described in the Graduate Student Handbook.

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(Updated 07/10/2011)

Graduate Programs

"Sensing and Actuating Life"