Bulletin

Graduate Programs

The graduate curriculum in biomedical engineering employs the same three tracks that compose the undergraduate curriculum: biomechanics, cell and tissue engineering, and biomedical imaging. The Department of Biomedical Engineering offers a graduate program leading to the Master of Science degree (M.S.), the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.), the Doctor of Engineering Science degree (Eng.Sc.D.), and the Ph.D. portion of the combined M.D., Ph.D. degree program. Applicants who have a Master of Science degree or equivalent may apply directly to the doctoral degree program. All applicants are expected to have earned the bachelor’s degree in engineering or in a cognate scientific program. The Graduate Record Examination (General Test only) is required of all applicants. Students whose bachelor’s degree was not earned in a country where English is the dominant spoken language are required to take the TOEFL test. M.S. and Professional Degree candidates must reach level 8 on the English Placement Test (EPT) offered by Columbia’s American Language Program (ALP). Doctoral degree candidates must attain level 10 on the English Placement Test (EPT). The ALP examination must be taken at orientation upon arrival. It is strongly recommended that students enroll in an appropriate ALP course if they have not achieved the required proficiency after the first examination. In addition, individual tracks require applicants to have taken the following foundation courses:

• Biomechanics: One year of biology and/or physiology, solid mechanics, statics and dynamics, fluid mechanics, ordinary differential equations.

• Cellular and Tissue Engineering: One year of organic chemistry or biochemistry with laboratory. One year of biology and/or physiology, fluid mechanics, rate processes, ordinary differential equations.

• Biomedical Imaging: Linear algebra, ordinary differential equations, Fourier analysis, digital signal processing, and one year of biology and/ or physiology and/or biochemistry.

Applicants lacking some of these courses may be considered for admission with stipulated deficiencies that must be satisfied in addition to the requirements of the degree program. The Engineering School does not admit students holding the B.S. degree directly to doctoral studies; admission is offered either to the M.S. program or to the M.S. program/doctoral track. Admissions standards for the latter category are generally higher than for the former. Applicants holding an appropriate M.S. degree from another institution may apply directly to the doctoral program. The Department of Biomedical Engineering also admits students into the 4-2 program, which provides the opportunity for students holding a bachelor’s degree from certain physical sciences to receive the M.S. degree after two years of study at Columbia

Curriculum and Exam Requirements

Master's Degree

In consultation with a faculty adviser, M.S. students should select a program of 30 points of credits of graduate courses (4000 level or above) appropriate to their career goals. This program must include one of the two courses in computational modeling of physiology systems (either BMEN E6001or BMEN E6002); two semesters of BMEN E9700: Biomedical engineering seminar; at least four other biomedical engineering courses; and at least one graduate-level mathematics course. Students with deficiency in physiology course work are required to take the BMEN E4001- E4002 sequence before taking either BMEN E6001 or E6002. Candidates must achieve a minimum grade-point average of 2.5. For students interested in obtaining research experience, up to 6 credits of research ( BMEN E9100) may be applied toward the M.S. degree.

Students planning to proceed to the doctoral degree should select courses to prepare for the doctoral qualifying examination and register for research rotations during the first two semesters of graduate study. To facilitate future collaboration with clinicians and biomedical scientists, students are encouraged to consider courses at the Health Sciences campus or in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Doctoral Degree

Doctoral students must complete a program of 30 points of credits beyond the M.S. degree. Both courses in computational modeling of physiological systems ( BMEN E6001 and E6002) are required for the doctoral program. At least one graduate mathematics course must be taken in addition to the mathematics course required for the M.S. degree. Students must register for BMEN E9700: Biomedical engineering seminar during the first two semesters of graduate study. Remaining courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser to prepare for the doctoral qualifying examination and to develop expertise in a clearly identified area of biomedical engineering. Up to 12 credits of research ( BMEN E9500) may be applied toward doctoral degree course requirements.

Doctoral Qualifying Examination

 Doctoral candidates are required to pass a qualifying examination. This examination is given once a year, in January. It should be taken after the student has completed 30 points of graduate study. The qualifying examination consists of oral and written examinations. The oral examination consists of the analysis of assigned scientific papers, and the written examination covers three areas: applied mathematics, quantitative biology and physiology, and track-specific material. Students must declare a track (biomedical imaging, biomechanics, or cell and tissue engineering) at the time of registration for the qualifying examination. A minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 is required to register for this examination. A candidate who fails the examination may be permitted to repeat it once at the time of the next examination.

Doctoral Committee and Thesis

Students who pass the qualifying examination choose a faculty member to serve as their research adviser. Each student is expected to submit a research proposal and present it to a thesis committee that consists of at least four faculty members. The committee considers the scope of the proposed research, its suitability for doctoral research and the appropriateness of the research plan. The committee may approve the proposal without reservation or may recommend modifications. In general, the student is expected to submit his/her research proposal after five semesters of doctoral studies. In accord with regulations of the School, each student is expected to submit a thesis and defend it before a committee of five faculty, two of whom hold primary appointments in another department. Every doctoral candidate is expected to have had accepted at least one full-length paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal prior to recommendation for award of the degree.