The biomedical engineering (BME) curriculum integrates selected engineering sciences and design methods with life science coursework. The program prepares students for careers in a variety of health care related professions including work for medical device manufacturers and regulatory governmental agencies. The course content of the biomedical engineering curriculum complements the departmental strengths in mechanical engineering and includes a comprehensive coverage of engineering materials and biomechanics applications. Elective courses are available to allow students to specialize their curriculum to areas of particular current interest in the marketplace such as cellular and tissue engineering applications. The biomedical engineering program also allows students to meet medical school admission requirements with an appropriate selection of technical electives.
Visit the course catalog for more details on academic policies and requirements.
Curriculum
Below is the list of courses for each of the four years of the biomedical engineering program. 132 total credit hours are needed.
| Term 1 | Hours | Milestone Notes |
| CHEM 120*or CHEM 128* | 4 | MATH 130or MATH 131or higher or one Arts and Humanities Elective*, Cultures and Civilizations Elective*, or Social Sciences Elective* |
| EF 105 | 1 | |
| EF 151*or EF 157* | 4 | |
| 1ENGL 101*or ENGL 118* | 3 | |
| MATH 132* or MATH 141*or MATH 147* | 3-4 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| CHEM 130*or CHEM 138* | 4 | MATH 130or MATH 131or higher |
| EF 152*or EF 158* | 4 | |
| ENGL 102* | 3 | |
| MATH 142*or MATH 148* | 4 | |
| ME 202 | 2 | |
| Term 3 | ||
| BIOL 160* or BIOL 168* | 3 | EF 151*or PHYS 135* |
| EF 230 | 2 | |
| MATH 200, MATH 231or MATH 237 | 5 | |
| ME 231 | 3 | |
| STAT 251 | 3 | |
| Term 4 | ||
| BME 205 | 3 | EF 152*or PHYS 136* |
| MATH 241or MATH 247 | 4 | |
| ME 321 | 3 | |
| 2Social Sciences Elective* | 3 | |
| PHYS 231* | 3 | MSE 201 or MSE 207 or ME 202 |
| Term 5 | ||
| BME 341 | 3 | CBE 201or COSC 102or ME 202or MSE 201 |
| 2Arts and Humanities Elective* | 3 | |
| BME 363or BME 367; BME 474 | 6 | |
| ECE 301 | 3 | |
| PHIL 345* | 3 | |
| Term 6 | ||
| 2Arts and Humanities Elective* | 3 | No milestones |
| BME 315, BME 345 | 6 | |
| 3Technical Elective or Biomedical Engineering Elective | 3 | |
| 2Oral Communication* | 3 | |
| Term 7 | ||
| BME 449* | 4 | No milestones |
| BME 450 | 3 | |
| BME 473or BME 477 | 3 | |
| 3Technical Elective or Biomedical Engineering Elective | 3 | |
| 2Social Sciences Elective* | 3 | |
| Term 8 | ||
| 4Biomedical Engineering Elective | 3 | No milestones |
| BME 460 | 3 | |
| 2Cultures and Civilizations Electives* | 6 | |
| 3Technical Elective | 3 | |
| TOTAL | 132 |
| 1 | Students receiving a grade of A or B in ENGL 118*will complete their first year composition requirement by choosing ENGL 102*, a sophom*ore literature course in the English Department, or ENGL 355*. |
| 2 | Choose any course from the University General Education list. |
| 3 | Technical Elective: Must be preapproved based on selected Track (see footnote 5 below). |
| 4 | Biomedical Engineering Elective: Restricted to any 300-500 biomedical engineering course not required for the degree or CHEM 260or CHEM 268,CHEM 360or CHEM 368. |
| 5 | There are (4) Tracks in the BME Undergraduate Program: (1) Diagnostics, (2) Medical Device Design, (3) Therapeutics, and (4) Pre-Med. The technical or biomedical engineering elective courses for each track are: |
Diagnostics Track:
BME 494; MATH 300or MATH 307, MATH 323and ECE 472; ECE 315, ECE 316and ECE 415; ECE 202and ECE 335; BME 480; MATH 405; BIOL 159, BCMB 415and BCMB 416.
Medical Device Design Track:
BME 494; ECE 202and ECE 335; ME 405; ME 451; MSE 201or MSE 207and ME 366; ME 366and ME 469; ME 366and ME 470; ME 457; ME 331; BIOL 159, BCMB 415and BCMB 416.
Therapeutics Track:
BME 494; BME 409; BME 405; BME 486; NE 433and NE 490; CHEM 260orCHEM 268, CHEM 360or CHEM 368, CHEM 359; BCMB 401and CHEM 260/CHEM 360; BCMB 461; MICR 330; BIOL 159, BCMB 415and BCMB 416.
Pre-Med Track:
BME 494; BIOL 150, BIOL 159; CHEM 260or CHEM 268,CHEM 359, CHEM 360or CHEM 368, BIOL 240; BCMB 401and CHEM 260/CHEM 360.
Biomedical Engineering Major – Honors Concentration
In addition to satisfying the requirements for the biomedical engineering major, candidates for the honors concentration must also complete the following requirements.
- Maintain an overall GPA of 3.4.
- Four 100- or 200-level honors courses* (14 hours minimum, at least two courses must be from Materials Science and Engineering, Engineering Fundamentals, Physics, Math, Chemistry, Biology, Statistics, or MSE 207).
- Complete two upper-division honors courses in biomedical engineering (BME 367, BME 477).
- Satisfy the Breadth Requirements for the Cook Grand Challenge Honors Program.
*While most students fulfill this requirement with 100- and 200-level courses, students may substitute upper level courses on approval of the Honors faculty.
Biomedical Engineering Major – Five-Year BS/MS Program
The department offers a Five-Year BS-MS program for qualified students. The primary component of the program is that qualified students may take up to 9 hours of approved graduate courses for their senior undergraduate electives and have them count toward both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Tennessee. This program is designed for students attending the University of Tennessee for their Master of Science degree because other universities may not accept these courses for graduate credit since they were used to satisfy requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree. Significant components of the program are:
- Students must have an overall GPA of at least 3.4 to be admitted to the program. Conditional admission may be granted after completing 64 hours of required course work while full admission is granted after completing 96 hours of required course work with a minimum overall GPA of 3.4 in required course work.
- Students must at least have conditional admission before taking graduate courses for both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. All courses taken for graduate credit must be approved by the departmental chair of the program. Students admitted to the program must request permission from the Graduate School to take approved courses for graduate credit. Students admitted to the program must also follow the normal procedure for admission to the Graduate School.
- Admission of students into this program must be approved by the department and the Graduate School.
- Students will not be eligible for graduate assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate-level students in the Graduate School.
* Meets University General Education Requirement.
Click here for more information on the Five-Year BS/MS Program.
Minor
The College of Engineering offers a minor in biomedical engineering to those undergraduate students whose academic history provides the prerequisites for the courses required by the minor. The minor requires the completion of a minimum of32 credits. Some of the courses used in the minor may also satisfy requirements for the student’s major.
Students may enroll in the minor program by completing a form at the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, 316A Dougherty Engineering Building. A copy of the completed enrollment form and information on the minor requirements will be forwarded to the student’s home department advisor.
Complete:
AE 341 – Fluid Mechanics I
BCMB 230 – Human Physiology
BME 315 – Signals and Systems Analysis
BME 345 – Biomedical Engineering Instrumentation and Measurement
BME 363 – System Dynamics
BME 430 – Biomedical Engineering Laboratory
BME 473 – Applied Biomechanics
ECE 301 – Circuits and Electro Mechanical Components
ME 321 – Mechanics of Materials
MSE 201 – Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering
