- UNM Catalog 2018-2019
- >Colleges
- >School of Engineering
- >Biomedical Engineering
- >Graduate Program
The M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Biomedical Engineering prepare students for careers in solving engineering problems in health care, biomedical research, and biotechnology. Areas of current faculty research include biomaterials, nanobiotechnology, bioanalytical microsystems, patient-care devices, tissue engineering, flow cytometry, disease processes, clinical translation, and molecular and cellular systems. Instruction includes five core courses, a seminar and numerous electives taught by Affiliated Faculty and others within the School of Engineering, School of Medicine, College of Arts and Sciences, and College of Pharmacy.
Prospective candidates may apply directly for admission to the Ph.D. program. Successful applicants to the program usually have a bachelor's degree in the physical sciences or engineering. The Admissions Committee makes admissions decisions on a case-by-case basis, with special consideration of scholastic proficiency in one or more of the following subject areas:
Students who have not passed courses in one or more of these subject areas may be admitted to the program, but required to take undergraduate courses to address deficiencies in their background. General admission requirements described in the Graduate Program section of this Catalog also apply.
Details of applying to the M.S. and Ph.D. programs are found at the Biomedical Engineering program Web site. Applications to the degree program are submitted online.
In addition to the general requirements specified in the Graduate Program section of this Catalog, students must also complete the Biomedical Engineering core, emphasis core, and elective courses described below. BME 567 Biomedical Engineering Seminar must be taken every semester, up to a maximum of 8 credit hours total. Students must pass the Qualifying Examination before applying for Candidacy or proceeding to the Doctoral Comprehensive Exam. Upon successfully passing the Doctoral Comprehensive Exam and successful review of their application by program faculty and the Dean of Graduate Studies, students are admitted to Candidacy for the doctoral degree. For successful completion of the program requirements, all candidates must pass a Final Examination (Defense of Dissertation).
Plan I (thesis): The minimum requirements for the Plan I thesis-based M.S. include 6 credit hours of thesis credit (BME 599) and 24 credit hours of coursework that must include 18 credit hours of mandatory courses, as approved by the Committee on Studies, and at least 3 credit hours from the electives such as those listed below. Plan I automatically meets the requirement of at least 12 credit hours of coursework at the 500-level or higher, exclusive of thesis credit, as stipulated by this Catalog for this plan.
Plan II (non-thesis): The minimum requirements of the Plan II non-thesis M.S. include 32 credit hours of coursework, with at least 24 credit hours drawn from the required and elective courses list and 3 credit hours of a research seminar/problems course. At most, 6 credit hours of *400-level School of Engineering courses are allowed. Also, at least 12 credit hours of coursework should be at a 500-level or higher, as stipulated by this Catalog for this plan. A final exit exam is required by this degree plan, with a committee of similar makeup to those of the Plan I M.S.
Plan III (coursework): The minimum requirements of the Plan III coursework-based M.S. include 30 hours of coursework, with at least 24 credit hours drawn from the required and elective courses list. At most, 6 hours of *400-level School of Engineering courses are allowed. Also, at least 12 hours of coursework should be at a 500-level or higher, as stipulated by this Catalog for this plan. Seminar, thesis, and independent study (i.e., “Problems”) courses are not required by this plan, nor is a final exit exam.
Concentration in Entrepreneurship and Technology Management: For information and requirements, see the School of Engineering section of this Catalog.
The following curriculum lists requirements for students pursuing the Biomedical Engineering concentration for the Ph.D. in Engineering.
For all students pursuing degrees in Biomedical Engineering, the following BME core courses are offered once per academic year:
BME 547 | Biomedical Engineering Research Practices |
BME 558 | Methods of Analysis in Bioengineering |
BME 567 | Biomedical Engineering Seminar |
Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering Emphasis
The following Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering emphasis core courses are offered every other year:
BME 572 | Biomaterials Engineering |
BME 575 | Biomechanics |
BME 579 | Tissue Engineering |
Molecular and Cellular Systems Emphasis
The following Molecular and Cellular Systems emphasis core courses are offered every other year:
BME 517 | Applied Biology for Biomedical Engineers |
BME 544 | Thermodynamics of Biological Systems |
BME 556 | Protein and Nucleic Acid Engineering |
Equivalent graduate-level courses taken at other institutions may be used to satisfy one or more of the above core requirements, as approved by the student's Graduate Advisor or Curriculum Committee.
For completion of the Ph.D. degree, the student must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours of elective courses from the list below. At least 9 of these credit hours must be from courses offered in the School of Engineering. Ph.D. candidates may substitute electives other than those listed below, as approved by the student's Graduate Advisor or Curriculum Committee.
M.S. degree candidates must complete a minimum of 6 credit hours of elective courses from the lists below. M.S. candidates may substitute electives other than those listed below, as approved by the student's Graduate Advisor or Curriculum Committee.
Biomedical Engineering Electives
BME 517 | Applied Biology for Biomedical Engineers |
BME 544 | Thermodynamics of Biological Systems |
BME 556 | Protein and Nucleic Acid Engineering |
BME 572 | Biomaterials Engineering |
BME 575 | Biomechanics |
BME 579 | Tissue Engineering |
BME 598 | Special Topics |
BIOL **351 | General Microbiology |
BIOL 547 | Advanced Techniques in Light Microscopy |
BIOM 507 | Advanced Molecular Biology |
BIOM 508 | Advanced Cell Biology |
BIOM 509 | Principles of Neurobiology |
BIOM 510 | Physiology |
BIOM 514 | Immunobiology |
BIOM 515 | Cancer Biology |
CBE 504 | Nanomaterials Seminar |
CBE 521 | Advanced Transport Phenomena I |
CBE 530 | Surface and Interfacial Phenomena |
CS 529 | Introduction to Machine Learning |
CS 530 | Geometric and Probabilistic Methods in Computer Science |
CS 561 | Algorithms and Data Structures |
CS 590 | T: Complex Adaptive Systems |
ECE 500 | Theory of Linear Systems |
ECE 510 | Medical Imaging |
ECE 533 | Digital Image Processing |
ECE 537 | Foundations of Computing |
ECE 539 | Digital Signal Processing |
ME 501 | Advanced Mechanics of Materials |
ME 504 | Computational Mechanics |
ME 512 | Introduction to Continuum Mechanics |
ME 530 | Theoretical Fluid Mechanics I |
ME 571 | Advanced Materials Science |
BME 444 / 544. Thermodynamics of Biological Systems. (3)
BME 517. Applied Biology for Biomedical Engineers. (3)
BME 544 / 444. Thermodynamics of Biological Systems. (3)
BME 547. Biomedical Engineering Research Practices. (3)
BME 551. Problems. (1-3, may be repeated once Δ)
BME 556. Protein and Nucleic Acid Engineering. (3)
BME 558. Methods of Analysis in Bioengineering. (3)
BME 567. Biomedical Engineering Seminar. (1 to a maximum of 8)
BME 572. Biomaterials Engineering. (3)
BME 575. Biomechanics. (3)
BME 579. Tissue Engineering. (3)
BME 581. Colloidal Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications. (3)
BME 598. Special Topics. (1-3, no limit Δ)
BME 599. Master's Thesis. (1-6, no limit Δ)
BME 699. Dissertation. (3-12, no limit Δ)
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