Undergraduate Program

Admissions Information

The Biomedical Engineering Program at the University of Delaware offers an undergraduate program that provides a broad background in chemical, mechanical, materials science and electrical engineering. It prepares students for careers in biomedical research with a quantitative engineering emphasis. It is also designed to provide students with sufficient coursework for advanced training at graduate, medical or physical therapy schools or in other allied health professions.

The University of Delaware Admissions Office provides demographics about the current freshman class, admission requirements, application process, and information about campus visits and financial aid. At this time, no special student fees are requested for the program in biomedical engineering.

Overview

Through the Biomedical Engineering program at UD, undergraduate students earn a Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering designed to be completed in four years.

Graduates of the undergraduate program in biomedical engineering will be equipped with a solid foundation in mathematics, the sciences, and the technical skills needed to analyze and design biomedical systems. Students will have the opportunity to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems based on fundamental biomedical concepts, to design and conduct laboratory experiments, and to critically analyze and interpret data. We will integrate problem-based experiences with an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility as students undertake design problems in biomedical engineering. Each student will possess strong written, oral, and graphical communication skills, and will be able to function on multi-disciplinary teams. Following graduation, these Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering recipients will have the necessary qualifications for employment in biomedical engineering and related professions, and for entry into advanced studies, including medical school, engineering graduate school, and other professional programs.

 

Well-rounded program

Enrollment is > 50% women

Hands-on learning

Our students learn from top-notch faculty in advanced research laboratories

processDesign & Experiential Learning

Choose a biomedical engineering challenge and propose a solution

  • Team work
  • Presentation
  • Creativity

Students undertake design problems in biomedical engineering, design biomedical systems, design and conduct laboratory experiments, and to critically analyze and interpret data.

  • Fundamentals in BME/Cell & Tissue Lab (First Year)
  • Biomechanics Lab (Juniors)
  • Instrumentation Lab (Juniors)
  • Junior Design
  • Senior Design (Capstone class)
    • Interdisciplinary: Biomedical, Mechanical, Civil & Environmental, Electrical & Computer
    • Fall semester, 6 credits
    • Team-based design
    • Sponsored projects
    • Real-world applications
    • Integration of concepts
4-year Curriculum

The curriculum begins with fundamental courses and labs in math, physics, chemistry, biology, physiology, and computer science.  Students take upper-level courses covering a variety of basic engineering topics in electronics, mechanics, materials science, modeling, and biotransport.  These skills are integrated through the engineering design course sequence.  The program also contains five technical electives whereby students can choose from a list of approved courses.

To learn more about the curriculum go to our UD Course Catalog.

Sample Curriculum for students enrolled starting in Fall 2021
Sample Curriculum for students enrolled starting between Fall 2019 and Fall 2021
Sample Curriculum for students enrolled starting in Fall 2018

The degree requires 126 credit hours of study. The basic university requirements include: ENGL 110; EGGG 101; discovery learning experience in the form of a capstone senior design course (BMEG 460); and a multi-cultural course. In addition, the 21 additional College of Engineering breadth requirements must be satisfied. Moreover, five technical electives must be completed see the technical electives section below for details.

For students interested in studying a specific area in more depth, minors are available in Biochemical Engineering, BioinformaticsBiomechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical EngineeringMaterials Science and Engineering, and Nanoscale Materials.

Required Courses & Descriptions

The required courses of this curriculum will give the student a solid foundation in life sciences, applied mathematics and the engineering fields related to biomedical engineering. Students also gain exposure to various areas of biomedical engineering. Course descriptions and prerequisites can be found in the UD Course Catalog.

Curriculum Flow Chart

Technical Electives and Focus Areas

Technical electives in the Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering curriculum offer the students the opportunity to pursue particular areas of interest. Since biomedical engineers work in a broad range of technical areas, the approved list of technical electives and the course descriptions can be found in the UD Course Catalog.

Petition for Additional Technical Elective Approvals: Additional courses may be reviewed for approval as technical electives. Technical electives must meet the following criteria: (1) being primarily technical, (2) having a skill or theory component, and (3) being above an introductory level or having a high level of technical rigor. To petition a course to count as an approved technical elective, submit to the BME Academic Advisor or the BME Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies the following:

  • Course syllabus
  • 1-2 paragraph description of how the course meets the specific technical elective criteria outlined above

Focus areas are optional groupings of technical electives that demonstrate depth in a particular engineering skill set. They are not required, and they do not go on your transcript.

The goals of our focus areas are to:

  1. Help you better develop and articulate your strengths as an engineer,
  2. Help you tailor your educational experience to your individual BME interests, and
  3. Help guide your discussions with your faculty or academic advisor (e.g., when planning courses or discussing research or internship opportunities).

We have developed 4 focus area handouts:

These “cheat sheets” define the engineering skill, provide examples of biomedical applications, list some relevant companies, provide examples of relevant courses to help you select technical electives, demonstrate different paths you could take to focus your tech electives, and include other related curricular enhancements (like minors or RSOs).

FAQs:

How is a minor different from a focus area?
Minors and focus areas are both ways for you to focus (deepen) and tailor your education. A minor is a specified degree pathway, sometimes requiring that you take “extra” courses to fulfill (~15 credits). After you complete the defined curriculum, you get a “minor” listed on your transcript. A focus area is broader and totally optional. You don’t have to take any of the courses if you don’t want to. A focus area does not go on your transcript. A focus area is simply an advising tool for how to use your technical electives; a minor is a degree path.

I want to pursue [medical devices industry, medical school, grad school, etc.]. What focus area should I do?
We intentionally chose to create focus areas centered around fundamental engineering skills rather than applications. This way, when you are in an interview, you can speak to the skills you have developed. At the root of it, the applications (and your career goals!) may change over time, but the engineering fundamentals don’t. Most careers can fit into most focus areas, so we recommend that you select a focus area skill set that you are most interested in. What gets you excited? What are you curious about? For example, you could enter into the medical devices industry with a deeper background in biomechanics or in bioelectrical skills, based on your interests. To help guide your decisions, each handout includes a list of application examples– areas in which the skills developed from the focus area might be used.

What is a “Pathway?”
Each focus area handout contains a section called “Pathway Examples.” These are simply examples of how you might choose to group your 5 technical electives in a particular area of interest. Again, pathways are optional. You do not need to feel restricted to only take courses in a particular pathway– they are examples, not prescriptions.

How do I know what courses are being offered? or The courses I want to take aren’t offered. What do I do?
Although we have tried very hard to make these handouts a useful tool for you, they aren’t perfect. Unfortunately, this is one of the limitations- the handouts do not tell you whether or which semester different courses are being offered. Course offerings are regularly changing, and we don’t always know when something will be offered. You can find the courses offered each semester using the Course Search. If a course you want to take isn’t offered, take a different one– the wonderful thing about focus areas is that they are flexible!

But I don’t have the pre-reqs to take a course that’s listed. What do I do?
We try to keep our technical electives list as broad and inclusive as possible. But the downside is that this means there are approved technical electives on our list that you are not eligible to take because they have pre-reqs you haven’t taken. We hope you can use the handouts to start talking to your advisor and planning in advance so that you can look ahead to deliberately build these pre-reqs into your curriculum sequence.

Independent Study

If you would like to pursue an independent study project, you must complete the following steps.

Before the semester begins

1) enroll in BMEG 366 or BMEG 466 (each credit of independent study is equivalent to ~4 hr/wk of work.)

2) complete the IndependentStudy/DLE webform in UDSIS before the drop/add date for the semester

The form will route to your research advisor and a faculty review in BME for approval. After you are approved for Independent Study you will be added to the course Canvas page and asked for a

Description of experimental problem solving, designing and executing experiments and data analysis, also the potential use/identification of engineering standards (ASTM, ASME, ISO, OSA, etc) that will be used during your independent study.

At the end of the semester you will need to submit a summary report or conference abstract report to your faculty advisor and on the Canvas site (see outline). You will not get a grade for the course until the summary report or conference abstract is submitted.

Academic Advisement

The Academic Enrichment Center offers individual and group tutors for popular classes in addition to study skills workshops and other student support efforts to enhance the University experience. The College of Engineering requires that all undergraduates meet with their academic advisor at least once per semester (see advising guidelines).

Senior Design

BMEG 460 (Biomedical Engineering Design) is the Capstone Course in the undergraduate curriculum in Biomedical Engineering. It is a one-semester, six credit course where teams of senior-level students work with industry sponsors, clinical liaisons and faculty advisors to develop real-world engineering solutions.

University Honors Program

For students seeking more rigorous coursework, comprehensive advising, private music study, smaller classes and the experience of living among some of the top students on campus, the University Honors Program offers many options.

Medical and Dental Careers

For students interested in applying to medical school or dental school, or in gaining an MD/PhD after they graduate, information can be found at the site for Medical and Dental Careers. More information on pursuing careers in the health professions can be found at the Center for Health Profession Studies. If you are interested in these careers, there are many relevant student organizations that you can join.