Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program - Admissions

Content

• • Applicants with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering
    • Admission Deadlines
      • UT Southwestern
      • UT Arlington
    • Admission Requirements
      • Ph.D. Degree Plan
      • M.S. Degree Plan
    • Application Materials
      • UT Southwestern
      • UT Arlington
        
        
  • Applicants with a Bachelor's Degree in the Biological, Physical or Mathematical Sciences  
    • Deficiency Requirements
      
      
  • Disclaimer

Applicants with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering

For admission into the Joint Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, applicants must meet the entrance requirements of the Graduate Schools at UTA and UT Southwestern and the specific requirements of the BME program.

Application can be made to either institution with the admitting institution designated as the "home" campus. Other factors influencing home campus selection are personal in nature, especially living arrangements and small differences in registration fees. Students fulfilling any deficiency course requirements and students enrolling part-time must enroll at UTA.

When preparing the application, the applicant should carefully indicate the reasons for entry into the Biomedical Engineering Program. Applicants with specific interests are encouraged to state them. Acceptance into the program requires the approval of the dean of the Graduate School at the entry institution, graduate advisor, and program chairman.

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Application Deadlines:

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Requirements:

Ph.D. Degree Plan Requirements
   3.4 GPA in the last 60 hours taken in the major field of study
   GRE (Verbal Quantitative)  1175 (verbal score being 400 or better)  
   TOEFL 575 or better

Guidelines for the doctoral program in Biomedical Engineering are printed in the UTA and UT Southwestern graduate catalogs. A synopsis of this information follows.

There are five established research tracks available for Ph.D. candidates. These are: 1) bioinstrumentation and human performance, 2) biomaterials and tissue engineering, 3) biomechanics and orthopaedics, 4) medical imaging, 5) molecular and computational engineering. Each Ph.D. candidate must pass three exams (I, II, and III). Students are encouraged to develop a research interest early in their program (prior to taking Exam I). Exam I is a qualifying exam, usually given after the first year. The exam chairman selects an appropriate committee and determines subject areas to be examined, with consent of the JGSC. The student is encouraged to visit the chairman and committee members (the examiners) to determine the breadth and depth of material to be covered. Exam I consists of a written exam, based on a broad problem in the area of the student's research track. The exam emphasizes basic concepts to solve a fundamental problem, and the ability to integrate material. The student is called for a subsequent oral examination to defend the written exam approach, and cover areas of perceived weakness. Examiners grade the exam on a pass, conditional pass, conditional fail, or fail basis. If the grade is marginal, the exam chairman will require reexamination in that subject area.

At this stage, the student should (1) be knowledgeable of the literature and academic course work relevant to the chosen BME problem area; (2) have formulated a hypothesis and proposed an experimental design; and (3) know how to proceed into the problem area. Exam II tests this readiness. It consists of a detailed written prospectus of proposed dissertation research and includes an oral examination. The prospectus shall resemble a grant proposal and follow National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant proposal guidelines. Exam II is administered by the student's supervisory committee who will subsequently review and evaluate the student's progress. Committee members and the committee chairman are asked to serve by the student; however, members with expertise in relevant areas may be added by the JGSC chairman. Upon completion of Exam II, the committee composition may be altered by the JGSC, if necessary, although this is not customary. The committee administers Exam III, the oral defense of the completed dissertation.

M.S. Degree Plan Requirements
   3.0 GPA in the last 60 hours taken in the major field of study
   GRE (Verbal Quantitative)  1100 (verbal score being 400 or better)
   TOEFL 575 or better

The M.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering requires 37 credit hours. Details about the course of study are printed in both the UTA and UT Southwestern graduate catalogs. A non-thesis option is available, but is not encouraged. Non thesis candidates must pass a comprehensive written examination and write a project report. Thesis degree candidates carry out independent research in a laboratory, write and then defend their thesis. They are not required to pass the comprehensive examination. The M.S. degree must be completed within five (5) years. 

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Application Materials

When preparing the application, the applicant should carefully indicate the reasons for entry into the Biomedical Engineering Program. Applicants with specific interests are encouraged to state them. Acceptance into the program requires the approval of the dean of the Graduate School at the entry institution, graduate advisor, and program chairman. Incomplete applications will be deferred for consideration until the application is complete.

Apply to UT Southwestern
The most rapid and efficient method of applying to the Joint Biomedical Engineering Program at UT Southwestern is our on-line application.  Click here to begin application.

If you have questions regarding the Joint Biomedical Engineering Program, email us at
bme@utsouthwestern.edu or contact us by phone at 214-648-2503.

Apply UT Arlington
Information and admission materials may be requested either through the UTA BME program office or the Graduate School Admissions office (UTA).  

Completed applications for admission and all required supporting documentation (transcripts, recommendations, scores, etc.) must be mailed directly to your home campus as follows:

University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
Graduate School Admissions
Office of the Registrar
P.O. Box 19167
Arlington, TX 76019-0167
817-272-2688
e-mail: graduate.school@uta.edu

NOTE: UTA Applicants:
International Students must pay an application evaluation charge of $50.00 (Money order made payable in U.S. dollars). The non-refundable evaluation charge must be submitted with the original application and cannot be waived. All U.S. students must pay a $25.00 application fee.

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Applicants with a Bachelor's Degree in the Biological, Physical or Mathematical Sciences

Applicants without a bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline are required to take remedial course work in engineering and must apply through UTA. For complete list of required undergraduate engineering courses click here.  Admission into the Graduate School is usually deferred pending the completion of undergraduate engineering courses with letter grades of "A" or "B." Thereafter, any applicant may be accepted conditionally while taking deficiency courses. Students are encouraged to meet with the UTA graduate adviser for additional information.

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Deficiency Requirements

I. The following course work should be completed prior to admission into the graduate program, for those students entering UTA in the degreed undergraduate category.

II. Five junior and senior level courses in a major engineering discipline should be taken; these can be completed following entry into the graduate program. The following list includes more advanced courses in electrical and mechanical engineering. This list is not comprehensive.

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Disclaimer This information is not an official publication and the contents hereof are not an official policy of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, The University of Texas at Arlington or The University of Texas System. In all matters, the Rules and Regulations of the Regents of The University of Texas System, The Handbook of Operation procedures of The University of Texas at Arlington, and the Graduate Catalogs of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and The University of Texas at Arlington shall supersede this information.

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