The biomedical engineering programs at Vanderbilt, Northwestern, and the
University of Texas at Austin are different in terms of their required
and elective courses. Vanderbilt and Northwestern have each been offering degrees since
about 1970. Texas is initiating a program and has followed some of the principles
explained under recommendations
for the creation of new or revised bioengineering curricula. We
invite other accredited programs to contact us about posting comparable
information on this part of the site.
Northwestern University
BS in Biomedical Engineering
Philosophy:
Northwestern
attempts to educate undergraduates so that they can go on equally well
to one of three paths after graduation: positions in industry, graduate
training in biomedical engineering, or medical school.
Students are given a broad engineering base, but then specialize
in one of 5 areas so that their training is not too diffuse.
Training in engineering design is initiated in the freshman year,
with a two quarter sequence called "Engineering Design and Communications."
A senior capstone design course allows teams of students to bring
their experience to bear on solving a design challenge posed by a client.
Structure:
Quarter
system; standard load is 4 courses per quarter; each is one “unit” of
credit. 48 units required for graduation.
Schematic View of the curriculum:
Coursework:
Basic Science: Chemistry (3
units; 2 if student is advanced)
Physics (one or 2 quarters; 1 more incorporated in Engineering Analysis (EA)
Math: 4 units (two
more, including ODEs) incorporated in EA
Engineering Analysis: 4 units (includes
linear algebra, ODEs, Matlab programming, mechanics, engineering mechanics,
all integrated) (freshman yr; fall sophomore year)
Engineering Design and Communications: 2 units (freshman year)
Basic Engineering: 5 units, each in a different category, from 6 areas:
Electrical Science, Computer Engineering, Statistics, Thermodynamics, Materials Science, and Mechanics (including fluid mechanics).
BME offers courses in 4 of the areas. (sophomore, junior senior years)
Humanities, Social Science, Fine Arts, Values, Language:
7 units, of which at least three must be thematically related
Unrestricted Electives: 5 units
BME Core: Organic chemistry (2 units), BME systems physiology (2 units - of
the three offered), BME senior laboratory (1 unit), BME senior design (1 unit)
BME Area of Specialization: 9 units of which two are free technical
electives. Each area of specialization has some specified courses and some to be chosen from a menu
Instrumentation
Biomaterials and biotechnology
Transport and tissue engineering
Mechanics and rehabilitation
Signals and imaging
Special Features:
All
students take Engineering Design and Communications (two quarters in freshman
year),Engineering Analysis (four quarters in freshman and sophomore year).
About 20% of BME students are involved in the Cooperative Education Program,
in which they work for 5 quarters for companies.Students may apply (when seniors in high school) to special programs:
The Honors Program in Medical Education, which guarantees admission to
Northwestern Medical School after three years in the engineering school,
or to the Honors Program in Undergraduate Research,through which a student can start research as early as the freshman
year.
Undergraduate outcomes:
Total undergraduate
degrees in BME per year
Distribution of BS BME graduates to different fields
