Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering
About This Program
The Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering (BS BME) prepares students for bioengineering careers requiring research, development, and teaching skills in a variety of industry settings including hospitals, research facilities of educational and medical institutions, and government regulatory agencies. Graduates may also pursue their continuing education in the medical and dental field or graduate studies in bioengineering.
BS BME degree offers two areas for concentration: Tissue Engineering and Medical Imaging.
Descriptions of BE degree options are available in the BE Advising Office. All degree options are designed to provide a strong foundation in science, mathematics, and engineering science; technical competence in multiple areas of Bioengineering practice; and an understanding of the importance of ethics, safety, professionalism, and socioeconomic concerns in resolving technical problems through synthesis, planning, and design. Elements of design are introduced at the freshman level. This is followed by an analysis and design component in professional program courses, culminating in a comprehensive design experience.
The Department of Bioengineering has active student chapters associated with the Biomedical Engineering Student Society (BMESS). Students are encouraged to participate in the activities of the organization. Membership is by election and is limited to UTA students who satisfy other requirements listed in the society's bylaws.
ABET Accreditation
The program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, under the commission's General Criteria and the Program Criteria for Biomedical Engineering.
Program Educational Objectives
The programs is designed so that a few years following graduation students will be able to:
- Possess a broad-based bioengineering education to successfully obtain professional positions, and practice bioengineering in a wide range of professional settings including industries, healthcare facilities, and consulting firms.
- Exhibit professional growth throughout their careers by taking on increasing professional responsibilities, and pursue life-long learning by participation in job-related advanced training activities, and/or attending graduate school, or professional school (medical or dental school).
- Demonstrate success and leadership in practice of engineering by contributing to the economic well-being of their employers and society, and by dedicated service to professional societies.
Student Outcomes
Upon completion of the degree, students will be able to:
- Identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
- Apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
- Communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
- Recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
- Function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
- Develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
- Acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.
Admissions Criteria
Requirements for admission as a Biomedical Engineering major are governed by the requirements stated under the College of Engineering section of this catalog. Biomedical Engineering majors are only allowed to enroll in pre-professional courses until they meet the requirements for the professional program as outlined below. They must register only for courses approved by their faculty advisor and obtain their advisor's authorization for add/drops.
Undergraduate Advising
Students entering directly from high school and those with less than 24 hours of transferrable credit are advised initially in the University College. Students are transitioned to advising in the College of Engineering as they progress successfully in their degree programs.
Biomedical Engineering majors are required to be advised by an assigned advisor during the period set aside each semester by the College of Engineering for this purpose. Students are responsible for meeting with their advisors during the advising period. Periods set aside for advising and registration may be different, and students who do not meet with their advisors during the regular advising period may not be able to complete registration. All students should consult the departmental bulletin board for advisors' names and periods set aside for advising.
Biomedical Engineering students who have not been admitted to the professional program must register only for courses approved by their faculty advisor and obtain their advisor's authorization for add/drops. Failure to do so is grounds for dismissal from the Biomedical Engineering program. Students, including those in the professional program, who enroll in courses before taking the proper prerequisites or co-requisites, will be subject to dismissal from the Biomedical Engineering program.
Transfer students registering for the first time are advised separately prior to the beginning of the semester they enroll in courses. They should contact the department to set up an appointment for advising with a departmental undergraduate advisor prior to registration.
Admission to the Professional Program
Requirement for admission to the professional program in Biomedical Engineering are in accordance with those of the College of Engineering and additional requirements as follows.
- Application to the professional program is to be submitted to the BE Department after completion of all the pre-professional required courses and prior to taking any Bioengineering 3000 level course.
- No 3000 level Bioengineering course may be taken until the student is admitted into the professional program or obtains the written consent for the BE Department Chair.
- Each student must have a total of no more than four unsuccessful attempts in engineering courses and complete all the courses in the pre-professional required courses with a minimum grade of C in each course and a minimum GPA of 2.50
- in all courses,
- in math, science, and engineering courses.
- in bioengineering courses
- Upon receipt of the application, a student’s record is individually reviewed including grades, academic and personal integrity, record of drops and course withdrawals, the order in which courses have been taken, the number of times a student has attempted a course for credit, and any other aspect of the student’s record that may be deemed pertinent to admission.
The student must be admitted to the professional program and have an approved degree plan on file in order to graduate. The degree plan is generated upon entry to the professional program. Graduating seniors should apply to graduate during the next-to-last semester.
Prior Preparation and Course Requirements
The undergraduate baccalaureate degree in Biomedical Engineering is a four-year program and requirements for the degree are based upon prior high school preparation through either an honors or college track program. Students who have not had the appropriate prior preparation should contact the departmental advising office for a curriculum guide that will assist them in structuring a study plan that will include leveling courses. Students requiring leveling courses may require a period of time greater than four years to complete their undergraduate degree.
Transfer Students and Transfer Credit
When a student transfers to the Bioengineering Department from another department or institution or vice versa, a loss of credit can occur and his/her academic plans may have to be changed. Courses that appear to be similar may be different in either content or level of difficulty and, as a result, cannot be used for degree credit. For transferred courses that cannot be deemed equivalent to a required UTA course in content or in credit hours, students will be required to submit acceptable scores from CLEP, ASE for Undergraduate Advisor's approval. When a student's record indicates weakness in certain areas of study, he/she will be required to retake courses or to take additional courses. Transfer students should contact the Department of Bioengineering after admission and prior to registration.
Transfer students with 24 hours or more of transferable credit must meet the following requirements:
- Completed prerequisites necessary to enroll in MATH 1426 CALCULUS I and PHYS 1443 GENERAL TECHNICAL PHYSICS I
- Students for whom English is a primary language must present two high school units in a single foreign language or will be admitted with a foreign language deficiency that must be removed prior to graduation.
- A GPA of 3.0 or above calculated on transferred credits which include at least 15 hours of applicable math, science, and engineering courses.
- Students must be prepared to repeat any transferred courses below a C until a grade of C or higher is obtained prior to enrolling in any course for which such courses are prerequisite.To transfer bioengineering course credits, the limitation on the number of times a course can be repeated is three.
Students who do not meet these criteria will be reviewed and considered on individual merits for admission into the BE Intended (or Pre) Major.
Prior to advising, a transfer student should present to an undergraduate advisor a transcript (official or copy) from each school previously attended. Only the equivalent courses in a program accredited by ABET or equivalent freshman and sophomore courses accepted by the department can be counted toward a degree in Biomedical Engineering. To be acceptable as an equivalent course, it must be equivalent to our corresponding course in credit value and course content. Junior and senior level courses taken at a college or university which does not have a Bioengineering program accredited by ABET cannot be used to satisfy the requirements for a degree in Biomedical Engineering.
A student in the Department of Bioengineering at UT Arlington who wishes to enroll in courses at another college or university for transfer credit toward a degree in Biomedical Engineering should, first, consult with an undergraduate advisor to verify that the course credits can be used in the student's Biomedical Engineering degree plan.
Curriculum
| Foundations | ||
| General Core Requirements | 42 | |
| Students must complete specific courses within certain core areas. | ||
| In addition to the specified courses, students must choose 6 hours of U.S.History, 6 hours of Political Science, 3 hours of Language, Philosophy, Culture, and 3 hours of Creative Arts from the general education core. | ||
| For Communication select: | ||
| RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION I | ||
| PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING | ||
| For Mathematics select: | ||
| CALCULUS I | ||
| CALCULUS II | ||
| For Life & Physical Science select: | ||
| BIOLOGY I FOR SCIENCE MAJORS: CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | ||
| GENERAL TECHNICAL PHYSICS I | ||
| For Language, Philosophy & Culture select: | ||
| CONTEMPORARY MORAL PROBLEMS | ||
| For Foundational Component Area option select: | ||
| GENERAL CHEMISTRY I | ||
| Biomedical Engineering Foundations (Pre-Professional Program) | ||
| Additional hours required in core selections | 5 | |
| UNIV-EN 1131 | STUDENT SUCCESS | 1 |
| or ENGR 1101 | ENTRANCE TO ENGINEERING FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS | |
| BE 1105 | MEDICAL APPLICATIONS OF ENGINEERING 1 | 1 |
| BE 1325 | INTRODUCTION TO BIOENGINEERING 1 | 3 |
| BE 2315 | INTRODUCTORY COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR BIOENGINEERS | 3 |
| BE 3320 | BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL ACQUISITION AND ANALYSIS | 3 |
| CHEM 1442 | GENERAL CHEMISTRY II | 4 |
| MATH 2326 | CALCULUS III | 3 |
| MATH 3319 | DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS & LINEAR ALGEBRA | 3 |
| IE 3301 | ENGINEERING PROBABILITY | 3 |
| or MATH 3316 | STATISTICAL INFERENCE | |
| PHYS 1444 | GENERAL TECHNICAL PHYSICS II | 4 |
| CSE 2440 | CIRCUIT ANALYSIS | 4 |
| or EE 2440 | CIRCUIT ANALYSIS WITH LAB | |
| Biomedical Engineering Specialization (Professional Program) | ||
| BE 3301 | CELL PHYSIOLOGY FOR BIOENGINEERS | 3 |
| Choose one of the following options: | 2 | |
| INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL DEVICE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS & QUALITY STANDARDS | ||
| SEMINAR IN BIOENGINEERING and DIRECTED RESEARCH IN BIOENGINEERING | ||
| BE 3317 | LINEAR SYSTEMS IN BIOENGINEERING | 3 |
| BE 3380 | HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY IN BE | 3 |
| BE 4350 | SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT I | 3 |
| BE 3415 | FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING | 4 |
| BE 4355 | SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT II | 3 |
| BE 4382 | LABORATORY PRINCIPLES | 3 |
| Concentrations | ||
| Select one of the following concentrations: | 24 | |
| Tissue Engineering | ||
| BIOMECHANICS AND FLUID FLOW WITH COMPUTATIONAL LABORATORY | ||
or BE 4312 | TISSUE BIOMECHANICS AND BIOENGINEERING | |
| CELL CULTURE AND BIOMATERIAL LABORATORY | ||
or BE 4318 | MEDICAL DEVICE PROTOTYPING | |
or BE 4373 | FORMULATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS | |
| TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING | ||
or BE 4314 | BIOMEDICAL IMPLANTS | |
| AN INTRODUCTION TO TISSUE ENGINEERING AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE | ||
or BE 4364 | TISSUE ENGINEERING | |
or BE 4372 | DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM | |
| BIOPOLYMERS AND BIOCOMPATIBILITY | ||
or BE 4333 | NANO BIOMATERIALS AND LIVING-SYSTEMS INTERACTION | |
Tissue Engineering Technical Electives | ||
Select 3 from the following in consultation with BE advisor: | ||
| ENGINEERING APPROACHES TO SOLVING CLINICAL CHALLENGES | ||
| FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY | ||
| TISSUE OPTICS | ||
| MATLAB AND APPLICATIONS FOR BIOENGINEERS | ||
| BIOINSTRUMENTATION | ||
| MEDICAL IMAGING | ||
| DIGITAL PROCESSING OF BIOLOGICAL SIGNALS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN BIOENGINEERING | ||
| TISSUE BIOMECHANICS AND BIOENGINEERING | ||
| BIOMEDICAL IMPLANTS | ||
| MEDICAL DEVICE PROTOTYPING | ||
| BIOMEDICAL OPTICS LABORATORY | ||
| TISSUE ULTRASOUND-OPTICAL IMAGING | ||
| NEURAL ENGINEERING | ||
| TISSUE ENGINEERING | ||
| PROCESS CONTROL IN BIOTECHNOLOGY | ||
| AN INTRODUCTION TO TISSUE ENGINEERING AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE | ||
| DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM | ||
| FORMULATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS (when topic is relevant) | ||
| STEM CELL TISSUE ENGINEERING | ||
| MEDICAL PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT | ||
| GENETICS | ||
Another course approved by advisor | ||
| Medical Imaging | ||
| BIOINSTRUMENTATION | ||
| MEDICAL IMAGING | ||
| DIGITAL PROCESSING OF BIOLOGICAL SIGNALS | ||
| BIOMEDICAL OPTICS LABORATORY | ||
Medical Imaging Technical Electives | ||
Select 4 of the following in consultation with BE advisor: | ||
| ENGINEERING APPROACHES TO SOLVING CLINICAL CHALLENGES | ||
| BIOMECHANICS AND FLUID FLOW WITH COMPUTATIONAL LABORATORY | ||
| FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY | ||
| TISSUE OPTICS | ||
| MATLAB AND APPLICATIONS FOR BIOENGINEERS | ||
| CELL CULTURE AND BIOMATERIAL LABORATORY | ||
| TISSUE BIOMECHANICS AND BIOENGINEERING | ||
| MEDICAL DEVICE PROTOTYPING | ||
| BIOMEDICAL IMPLANTS | ||
| TISSUE ULTRASOUND-OPTICAL IMAGING | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN BIOENGINEERING (when topic is relevant) | ||
| NEURAL ENGINEERING | ||
| BIOPOLYMERS AND BIOCOMPATIBILITY | ||
| NANO BIOMATERIALS AND LIVING-SYSTEMS INTERACTION | ||
| TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING | ||
| TISSUE ENGINEERING | ||
| PROCESS CONTROL IN BIOTECHNOLOGY | ||
| AN INTRODUCTION TO TISSUE ENGINEERING AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE | ||
| DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM | ||
| FORMULATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS | ||
| STEM CELL TISSUE ENGINEERING | ||
| MEDICAL PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT | ||
| GENETICS | ||
| ELECTROMAGNETICS | ||
Another course approved by advisor | ||
| Total Hours | 127 | |
- 1
Completion of both BE 1105 and BE 1325 with a grade of "C" or better satisfies the university's computer proficiency requirement.
More hours may be required to strengthen student's program or demonstrate proficiency. Total hours will depend upon prior preparation and academic qualifications. See Prior Preparation and Course Requirements under Admissions.
Refer to the College of Engineering section of this catalog for information concerning the following topics: Admission into Engineering, Admission into Pre-Engineering, Admission into the Professional Program, Counseling or Advising, Transfer and Change of Major Policies, Honors Program, Academic Regulations, Professional Engineering Registration, Cooperative Education, Academic Probation, Repeating Course Policy and Academic Dishonesty.
Health Profession Track (Pre-Med or Pre-Dental, etc.)
For those who plan to pursue degrees in medicine or dental science, the following additional course are required in preparation for taking MCAT or DAT. For details, please visit Health Professions Advisor, UT Arlington College of Science
| Select at least 2 Biology courses from the following: | ||
| GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY | ||
| IMMUNOLOGY | ||
| GENETICS | ||
| HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY | ||
| CHEM 2321 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I | 3 |
| CHEM 2181 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I LABORATORY | 1 |
| CHEM 2322 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II | 3 |
| CHEM 2182 | ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II LABORATORY | 1 |
| CHEM 4311 | BIOCHEMISTRY I | 3 |
| PSYC 1315 | INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| SOCI 1311 | INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY | 3 |
BS to Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
Qualified first-time undergraduate freshman may consider a Bachelor of Science-to-Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) pathway from UTA's Bioengineering Department to the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at the UNT Health Science Center.
Program Completion
Academic performance requirements establishing satisfactory progress and grade point requirements are given in the College of Engineering section of this catalog.
Grade Requirements for BE Course Prerequisites
Biomedical Engineering majors (BE-Intended or BE) may not attempt a BE course until they have earned a grade of C or better in the prerequisite course(s).
Repeating Courses
Biomedical Engineering majors (BE-Intended or BE) may not attempt any course more than three times and apply that course toward a degree in Biomedical Engineering. Enrollment in a course for a period of time sufficient for assignment of a grade, including a grade of W, is considered an attempt.
Grounds for Dismissal from the BE Program
Requirements for grounds for dismissal as a Biomedical Engineering major are governed by the requirements stated under the College of Engineering section of this catalog.
Advising Resources
First time in college students meet with engineering advisors in the UAEC (UAECengineering@uta.edu). Transfer students are advised prior to New Maverick Orientation by the department. Students, please read all student emails carefully and consult the department advising webpage for additional contact information and answers to common questions.
Location:
ERB 243
Email:
BEugadvising@uta.edu
Phone:
817-272-6250