2020-2021 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Department of Biomedical Engineering
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Telephone: (302) 831-4578
Email: bmeg-info@udel.edu
Department website: http://bme.udel.edu/academics/graduate/
Faculty Listing: http://bme.udel.edu/people/
Overview
UD’s Biomedical Engineering graduate program builds upon the established biomedical research strength at the University and trains future generations of researchers and professionals. Through this program, graduate students can obtain a PhD that will be awarded by the College of Engineering. The PhD program is built on a first year core curriculum with advanced curricula that are based on the research the student will perform for the thesis. It offers academic rigor, as well as flexibility, to meet the needs and interests of students from different backgrounds and of their faculty advisors. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of Biomedical Engineering, faculty that are affiliated with this program come from multiple colleges and departments at UD. PhD students will identify a faculty advisor among these faculty who will be responsible for defining the student’s research and for evaluating the student’s performance.
Students enrolled in the PhD program also have the option of completing a MS degree with an optional thesis as an intermediate step toward completing the PhD. Students are not admitted directly into the MS program.
Research Facilities
The Ammon Pinizzotto Biopharmaceutical Innovation Center is an iconic new UD building on the STAR campus that opened February 2020. This six story lab building is intentionally designed to be a flexible space to house the BME, NIIMBL and DBI programs, among others, and to encourage a collaborative research environment.
STAR Health Science Complex research and innovation programs focus on prevention, health monitoring and rehabilitation with more than 120 faculty members in seven different departments who collaborate on research programs that address everything from cardiovascular health to neurological diseases to orthopedics to aging to pediatrics and so much more. Collaboration across the University and with external partners - in the health sciences and an array of other disciplines. Emphasis is on the importance of ‘education as research’ and in seeking better ways to develop a workforce for today’s healthcare; finding better and more innovative ways to teach students and prepare them for careers.
The Patrick T. Harker Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory (Harker Lab) is a hub of teaching and research on campus. The 194,000-square-foot facility brings together students and faculty from various disciplines to teach, learn and conduct research in a collaborative environment. Research provides content for the curriculum and students learn through the exploration of real-world problems. The research wing houses core facilities for teams of researchers, including:
Center for Biomedical & Brain Imaging is the home for neuroimaging research at the University of Delaware. The centerpieces of the facility are the state-of-the-art Siemens 3T Magnetom Prisma and Brucker Biospec 94/20 MRI scanners. Researchers from Biomedical Engineering and the STAR campus use MRI to image various bones, joints, and muscle to understand how these structures are affected by various disorders to assess the efficacy of therapeutic interventions such as physical therapy.
Local Clinical Partners: Nemours/ A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Christiana Care Health Systems, and Thomas Jefferson University.
Financial Aid / Funding
The majority of students in the BME PhD program will be supported on research contracts and grants obtained by their Faculty Advisors. Students pursuing a terminal MS degree are not generally funded by the department, but may be supported on research contracts and grants as deemed appropriate by the PI on those projects. MS students may also be appointed as Teaching Assistants at the discretion of the graduate committee chair. PhD Students on projects without external funding will be provided support (assuming that their progress is satisfactory) through the use of either other program funds or by appointment as a Teaching Assistant. No student will be supported by departmental funds for more than 2 semesters; funds beyond such a commitment must be provided by the Faculty Advisor or by appointment as a Teaching Assistant. In general, funding is not guaranteed beyond five years.
Students in the Biomedical Engineering program may be provided Graduate Assistantships:
Research Assistants (RAs) are generally funded by research grants and contracts provided by external funding agencies. Students should be supported as an RA through their Faculty Advisor’s research funds once they are matched (usually following the first full semester of the student’s matriculating year). RAships provide full tuition and a stipend.
Teaching Assistants (TAs) are offered for graduate students to perform teaching and other instructional activities. Note that this is different from the Teaching Aid Requirement described in the Candidacy Requirements section. The amount of service may vary from week to week but the average is usually expected to be 20 hours per week. A TA-ship provides full tuition and a stipend. In accordance with University of Delaware regulations, TAs must fulfill the requirements detailed for the Teaching Aid Requirement in the Candidacy Requirements section above in order to qualify for this type of assistantships.
Additionally there are opportunities provided by the Graduate College for merit-based financial awards which are granted to students to full-time students in good academic standing with regular status. Please refer to Graduate Fellowships and Assistantships for more information.
Biomedical Engineering, PhD
Telephone: (302) 831-4578
Website: http://bme.udel.edu/academics/graduate/
Requirements for Admission
Applicants to the PhD program in BME should meet the following requirements:
- A bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering, physical, or biological sciences from an accredited 4-year college or university with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale.
- Engineering, science, and math courses from the following list, while not required for admission, are highly recommended: Calculus, Differential Equations, Calculus-based Physics, Biology, Physiology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Signal Processing, Statics and Dynamics, Probability and Statistics, and Computer Programming. It is understood that very few applicants will have completed all of these courses, but all provide a foundation that will help with the required courses in the Biomedical Engineering graduate program.
- Competitive GRE scores of 700 for Quantitative and 1200 or higher for Quantitative + Verbal. With the new GRE scoring system, this corresponds to a score of 155 for Quantitative and 308 or higher for Quantitative + Verbal.
- For international applicants, a TOEFL exam taken within the last 2 years with a minimum score of 223 for the computer-based test and of 84 for the iBT with a 20 for the iBT speaking component.
- Three letters of recommendation from individuals acquainted with the student and his/her academic work or from employers or others who have had a supervisory relationship with the applicant and are able to assess the applicant’s potential for success in graduate studies.
- A personal statement (1 page) that indicates:
- the reason for his/her interest in graduate study
- a discussion of previous research experience
- his/her area of interest and a list of faculty whose research area is of interest
- his/her career objectives
We encourage candidates with research experience (undergraduate as well as industrial), as well as those with practical industrial experience after the baccalaureate degree to apply. Admission to the graduate program is competitive. Those who meet stated requirements are not guaranteed admission, and those who fail to meet all of those requirements are not necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths. Required courses can be found through the link below. Apply using the central UD graduate application.
Dual degree and accelerated 4+1 degree programs
See details below.
ProgramsDoctorate
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