Degree Requirements
To complete the Ph.D. degree in the biomedical engineering program, the student must satisfy the following requirements:
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Satisfactory completion of 36 credits of approved graduate coursework. A minimum 3.3 grade point average in five core BME courses. must be achieved before scheduling the First (Qualifying) Examination.
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Satisfactory completion of the First (Qualifying) Examination, which is a presentation of the dissertation research area that highlights key problems in the field.
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Satisfactory completion of the Second Examination, which is a defense of the research proposal.
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Satisfactory completion of the Final Examination, which is a defense of the Ph.D. dissertation.
The detailed expectations for each of these requirements are described here. Detailed BME graduate course descriptions can be found here.
Ph.D. Coursework
Once any necessary undergraduate courses are completed, students are expected to complete 36 credits of graduate coursework in four areas, as outlined below. Students who have transferred credits from a master's degree must make every effort to complete these requirements by including the equivalent courses taken as part of their master's degree.
Biomedical Engineering Courses (at least 12 credits)
While students are encouraged to take as many BME courses as possible, a minimum of four of the following 3-credit courses must be taken. See the BME core course requirements for the GPA requirement.
BME I0003: Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering
BME I2000: Cell and Tissue Engineering
BME I2200: Cell and Tissue Transport
BME I2300: Translational Nanomedicine
BME I3000: Neural Engineering and Applied Bioelectricity
BME I3110: Biofluid Mechanics
BME I4200: Organ Transport and Pharmacokinetics
BME I5000: Medical Imaging and Image Processing
BME I5100: Biomedical Signal Processing
BME I7000: Laboratory in Cellular and Molecular Engineering
BME I7100: Cell and Tissue Mechanics
BME I7300: Cell and Tissue-Biomaterial Interactions
BME I7700: Microfluidic Devices in Biotechnology
BME I8000: Bone Physiology and Biomechanics
BME I9000: Skeletal Soft Tissue Physiology and Biomechanics
BME I9400: Special Topics in Machine Learning
BME I5600: Cell Mechanotransduction
BME I6000: Advanced Biomaterials
ENGR I7500: Poroelasticity
BME I6100: Intellectual Property, Regulation, and Quality Assurance (course permission required by MTM Program Director)
BME I9300: Scientific Ethics
BME I0000: BME Seminar
Any new or once-offered graduate course with the "BME" course code
The Scientific Ethics course (BME I9300), is a 1-credit course that is required for all PhD students. In addition, students have to register for at least 1 credit of BME I0000 Biomedical Engineering Seminar, which consists of weekly speakers from the BME field. All Ph.D. students are required to attend the BME seminar for their entire duration of study, regardless whether they are registered for the course.
*Students who are following the previous curriculum of 48 course credits and 12 Doctoral Research credits may take BME Seminar, BME I0000, up to three times for credit. Students following the current curriculum can only take BME Seminar once for credit.
Biomedical Sciences (at least 6 credits)
BME I4300: Physiology for Engineers, a 6-credit course, is required
BIO V1401: Cell Biology
PHYS V3800: Biophysics
BIO V2301: Neuroscience
BME I6400: Translational Challenges in Diagnostics, Devices, and Therapeutics
MEDS I7100: Translational Challenges in Medicine (course permission required by MTM Program Director)
MEDS I8200: Translational Research Design (course permission required by MTM Program Director)
Students should check relevant CCNY and CUNY listings for additional courses.
Mathematics Courses (at least 6 credits)
At least two math-related courses must be taken, to be chosen from the following partial listing (see the BME core course requirements for the GPA requirement):
ENGR I1100: Introduction to Engineering Analysis
ENGR I1400: Applied Partial Differential Equations
PHYS V0100: Mathematical Methods in Physics
BIO V8101 Mathematical Biology Lecture (3 credits) and BIO V8102 Mathematical Biology Lab (3 credits)***
ENGR I1500 Introduction to Numerical Methods
ENGR I1700 Finite Element Methods in Engineering
ENGR I4200 Continuum Mechanics
Engineering Courses Other than Biomedical (at least 3 credits)
NOTE: This portion of the curriculum is being phased out. The 3 credits will be moved to Elective Courses. This is pending approval by the GSoE and the CUNY Board of Trustees.
At least one engineering course in a field other than BME must be completed. However, this may also be satisfied with:
BME I6100: Intellectual Property, Regulation, and Quality Assurance (course permission required by MTM Program Director)
BME I9400: Special Topics in Machine Learning
Elective Courses (9 credits)
NOTE: This portion of the curriculum is being increased to be 12 credits, after removal of the "Engineering Courses Other than Biomedical" category. This is pending approval by the GSoE and the CUNY Board of Trustees.
Any graduate courses can be taken from the categories above to complete a total of 36 course credits.
BME Core Course Requirements
In order to take the First Examination (the Qualifying Exam), students must obtain a minimum grade point
average of 3.3 in five core graduate courses. This GPA requirement is designed to ensure that all Ph.D.
students have a sufficient understanding of the core biomedical engineering fundamentals to pursue
advanced study and professional career opportunities.
At least one course must be taken from each of the groups 1-4 below:
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Core Group 1 - Mathematics
BIO V8101 Mathematical Biology***
ENGR I1100: Introduction to Engineering Analysis
ENGR I1400: Applied Partial Differential Equations
ENGR I4200: Continuum Mechanics
PHYS V0100: Mathematical Methods in Physics
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Core Group 2 - Signals and Images
BME I3000: Neural Engineering and Applied Bioelectricity
BME I5000: Medical Imaging and Image Processing
BME I9400: Special Topics in Machine Learning
BME I5100: Biomedical Signal Processing
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Core Group 3 - Mechanics
BME I7100: Cell and Tissue Mechanics
BME I2200: Cell and Tissue Transport
BME I8000: Bone Physiology and Biomechanics
BME I9000: Skeletal Soft Tissue Physiology and Biomechanics
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Core Group 4 - Tissues and Materials
BME I2000: Cell and Tissue Engineering
BME I6000: Advanced Biomaterials
BME I7000 Laboratory in Cellular and Molecular Engineering
BME I7300: Cell and Tissue Biomaterial Interactions
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and in addition, all students are required to take BOTH courses from Core Group 5
Core Group 5 - Physiology and Ethics
BME I4300: Physiology for Engineers**
BME I9300: Scientific Ethics
Completion of 24 Credits of Doctoral Dissertation Research
Each student must complete 24 credits of the course BME J99xx Doctoral Dissertation Research. The instructor for this course should be the student's Ph.D. mentor.
Last Updated: 08/17/2023 17:48