Department of Biomedical Engineering
Faculty
Professors: Stephen D. Levene, Mathukumalli Vidyasagar
Associate Professor: Shalini Prasad
Assistant Professors: Leonidas Bleris, Lan Ma, Hyun-Joo Nam, Hyuntae Yoo
Affiliated Faculty: Dinesh Bhatia
(Electrical Engineering), Xin-Lin Gao (Mechanical Engineering), Jinming Gao (UT
Southwestern), Michael Kilgard (Brain and Behavioral Science), Raimund Ober
(Electrical Engineering), Issa Panahi (Electrical Engineering), Balakrishnan
Prabhakaran (Computer Science), Robert Rennaker (Brain and Behavioral Science),
A. Dean Sherry (Chemistry); Zhenyu Xuan and Michael Q. Zhang (both Molecular
and Cell Biology)
The M.S.
and Ph.D. programs in Biomedical Engineering at UT Dallas are offered as a part
of a unique tri-campus program, encompassing UT Southwestern Medical Center and
UT Arlington. The objective of the Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Engineering
(BME) is to train the next generation of leaders in the field through high-quality
original research work, supplemented as appropriate by a broad range of
interdisciplinary courses. The new generation of biomedical engineers will
address fundamental scientific questions, provide answers to critical problems
and develop novel applications with commercial potential. The opportunities for
interdisciplinary research and course work in several branches of engineering,
coupled with the life sciences, will prepare the graduates of this program to
tackle complex life sciences-related problems in novel ways and to create vital
solutions for the future.
The objective of the M.S. degree
program in Biomedical Engineering is to generate BME graduates who will be
capable of undertaking challenging BME-related projects. The primary
educational objective of the M.S. program is to expose students to the latest
developments in biomedicine and to provide them with the appropriate tools to
understand and contribute further to these developments. The M.S. degree
program will provide the necessary education and immediately applicable skills
that will enable both recent baccalaureate graduates and experienced biomedical
engineers to develop new life science related technologies and applications.
Facilities
The Engineering and Computer Science
Building and the new Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory
provide extensive wet lab, fabrication, instrumentation and high performance
computing facilities to foster biomedical engineering and nano-technology
research. A Class 10000 microelectronics clean room facility, including e-beam
lithography, sputter deposition, PECVD, LPCVD, etch, ash and evaporation, is
available for student projects and research. In addition to the facilities on
campus, students in this program will also have an opportunity to work closely
with researchers in the UT Southwestern Medical Center and UT Arlington.
Master of Science in Biomedical
Engineering
Admission Requirements
The University’s general admission
requirements are discussed here.
A student lacking undergraduate
prerequisites for graduate courses in Biomedical Engineering (BME) must
complete these prerequisites or receive approval from the graduate adviser and
the course instructor.
An entrance examination may be
required. Specific admission requirements follow.
The student entering the M.S. BME
program should meet the following guidelines:
•
An undergraduate preparation equivalent to a baccalaureate in a field of
engineering or the sciences
•
A grade point average in upper-division quantitative course work of 3.25
or better on a 4-point scale, and
•
GRE scores from exams prior to August 2011 of 500, 700 and 4 OR for the
verbal, quantitative and analytical writing components, respectively, are
advisable based on our experience with student success in the program. (See also
UTD requirements for English proficiency.)
Applicants must submit three letters
of recommendation, from individuals who are able to judge the candidate´s
probability of success in pursuing a program of study leading to the master´s
degree. Applicants must also submit an essay or “Statement of Purpose”, outlining
the candidate´s background, education and professional goals.
Degree Requirements
The
University´s general degree requirements are discussed here.
The M.S.
BME requires the completion of a minimum of 33 semester hours.
For the
M.S. BME program, all students must:
1) Pass at
least 2 of the following three core courses with a grade of B- or better:
BMEN 6373, BMEN 6374 (EEBM 6374), and
BMEN 6375
2) Pass at
least 2 of the following three core courses with a grade of B- or better:
BMEN 6385, BMEN 6386, and BMEN 6387
3) Complete
a minimum of 9 credit hours from the recommended electives. The remaining
credits can be selected from 6000-level courses offered by the Erik Jonsson
School, or the Biology Department, or by UTSW and UTA.
The
M.S.BME program has both a thesis and a non-thesis option. All part-time M.S. BME
students will be assigned initially to the non-thesis option. Those wishing to
elect the thesis option may do so by obtaining the approval of a faculty thesis
supervisor. Research and thesis hours cannot be counted in an M.S. BME degree
plan unless a thesis is written and successfully defended.
Students
must achieve an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, a GPA of 3.0 or better in their
core M.S. BME classes, and a grade of B- or better in all their core M.S. BME
classes in order to satisfy their degree requirements.
All
full-time, supported students are required to participate in the thesis option.
All students must have an academic advisor and an approved degree plan.
Doctor of
Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering
Admission Requirements
The University’s general admission
requirements are discussed here.
The
Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering is awarded primarily to acknowledge the
student´s success in an original research project, the description of which is
a significant contribution to the literature of the discipline. Applicants for
the doctoral program are therefore selected by the Biomedical Engineering
Program Graduate Committee on the basis of research aptitude, as well as
academic record. Applications for the doctoral program are considered on an
individual basis.
The
following are guidelines for admission to the Ph.D. program in Biomedical
Engineering:
•
A master´s degree in engineering or
one of the natural sciences from an accredited U.S. institution, or from an
acceptable foreign university. However, consideration will be given to highly qualified students who wish to
pursue the doctorate without satisfying all of the requirements for a master´s
degree.
•
A grade point average in graduate
course work of 3.5 or better on a 4-point scale.
•
GRE scores from exams prior to August
2011 of 500, 700 and 4 for the verbal, quantitative and analytical writing
components, respectively OR are advisable based on our experience with student success in the
program. (See also UTD requirements for
English proficiency.)
Applicants
must submit three letters of recommendation, either on official school or
business letterhead or using the UTD Letter of Recommendation Form. Individuals who should provide recommendation
letters are persons familiar with the student´s record, who are able to judge
the candidate´s probability of success in pursuing doctoral study in biomedical
engineering.
Applicants
must also submit a narrative, describing motivation for doctoral study and how
it relates to their professional goals.
For
students who are interested in a Ph.D. but are unable to attend school
full-time, there is a part-time option. The guidelines for admission to the
program and the degree requirements are the same as for full-time Ph.D.
students.
All
students must have an academic adviser and an approved plan of study.
Degree Requirements
The University’s general degree
requirements are discussed here.
Each
program for doctoral study is individually tailored to the student´s background
and research objectives by the student´s supervisory committee. The program
will require a minimum of 75 semester credit hours beyond the baccalaureate
degree. These credits must include at least 27 semester hours of graduate level
courses beyond the baccalaureate level. All PhD students must demonstrate
competence in the Master's level core courses in their research area. All
students must have an academic advisor and an approved plan of study. Qualified
students may request waivers on core courses from their supervisory committee.
Also
required are:
•
Written qualifying exams (QE), over
both BIOLOGY CORE and ENGINEERING CORE topics, as well as a research-oriented
oral QE presentation. Both the written
and oral exams should demonstrate competence in the Ph.D. candidate´s research
area. A student must make an oral presentation based on a review of 2 to 4
papers, followed by a question-answer session. A student entering the Ph.D.
program with an M.S. BME must pass this exam within 3 long semesters, and a
student entering without an M.S. BME must pass this exam within 4 long
semesters. A student has at most two attempts at this qualifying exam. The exam
will be given during the fall and spring semesters.
•
A comprehensive exam consisting of: a
written dissertation proposal, a public seminar, and a private oral examination
conducted by the Ph.D. candidate´s supervising committee.
•
Completion of a major research
project culminating in a dissertation, demonstrating an original contribution
to scientific knowledge and engineering practice. The dissertation will be
defended publicly. The rules for this defense are specified by the Office of
the Dean of Graduate Studies. Neither a foreign language nor a minor is
required for the Ph.D. However, the student´s supervisory committee may impose
these or other requirements that it feels are necessary and appropriate to the
student´s degree program.