CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

• Undergraduate Programs
• Graduate Programs
• Faculty Programs

A featured program directed toward this objective is administration of the only inter-departmental undergraduate minor degree program at MIT: the B.S. Minor in Biomedical Engineering. The program comprises 4 subjects in Biomedical Engineering: 2 core subjects and 2 electives. These subjects require substantial preparation in science and engineering, and thus the minor is structured in the form of a Science Core (3 courses) and an Engineering Core (2 courses) which serve as prerequisites for the Biomedical Engineering Core courses. The goal of the degree program is to educate students in how to apply fundamental engineering principles to solve challenging problems in biology and medicine. A common theme is the integration of individual components of a biological system to describe both the spatial and temporal organization of the system as a whole. The scale of this integration may be as small as molecules and cells or as large as organ systems. Students gain an appreciation of how to solve problems at these different scales by taking two core biomedical engineering courses. They can then pursue particular interests through the two restricted electives in Biomedical Engineering. The BME minor is administered by the CBE Associate Director for Programs, Roger Kamm. Additionally, each MIT department has an official advisor designated to help students work out the program best suited to their needs. Any student at MIT should be able to complete the BME minor. It is not limited to engineering students or to premedical students. Most students in Science and Engineering majors will already be taking 2 to 3 of the courses required by the minor as part of their major. Students in the Humanities can use two of the courses required by the minor to fulfill their institutional requirements. Although the Biomedical Engineering Core courses and most of the restricted electives are taught through the School of Engineering, current enrollment in these subjects includes students from the School of Science, (e.g., Biology and Chemistry). Many of the instructors of these core subjects include interdisciplinary team projects as part of the coursework. Requirements for the BME minor can be found in the MIT Bulletin of Courses and Degree Programs (page 133 in the 1997-98 Issue).

In July, 1998, a new Division of Bioengineering & Environmental Health was established at MIT. This Division will take over responsibility of the B.S. Minor degree program in Biomedical Engineering with a name change to Bioengineering. It also intends to create a new 5-year B.S./M.S. degree program in Bioengineering, in which a student can receive a B.S. degree in a regular Department along with an M.S. degree in Bioengineering in 5 years of study. This latter program will be modeled after the current B.S. Minor degree program. For more information, contact Professor Roger Kamm at rdkamm@mit.edu.

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Graduate Programs:

At the graduate level, MS and PhD degree programs are currently administered by individual Departments and Divisions at MIT. Students can obtain graduate degrees in traditional disciplines but emphasizing biological and medical sciences in their coursework and research thesis work. A formal PhD degree in "Medical Engineering & Medical Physics" is administered by the MIT/Harvard Divison of Health Sciences & Technology, from which further information can be sought. The "MEMP" program requires admission into, and doctoral qualification in, a core MIT or HMS Department, along with extensive coursework in physiological and clinical topics. In July, 1998, a new Division of Bioengineering & Environmental Health was established at MIT. This Division will create a new Ph.D. degree program in Bioengineering with emphasis on the combination of engineering with modern molecular and cell biology,with application to biomedical problems as well as biotechnology of all kinds. It is intended to have this new Ph.D. program ready for the Fall 1999 semester, with applications being received by January 1999. For more information, contact Professor Douglas Lauffenburger at lauffen@mit.edu.

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Faculty Programs:

In conjunction with the School of Engineering and the Department of Biology, CBE helps facilitate a Summer Short Course in Molecular & Cell Biology for Engineering Faculty. The aim of this program is to help engineering faculty become sufficiently familiar with fundamental principles of modern biology to integrate this science into their mainstream teaching, and possibly into their research programs as well.

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