Mar 19, 2024  
2011-2012 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2011-2012 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biomedical Engineering Major, BS in Biomedical Engineering


The biomedical engineering curriculum integrates selected engineering sciences and design methods with life science course work. The program prepares students for careers in a variety of health care related professions including work for medical device manufacturers and regulatory governmental agencies. The course content of the biomedical engineering curriculum complements the departmental strengths in mechanical engineering and includes a comprehensive coverage of engineering materials and biomechanics applications. Elective courses are  available to allow students to specialize their curriculum to areas of particular current interest in the marketplace such as cellular and tissue engineering applications. The biomedical engineering program also allows students to take medical school admission requirements with an appropriate selection of technical electives.

The educational objectives of the biomedical engineering program are

  • In their professional work or graduate study, program graduates will have demonstrated an in-depth understanding of biology and physiology, advanced mathematics (including differential equations and statistics), and problems associated with the interaction between living and non-living materials and systems.
  • In their professional work or graduate study, program graduates will have demonstrated skills for problem solving at the interface of engineering and biology. Graduates will have demonstrated their competence in using modern experimental and data analysis techniques for measurements and data interpretation on living systems and biological materials, analysis and design of biomedical products. Graduates will have consistently demonstrated a high level of personal skills required for teamwork and effective communications.
  • In their post-graduation professional activities graduates will have demonstrated a commitment to life-long learning and personal professionalism and ethics.
  • Capable program graduates will have been able to gain admission to and successfully complete graduate study or the study of medicine at major universities.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering


   

First Year

Hours Credit

1ENGL 101 * or ENGL 118 *, ENGL 102  6
CHEM 120 * or CHEM 128 *, CHEM 130 * or CHEM 138 * 8
MATH 141 * or MATH 147 *, MATH 142 * or MATH 148 * 8
EF 105 , EF 151  or EF 157 , EF 152  or EF 158  9
ME 202  2
   

Second Year

 
PHYS 231 *, PHYS 232 * 7
MATH 200 , MATH 231 , MATH 241  or MATH 247  8
ME 231 , ME 321  6
BCMB 230  5
2Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3
BME 271  1
STAT 251  3
   

Third Year

 
ECE 300  5
AE 341  3
BME 315 , BME 345 , BME 363  9
ME 331  3
MSE 201  3
ECON 201 * or ECON 207 * 4
2Arts and Humanities Elective * 3
   

Fourth Year

 
EF 402  1
BME 410 *(OC), BME 430 *(WC), BME 455 , BME 469 , BME 473  13
2Cultures and Civilizations Elective * 3
3Technical Elective 3
4Departmental Electives 6
2Arts and Humanities Elective * 3
2Social Sciences Elective * 3
   
 

Total 128

   
* Meets University General Education Requirement .
1Students receiving a grade of A or B in ENGL 118  will complete their first year composition requirement by choosing ENGL 102 , a sophomore literature course in the English Department, or ENGL 355 .
2Choose any course from the University General Education list .
3Technical elective: courses must be pre-approved and petitioned by the advisor and department head.
4Departmental elective: any 300-500 level mechanical, aerospace, or biomedical engineering courses that are not already required.

 

Honors Biomedical Engineering Concentration


In addition to satisfying the requirements for the biomedical engineering major, candidates for the honors concentration must also complete the following requirements.

  • First-year courses for honors concentrations in the engineering majors. (Note: Most of the honors requirements are course substitutions for the biomedical engineering major.)
  • Two upper-division honors courses in biomedical engineering via Honors-by-Contract or Honors Independent Study. If participating in only the Chancellor’s Honors Program, the Honors-by-Contract paperwork goes to the Chancellor’s Honors Office on campus during the first 10 days of the semester. If participating in Engineering Honors and not Chancellor’s Honors, the Honors-by-Contract paperwork is submitted the first 10 days of the semester to the engineering major department. If participating in both Chancellor’s and Engineering Honors, the Honors-by-Contract paperwork is submitted to both areas.
  • A minimum of 3-credit hours of an honors senior design course. This requirement is normally satisfied as part of the senior capstone design course (BME 469 ).

 

Five-Year BS/MS Biomedical Engineering Program


The department offers a 5 year BS-MS program for qualified students. The primary component of the program is that qualified students may take up to 9 hours of approved graduate courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Tennessee. This program is designed for students attending the University of Tennessee for their Master of Science degree because other universities may not accept these courses for graduate credit since they were used to satisfy requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree. Significant components of the program are:

  • Students must have an overall GPA of at least 3.4 to be admitted to the program. Conditional admission may be granted after completing 64 hours of required course work while full admission is granted after completing 96 hours of required course work with a minimum overall GPA of 3.4 in required course work.
  • Students must at least have conditional admission before taking graduate courses for both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. All courses taken for graduate credit must be approved by the departmental chair of the program. Students admitted to the program must request permission from the Graduate School to take approved courses for graduate credit. Students admitted to the program must also follow the normal procedure for admission to the Graduate School.
  • Admission of students into this program must be approved by the department and the Graduate School.
  • Students will not be eligible for graduate assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate-level students in the Graduate School.