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Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Cornell’s Bachelor of Science program in Biomedical Engineering trains students to design and analyze biomedical systems and devices, focusing on a quantitative approach to biology and human health. This program’s emphasis on multiscale biological system analysis distinguishes it from traditional biology, as well as other engineering disciplines.

Format

In-Person

Page Contents

Note: This page provides a general overview. For complete and accurate information, please refer to the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook and biomedical engineering major course flowchart and consult with your advisor. For current course offerings and information, refer to the Cornell University Registrar: Courses of Study.

Eligibility and Academic Standards

Affiliation Eligibility Requirements

You must have a minimum GPA of 2.4 in designated math, science, and engineering courses completed with grades of C- or higher. The designated courses for students applying by the end of the third semester (to be affiliated by the beginning of the fourth semester) are:

  • BIOMG 1350
  • MATH 1910
  • MATH 1920
  • MATH 2930
  • PHYS 1112
  • PHYS 1110
  • PHYS 2213
  • CHEM 2090
  • ENGRD 2111
  • CS 111X
  • any ENGRI

The designated courses for students applying by the end of the fourth semester (to be affiliated by the beginning of the fifth semester) include the above courses plus the following additional courses:

  • MATH 2940
  • ENGRD 2020
  • BME 2000
  • BME 2010

For any course that is repeated, the higher of the two grades will be used for the affiliation GPA calculation.

Academic Standards

Good standing requirements for biomedical engineering:

  • Minimum of 12 credits per semester completed with passing grades. No course with a grade lower than C- may be used to satisfy a prerequisite for a subsequent biomedical engineering course.
  • Semester GPA > 2.3
  • Cumulative GPA > 2.1
  • All grades must be C- or higher in all core and concentration courses to remain in good standing. Only one course below a C- within major required courses is allowed for graduation.
  • No failing grade

Experiential Learning

Biomedical engineering has a unique experiential learning course recommended to take during spring of your sophomore year. We also encourage you to seek experiential learning opportunities outside the classroom.

Required Engineering Distributions

ENGRD 2020 is required by the Major. It is recommended to use it also to fulfill the second ENGRD requirement as part of the Common Curriculum. The course is best taken during semester 3 and must be completed before semester 5. If taken as second ENGRD, then total required credits drop to only 126 rather than 130.

  • ENGRD 2111

    Biomolecular Thermodynamics

  • ENGRD 2020

    Statics and Mechanics of Solids

Required Major Courses

  • BIOMG 1350

    Introductory Biology: Cell and Developmental Biology

    Note: A score of 5 of the CEEB AP Biology exam may substitute for BIOMG 1350.

  • BME 2010

    Physiology of Human Health and Disease

  • BME 2080

    Experiential Learning Seminar

  • BME 2000

    Biomedical Transport Phenomena

  • BME 2210

    Biomedical Applications of Materials

  • BME 3010

    Cellular Principles of Biomedical Engineering

  • BME 3020

    Molecular Principles of Biomedical Engineering

  • BME 3030

    Biomedical Circuits, Signals, and Systems

  • BME 4010

    Biomedical Engineering Analysis of Metabolic and Structural Systems

  • BME 4020

    Electrical and Chemical Physiology

  • BME 4080/4090

    Biomedical Engineering Design Laboratory

  • STSCI 2200, STSCI 2150, or ENGRD 2700

    Statistics I

Biomedical Engineering Concentrations

Students will choose one of the following biomedical engineering concentrations within their junior year. The requirements for each concentration are described below.

Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Concentration

Students in the Biomaterials and Drug Delivery concentration enhance their understanding of how engineered materials interact with host biology, which includes both the material remodeling and human biological responses. Biomaterials have evolved substantially from mere biocompatibility to enabling multifaceted control over local biological responses and tissue remodeling. These students will train in depth on the science and technology underlying fabrication of different material classes, including synthetic and biologically based. These students will engineer and modify new materials to control host responses, including wound healing, immune response, and biomechanical remodeling. Students in this concentration also study the engineering of living tissue replacements with an emphasis on recapitulating multi-scale biological phenomena. Some students also engineer new delivery mechanisms within biomaterials for efficient drug release.

Note: As a part of the Engineering Common Curriculum, all students take an additional math or science course designated by the major. In biomedical engineering, your choice is determined by the concentration you select. For this concentration, the science course is CHEM 1570.

Required Courses

  • BME 3210

    Multiscale Biomaterial Analysis

  • BME 4190 or BME 4490

    MCSE Practicum Laboratory, or BMMB Practicum Laboratory

  • CHEM 1570

    Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry

Electives

Six credits of elective courses should be chosen from this list.

  • BEE 3400

    Design and Analysis of Biomaterials

  • BIOAP/BIOMS 4140

    Principles of Pharmacology

  • BME/MSE 5620

    Biomineralization: The Formation and Properties of Inorganic Biomaterials

  • BME 5750

    Biomaterials and Drug Delivery in the Immune System

  • BME 5760

    Engineering the Human Body: From Artificial Joints to Living Organs

  • BME 5810/MAE 5680

    Soft Tissue Biomechanics
    or BME/MAE 4640 Orthopaedic Tissue Mechanics
    or MSE 4020 Mechanical Properties of Materials, Processing, and Design
    or MAE 6670Soft Tissue Biomechanics II: Viscoelasticity and Phasic Theory

  • BME 5830

    Cell-Biomaterials Interactions

  • BME 5850

    Current Practice in Tissue Engineering

  • BME 6210/CHEME 6310

    Engineering Principles for Drug Delivery

  • CHEME 5430

    Bioprocess Engineering

  • MAE 4670

    Polymer Mechanics

  • MSE 4610

    Biomedical Materials and Their Applications

  • MSE 5210

    Properties of Solid Polymers

Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation Concentration

Much of the information that is gained about human health and disease comes from images. Generating images, converting them into quantitative data, and analyzing large image datasets is a major focus of students that concentrate in Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation. Cornell has world class imaging expertise, including optical, X-ray, ultrasound and MRI technologies. These students will develop the skills and knowledge necessary to design new instrumentation components for acquiring and recording biological and physiological data, as well as using instrumentation to manipulate biological processes in vivo. They will also design algorithms for processing and analyzing data to identify emergent features and predict clinical performance.

Note: As a part of the Engineering Common Curriculum, all students take an additional math or science course designated by the major. In biomedical engineering, your choice is determined by the concentration you select. For this concentration, the science course is PHYS 2214.

Required Courses

  • BME 3310

    Medical and Preclinical Imaging

  • BME 4390

    Electronics for Biomedical Engineers

  • PHYS 2214

    Physics III: Oscillations, Waves, and Quantum Physics

Electives

Six credits of elective courses should be chosen from this list.

  • AEP 4400

    Nonlinear and Quantum Optics

  • BIONB 4320

    Neural Circuits for Motor Control in Health and Disease

  • BME 3320

    Engineered Medical Devices

  • BIONB/BME/ECE 4910

    Principles of Neurophysiology

  • BME/BIONB/PSYCH/COGST 3300

    Introduction to Computational Neuroscience

  • BME 6330

    Optical Tools for Studying Living Systems

  • BME 6260

    Optical Microscopy and Fluorescence Methods for Research

  • BME 6320

    Modern Biomedical Microscopy

  • BME 6350

    Introduction to Neurotechnology

  • CS 3110

    Data Structures and Functional Programming

  • CS 3780/5780

    Introduction to Machine Learning or ECE 3200 Foundations Machine Learning or INFO 3950 Data Analytics for Information Science

  • ECE 3100

    Introduction to Probability and Inference for Random Signals and Systems

  • ECE 3140/CS 3420

    Embedded Systems or ECE 5725 Design with Embedded Operating Systems

  • ECE 3250

    Signals and Systems

  • ECE 4250

    Digital Signal Processing and Statistical Inference

  • ECE 4300

    Lasers and Optoelectronics

  • ECE/MAE 4320

    Integrated Micro Sensors and Actuators: Bridging the Physical and Digital Worlds

  • ECE 4370

    Photonics: Fundamentals and Devices

  • ECE 4760

    Digital Systems Design Using Microcontrollers

  • ECE 5470

    Computer Vision or CS 4670 Introduction to Computer Vision

  • ECE 6690/BME 5780

    Computer Analysis of Biomed Images

  • HD 4630

    Introduction to Functional MRI Analysis for Human Neuroimaging

  • PHYS 3316

    Basics of Quantum Mechanics

  • BME 6180

    Principles of Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Biomedical Mechanics and Mechanobiology Concentration

Every tissue and cell in the body experiences mechanical forces as a major component of its formation, function, and/or disease pathogenesis. Mechanical forces occur at the molecular level, from cell adhesion receptors to tiny cilia on the surfaces of cells, to whole organ level behaviors such as the pumping of the heart and bending of the bones.

Students concentrating in Biomedical Mechanics and Mechanobiology will possess a comprehensive understanding of the multi-scale mechanical interactions that occur during tissue development, homeostasis and disease. They will fabricate devices that can measure and apply forces at these biological scales, from nanometers to centimeters, nanonewtons to kilonewtons. They will also design bioreactor environments and implantable technology to utilize mechanical forces to alter tissue or organ level behavior through manipulation of these mechanically sensitive signaling pathways.

Note: As a part of the Engineering Common Curriculum, all students take an additional math or science course designated by the major. In biomedical engineering, your choice of a fourth science is determined by the concentration you select. For this concentration, the fourth science course is PHYS 2214 or CHEM 1570.

Required Courses

  • BME 3410

    Systems Mechanobiology

  • BME 4490

    Biomechanics Laboratory

  • PHYS 2214 or CHEM 1570

    Physics III: Oscillations, Waves, and Quantum Physics, or Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry

Electives

Six credits of elective courses should be chosen from this list.

  • BEE 3310

    Bio-Fluid Mechanics or BME 4410 Biofluid Mechanics or MAE 4650 Biofluid Mechanics

  • BEE 3500

    Heat and Mass Transfer in Biological Engineering or MAE 3240 Heat Transfer

  • BEE/MAE 4530

    Computer-Aided Engineering: Applications to Biological Processes

  • BME/MAE 4640

    Orthopaedic Tissue Mechanics

  • BME 5810/MAE 5680

    Soft Tissue Biomechanics

  • BME 6410

    Cell and Molecular Mechanobiology

  • MAE 3230

    Introductory Fluid Mechanics

  • MAE 3783

    Mechatronics

  • MAE 4670

    Polymer Mechanics

  • MAE 4700

    Finite Element Analysis for Mechanical and Aerospace Design

  • MAE 6670

    Soft Tissue Biomechanics II: Viscoelasticity and Phasic Theory

  • MSE 4020/MAE 3120

    Mechanical Properties of Materials, Processing, and Design

  • MAE 4240/MSE 4510

    Materials Processing and Manufacturing

  • BME/MAE/MSE 6650

    Principles of Tissue Engineering

Molecular, Cellular, and Systems Engineering Concentration

Students focusing on molecular, cellular, and systems engineering enhance their understanding on how molecular and cellular coordination control tissue homeostasis and pathogenesis, with an emphasis of quantifying and controlling interactions that occur across length and time scales. These students will train in depth on the molecular and genetic technologies used to control cell behaviors within living systems, as well as delivery strategies to enhance and target local responses. They are also keen to use computational and experimental strategies to understand and predict system and population-based network interactions.

Many of these students will utilize the world leading nano/microfabrication facilities at Cornell. They engineer advanced in vitro culture platforms and test beds used for quantitative analysis of complex biological processes and screening strategies to alter them.

Note: As a part of the Engineering Common Curriculum, all students take an additional math or science course designated by the major. In biomedical engineering, your choice is determined by the concentration you select. For this concentration, the science course is CHEM 1570.

Required Courses

  • BME 3110

    Cellular Systems Biology

  • BME 4190

    Laboratory Techniques for Molecular, Cellular, and Systems Engineering

  • CHEM 1570

    Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry b

Electives

Six credits of elective courses should be chosen from this list.

  • BIOAP/ANSC 4270

    Endocrinology: Biology of Hormones

  • BIOCB 4381

    Biomedical Data Mining and Modeling

  • BIOCB 4830

    Quantitative Genomics and Genetics

  • BIOCB 4840/CS 4775

    Computational Genetics and Genomics

  • BIOMG 4380

    RNA in Biology and Medicine

  • BIOMG 4390

    Molecular Basis of Disease

  • BIOMS/BIOMI 4090

    Principles of Virology

  • BIONB/BME 4910/5320/BIONB 5910/ECE 5090

    Principles of Neurophysiology

  • BIONB 3950

    Molecular and Genetic Approaches to Neuroscience

  • BME 4790

    Modern Applications of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Biomedical Applications

  • BME 5110

    Stem Cell Bioengineering

  • BME 5830

    Cell-Biomaterials Interactions

  • BME 5850

    Current Practice in Tissue Engineering

  • BME 6410

    Cell and Molecular Mechanobiology

  • CHEM 4810

    Computational Methods in Chemistry

  • CHEME 5430

    Bioprocess Engineering

  • CS 3780

    Introduction to Machine Learning or ECE 3200 Foundations Machine Learning or ECE 4200 Fundamentals of Machine Learning or INFO 3950Data Analytics for Information Science

  • One 3xxx/4xxx course from another BME concentration