Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Program Description
Biomedical Engineering at Nebraska is highly i
nterdisciplinary, with
collaboration among faculty and students from many engineering departments and from the
University of Nebraska Medical Center,
Creighton University, the
University of Nebraska-Omaha. and the
College of Engineering. In addition, Nebraska engineering faculty and students work closely with area hospitals including Bryan LGH, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, St. Elizabeth Hospital, and the Nebraska Heart Institute. Major emphasis is on employing engineering techniques to improve human health, by understanding both the engineering needs and the medical needs for the specific problem.
The Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Program at Nebraska
is designed to facilitate interdisciplinary research. Students in the program typically have undergraduate degrees in various engineering disciplines, or from physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. To complete the Ph.D., they take 24 graduate level engineering classes, and at least 12 graduate level credit hours in biomedical sciences, and write a thesis. Admission to the Ph.D. Program does not require a Masters Degree. However, a previous M.S. degree generally reduces the coursework and amount of time needed to complete a Ph.D. It also provides valuable experience in defining and managing a Ph.D research project.
Prerequisites/Deficiency Procedures
- All students, whether or not they have a Master's degree, must have a B.S. in engineering, science1, or mathematics.
- It is expected that most students will be admitted to the program under a "probationary status" until they complete the following requirements for full admission:
- One undergraduate course in either basic biology or introductory physiology, including a laboratory experience
- One undergraduate course in generally related are of the biological sciences such as anatomy, microbiology, experimental psychology, physiology, pharmacology, etc.
- Two semesters of college physics
- Mathematics through differential equations
- Three semesters of junior level or higher engineering classes, one of which must be a semester of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, or solid mechanics, circuits and electronics, signal processing.
- It is possible to waive the above prerequisite requirements by a majority vote of voting members of the field.
Students who have not already taken the above courses will be given "probationary" admission, and the deficiency courses will be noted in the student" admission letter. The students must complete the deficiency courses during the first two years of their enrollment in the program, and those courses will not be applied toward the graduate degree program.
