Department of Biomedical Engineering

Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Engineering

A Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Biomedical Engineering (BME) at UTSA is an interdisciplinary program that combines engineering principles, approaches, and methodologies with biological, chemical and physical sciences in order to define and solve problems in medicine. Students will be trained in the fundamentals of science and engineering and are expected to be able to apply this knowledge to investigate fundamental biomedical engineering questions associated with complex living systems as well as with the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. A broad understanding of sciences and engineering principles is provided in the first two years of the program, with students having the option to choose one concentration as an in-depth focus area of study in the last two years of the program. Critical thinking and innovative design skills are integrated throughout the program to aid students in developing solutions and in solving biomedical engineering-related problems. Design projects throughout the program and Senior BME Design courses provide students the opportunity to integrate their design, critical thinking and communication skills with the scientific and engineering knowledge they acquired throughout the Biomedical Engineering program. The regulations for this degree comply with the general University regulations (refer to Chapter 1, Bachelor’s Degree Regulations).

Admission Requirements. A first-time, full-time freshman admitted as a biomedical engineering major must meet the minimum admission criteria of the College of Engineering. These criteria are:

• Students must meet all UTSA admission requirements;


• Students must have credit for MAT 1214 Calculus I or have completed all necessary prerequisites to enroll in MAT 1214 Calculus I (through a mathematics placement test or credit for MAT 1093 Precalculus or an equivalent).


• Students must:
  
  1. have graduated in the top quartile of their high school graduation class, or
  
  
  2. have graduated in the second quartile of their high school class and have a SAT score of at least 1050 (Reading and Math) or a ACT composite score of at least 22, or,
  
  
  3. be granted admission into a College of Engineering major by holistic review by the College of Engineering if not meeting the criteria in 1 and 2 above.

All students applying for admission to the Biomedical Engineering program must submit the following supplemental documents to the Department of Biomedical Engineering:

• two (2) letters of recommendation,
• a copy of the transcript, and
• a statement of their interests, professional career goals and how the Biomedical Engineering program will help achieve those goals.

All transfer students must meet the aforementioned minimum admission requirements for the College of Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering program. Transfer students must also meet the minimum Good Academic Standing Requirements for a Biomedical Engineering Major (see below) in order to be considered for admission to the Biomedical Engineering program. Additionally, transfer students should also have completed at least 15 semester credit hours of mathematics, science, or engineering courses, and have an overall grade point average of a 3.0 or better.

Admissions to the biomedical engineering program will be competitive; meeting the aforementioned requirements does not guarantee admission to the program. Admission will be restricted only to the most qualified applicants.

Good Academic Standing Requirements for a Biomedical Engineering Major. All students must be in good academic standing in order to remain in the Biomedical Engineering program. The minimum requirements that a student must satisfy in order to remain in good standing as a biomedical engineering major are stated below:

• A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 for all coursework (Cumulative GPA will be calculated on all courses, including previously attempted or repeated courses).
  
• An average GPA of at least 3.0 for all science, mathematics and engineering coursework (GPA will be calculated on all courses, including previously attempted or repeated courses).

Students who fail to meet the above requirements but have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above will be placed on programmatic probation in the following semester. Students who fail to maintain good academic standing after a semester of programmatic probation or who has a cumulative GPA below 2.5 will be deemed to be not in good academic standing as a biomedical engineering major and will be removed from the program.

Education Objectives. The objectives of this program are founded on the belief that engineering principles and understanding of biological and physical sciences are critical to the investigation of fundamental bioengineering questions associated with complex living systems as well as with the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. As such, the specific educational objectives of this program are that our graduates will be expected to be able to:

• successfully apply their biomedical engineering knowledge and training skills to address and solve biomedical and biotechnology problems;
• develop critical thinking, problem solving, and innovative design skills needed to be successful biomedical engineers;
• develop effective communication skills needed in their biomedical engineering careers.

The minimum number of semester credit hours required for this degree is 125, at least 39 of which must be at the upper-division level. All candidates for this degree must fulfill the Core Curriculum requirements, the General Engineering requirements, and the degree requirements, listed below.

Core Curriculum Requirements (42 semester credit hours)
Students seeking the Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering must fulfill the University Core Curriculum requirements in the same manner as other students. The courses listed below satisfy both major requirements and Core Curriculum requirements; however, if these courses are taken to satisfy both requirements, then students may need to take additional courses in order to meet the minimum number of semester credit hours required for the degree. For a complete listing of courses that satisfy the Core Curriculum requirements, see pages 3–5 of this catalog.

MAT 1214 may be used to satisfy the core requirement in Mathematics, as well as one of the General Engineering Requirements. BIO 1404 and PHY 1903 may be used to satisfy the core requirement in Natural Sciences, as well as one of the General Engineering Requirements. COR 1203 should be used to satisfy the core requirement in Social and Behavioral Science.

General Engineering Requirements

All degree-seeking candidates in engineering must complete the following 22 semester credit hours, as well as the Core Curriculum requirements and major requirements:

CHE  1103             General Chemistry I
EGR  2323             Applied Engineering Analysis I
MAT  1214            Calculus I
MAT  1224            Calculus II
PHY  1903, 1911   Engineering Physics I and Laboratory
PHY  1923, 1931   Engineering Physics II and Laboratory

Biomedical Engineering Requirements

1. Core Biomedical Engineering Requirements. All students majoring in Biomedical Engineering are required to complete 36 semester credit hours in the following Core Biomedical Engineering courses.
   
   BME  1002   Introduction to Biomedical Engineering
   BME  2103   Physiology for Biomedical Engineering
   BME  2114   Cell Biology for Biomedical Engineering
   BME  2203   Biomechanics I
   BME  2211   Biomedical Engineering Laboratory I
   BME  2403   Biomaterials I
   BME  3013   Clinical Internship in Biomedical Engineering
   BME  3023   Biomedical Engineering Technology and Product Development
   BME  3303   Bioinstrumentation
   BME  3311   Biomedical Engineering Laboratory II
   BME  3703   Biotransport Phenomena
   BME  3711   Biomedical Engineering Laboratory III
   BME  4903   Senior BME Design I
   BME  4913   Senior BME Design II



2. Other Required Courses. All students majoring in Biomedical Engineering are required to complete the following
   6 semester credit hours:
   
   CHE  1113   General Chemistry II
   STA  2303   Applied Probability and Statistics for Engineering




3. Biomedical Engineering Electives. A minimum of 15 semester credit hours is required to fulfill this requirement. 9 semester credit hours of Biomedical Engineering elective courses must be selected from one of the following concentrations. The remaining semester credit hours must be selected from the other concentrations to satisfy the Biomedical Engineering Electives requirement. Up to 6 semester credit hours of graduate-level biomedical engineering courses may be used to satisfy the Biomedical Engineering electives, with the approval of the advisor, instructor, Graduate Program Director, and Department Chair.

   Biomechanics Concentration
   BME  3203   Biomechanics II
   BME  4203   Biomechanics III
   BME  4293   Topics in Biomechanics
   BME  4703   Biomedical Engineering Thermodynamics
   BME  4803   Fundamental Computational Bioengineering

   Biomaterials, Cellular, and Tissue Engineering Concentration
   BME  3403   Biomaterials II
   BME  3413   Biocompatibility of Materials
   BME  4403   Molecular Techniques for Cell-Biomaterials Interactions
   BME  4423   Tissue Engineering
   BME  4483   Topics in Biomaterials
   BME  4493   Topics in Tissue Engineering
   BME  4713   Cellular Engineering
   BME  4793   Topics in Cellular Engineering

   Biomedical Imaging and Nanobiotechnology Concentration
   BME  3503   Fundamentals of Nanobiotechnology
   BME  4503   Biosensors
   BME  4603   Biophotonics
   BME  4613   Biomedical Imaging

4. Technical Electives. A minimum of 9 semester credit hours of Technical Electives must be completed by all students. Depending on interest, students should select appropriate courses in sciences and engineering in order to enhance their basic engineering and scientific training. Examples of Technical Electives are:

   Engineering Courses
   EE    2213   Electric Circuits and Electronics
   EE    2423   Network Theory
   EE    3533   Random Signals and Noise
   EGR  2103   Statics
   ME   3293   Thermodynamics I
   ME   3813   Mechanics of Solids

   Science Courses
   BIO  1413   Biosciences II
   BIO  2313   Genetics
   BIO  3913   Molecular Biology
   CHE  2603   Organic Chemistry I
   CHE  2612   Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
   CHE  3643   Organic Chemistry II
   CHE  4303   Biochemistry

B.S. in Biomedical Engineering – Recommended Four-Year Academic Plan

First Semester		Second Semester
BIO 1404 (core and major)	4	BME 1002	2
CHE 1103	3	CHE 1113	3
COR 1203 (core)	3	MAT 1224	4
MAT 1214 (core and major)	4	PHY 1903 (core and major)	3
WRC 1013 (core)	3	PHY 1911	1
		WRC 1023 (core)	3
Total semester hours	17	Total semester hours	16
Third Semester		Fourth Semester
BME 2103	3	BME 2114	4
EGR 2323	3	BME 2203	3
PHY 1923	3	BME 2211	1
PHY 1931	1	BME 2403	3
STA 2303	3	POL 1013 (core)	3
Literature core	3
Total semester hours	16	Total semester hours	14
Fifth Semester		Sixth Semester
BME 3013	3	BME 3023	3
BME 3303	3	BME 3703	3
BME 3311	1	BME 3711	1
POL 1133 or 1213 (core)	3	Technical elective	3
Technical elective	3	Technical elective	3
Upper-division BME elective	3	Upper-division BME elective	3
Total semester hours	16	Total semester hours	16
Seventh Semester		Eighth Semester
BME 4903	3	BME 4913	3
Upper-division BME elective	3	Economics core	3
Upper-division BME elective	3	Upper-division BME elective	3
U.S. History & Diversity core	3	U.S. History & Diversity core	3
Visual & Performing Arts core	3	World Society & Issues core	3
Total semester hours	15	Total semester hours	15

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