BS Degree Requirements

The BS degree in biomedical engineering (BME) requires a total of 132 credit hours in the following areas:

Core BME Courses: 36 credits
Basic Science and Math Courses: 38 credits
Basic Science Electives: 8 credits
Humanities and Social Sciences: 16 credits
Primary Writing Requirement: 4 credits
Communicating your Professional Identity in Engineering: 2 credits
Upper-Level Writing Requirement: 4 credits
BME Concentration Courses: 16 credits
Free Electives: 12 credits

Check out the undergraduate BME curriculum diagram (pdf) for a visual outline of the undergraduate program. For an in-depth look at BME requirements, please refer to the Undergraduate BME Curriculum Guide (pdf).

Core BME Courses

BME 101/EAS 101: Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
BME 201: Fundamentals of Biomechanics
BME 201P: MATLAB for Biomechanics (2 credits)
BME 210: Biosystems and Circuits
BME 221: Biomedical Computation and Statistics
BME 230: Biomedical Signals, Systems and Imaging
BME 245: Biomaterials
BME 260: Quantitative Physiology with Lab
BME 295: BME Design Seminar (2 credits)
BME 296: BME Senior Design

Basic Math and Science

Nine courses in natural sciences and mathematics:

Four math courses

  • MATH 161: Calculus IA*
  • MATH 162: Calculus IIA*
  • MATH 165: Linear Algebra with Differential Equations
  • MATH 164: Multidimensional Calculus

*MATH 141, 142, and 143 are equivalent to MATH 161 and 162

Two chemistry courses

  • CHEM 131: CHM Concepts, Systems, Practice I
  • CHEM 132: CHM Concepts, Systems, Practice II

Two physics courses

  • PHYS 121 or PHYS 121P: Mechanics or PHYS 113, if taking MATH 140 series
  • PHYS 122 or PHYS 122P: Electricity and Magnetism

One biology course

  • BIOL 110: Principles of Biology I

Basic Science Electives

All students must complete at least two additional courses (at least 8 credit hours) in the basic sciences in addition to the required introductory biology (BIOL 110), chemistry (CHEM 131 AND CHEM 132), and physics (PHYS 121/141 and PHYS 122/142) courses. Most natural science courses with a number of 110 or higher (biology, microbiology, environmental science, neuroscience, chemistry, physics, or selected courses from brain AND cognitive sciences) may be used to fulfill this requirement. For an up-to-date listing of allowable courses please see the current Undergraduate BME Curriculum Guide. Students are encouraged to choose their basic science electives to complement their BME concentration area and career plans. Independent study courses cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.

Humanities and Social Sciences 

All BME majors must complete a total of four courses* in humanities and/or social sciences. Three of these courses must constitute an approved cluster in humanities or social sciences and must be passed with a 2.0 average or better. See the Cluster Search Engine to review courses and descriptions.

The fourth course can be chosen from any humanities or social science course.

*A minor, or a second major, in a humanities or social science area will also satisfy the cluster and additional course requirement.

Primary Writing Requirement

The Primary Writing Requirement must be satisfied before declaring your major. Review the primary writing requirement section of the advising handbook for more information.

Professional Writing Requirement

  • WRTG 273: Communicating your Professional Identity

All students must complete WRTG 273, an interactive course designed to teach "real life communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves." Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, technical project abstracts, online profiles (i.e. LinkedIn), and oral presentations.

This course may be taken either in the spring of the sophomore year or the fall of the junior year.

Upper-Level Writing Requirement

Significant writing experience in one's discipline is an important adjunct to the technical material one learns. The following courses, as well as any upper-level BME course, will satisfy this requirement including:

  • BME 221: Biomedical Computation and Statistics
  • BME 230: BME Signals, Systems and Imaging
  • BME 260: Quantitative Physiology
  • BME 296: Senior Design Project

BME Concentration Courses 

Students choose to concentrate in one of four BME specialty areas, or can make their own custom concentration by petition. Each concentration includes an upper-level BME course in the specialty area. See the Undergraduate BME Curriculum Guide for examples of course schedules by concentration area.

Biosignals and Biosystems

ECE 230: Electromagnetic Waves
ECE 221: Electronic Devices and Circuits or BME 228: Physiological Control Systems
ECE 246: Digital Signal Processing
Upper-Level BME (e.g., BME 251: Biomedical Ultrasound, ECE 452: Medical Imaging, BME 218: Introduction to Neuroengineering)

Biomechanics

ME 226: Introduction to Solid Mechanics
ME 225: Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
ME 123: Thermodynamics
Upper-Level BME (e.g., BME 283: Biosolid Mechanics or BME 212: Viscoelasticity in Biological Tissues)

Cell and Tissue Engineering

CHE 243: Fluid Dynamics
CHE 244: Heat and Mass Transfer
ME 123: Thermodynamics or CHE 225: Thermodynamics with pre-requisites
Upper Level BME (e.g., BME 262: Cell and Tissue Engineering or BME266: Bioprocess Engineering)

Medical Optics

BME 270: Biomedical Microscopy
OPT 241: Geometrical Optics
OPT 261: Interference and Diffraction
Upper Level BME: (e.g., BME 255: Translational Biomedical Optics or BME272: Advanced Biomedical Microscopy)

Free Electives

At least 12 credit hours of Free Electives are required. Any courses taken at Rochester, AP courses or transfer courses can be counted toward this requirement.