OVERVIEW
OBJECTIVES
STRUCTURE & REQUIREMENTS
OVERVIEW
The Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (Ph.D. in BMED) degree is awarded to candidates who successfully complete the taught courses and research components of the program. The students are required to complete a program of advanced courses in biomedical engineering and related areas. They are also required to carry out an independent investigation of a specialized area in biomedical engineering. Candidates for this degree are supervised by experienced researchers and are expected to demonstrate initiative in their approach and innovation in their work. The Ph.D. Candidates prepare and present a thesis on their chosen area. Research may be undertaken in a variety of topics corresponding to the areas of focus identified by the University.
This new program adheres to the existing KU admission policy. The details of admission can be found in this link: Ìý
OBJECTIVES
Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) are broad statements that describe the career and professional accomplishments that graduates are expected to attain within few years of graduation. The PEOs of the Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (Ph.D. in BMED) are to produce graduates who will be able to:
- Synthesize scientific and technical biomedical engineering knowledge to identify, formulate and solve research challenges, and effectively disseminate the results to a variety of audiences.
- Work across multiple disciplines and develop their individual academic, professional and career focus.
- Keep abreast of the latest advances in biomedical science and engineering that contribute to the advancement of knowledge for the benefit of society.
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) are comprehensive, broad statements pertinent to the knowledge, skills and aspects of competence that a learner is expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. ÌýStudents graduating with the Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (Ph.D. in BMED) will be able to:
- Demonstrate appropriate breadth and depth of knowledge that is at the frontier of their disciplines and areas of specialization.
- Conduct and defend original independent research in biomedical engineering that results in significant contributions to knowledge in the field and leads to publishable quality scholarly articles.
- Understand and value diverse methodologies and techniques in biomedical engineering for solving critical problems in research.
- Verify, justify and evaluate the various aspects of the solution to a complex engineering problem.
- Communicate effectively and professionally, in written and oral forms, the major tenets of their field and their work to a variety of audiences.
- Demonstrate a commitment to ethical behavior in research and professional activities.
- Contribute effectively in multidisciplinary collaborative environments.
STRUCTURE & REQUIREMENTS
Candidates with a Master’s Degree
Overall Program Structure
The Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering (BMED) program (for Candidates with a Master’s Degree) STRUCTURE & REQUIREMENTS consists of a minimum of 60 credit hours. The required program credits are distributed as follows: 3 credits of Program Core courses, 21 credits of Program Elective courses, 36 credits for a PhD Research Dissertation and two zero-credit PhD Research Seminar courses. The table below presents a summary of program structure and requirements required in the Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. All the Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering program courses, with the exception of the Seminar in Research Methods and the PhD Research Dissertation, have a credit rating of three credits each. The components of the PhD program are summarized in the table below.
Summary of Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering Degree Program Structure and Requirements (for Candidates with a Master’s Degree)
|
Category
|
Credits Required
|
|
Program Core
|
3
|
|
Program Electives
|
21
|
|
BMED 703 PhD Research Seminar I
|
0
|
|
BMED 704 PhD Research Seminar II
|
0
|
|
BMED 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam
|
0
|
|
BMED 796 PhD Research Proposal Exam
|
0
|
|
BMED 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
36
|
|
Total
|
60
|
Program Requirements
- Complete a minimum of 24 credits of coursework (8 courses of 3 credit hours each). This is in addition to two zero-credit PhD Research Seminar courses. Subject to the advisor’s approval, up to two PhD level courses (maximum of 6 credits) can be taken from other doctoral programs offered at KU.
- Pass all courses with a minimum passing grade of C in every course.
- Achieve an overall CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of at least 3.0 out of 4.
- Pass the Written Qualifying Exam (WQE), which assesses the technical background of the student. WQE is typically administered at the end of the 2nd regular semester after a full-time student’s admission into the PhD program and before the end of the 4th semester in the case of a part-time student.
- Pass the Research Proposal Examination (RPE), typically before the end of the 4th semester for full-time students and before the end of the 6th semester for part-time students.
Program Electives
Students must complete a minimum of seven technical elective courses with at least five courses from the list below.
|
BMED 711
|
Biomolecular and Cellular Engineering
|
3
|
|
BMED 712
|
Rehabilitation and Augmentation of Human Movement
|
3
|
|
BMED 713
|
Advanced Physiological Systems
|
3
|
|
BMED 714
|
Deep Learning Applications in Biomedical Engineering and Health Informatics
|
3
|
|
BMED 716
|
Medical Device Innovation
|
3
|
|
BMED/MATH 725
|
Computational Systems Biology of Cancer
|
3
|
|
BMED 730
|
Advanced Deep Learning for the Life Sciences
|
3
|
|
BMED 721/BIOL 720
|
Recent Advances in Cell Signalling and Cancer Biology
|
3
|
|
BMED 733
|
Neuroimaging: Methods and Applications
|
3
|
|
BMED 710/ BIOL 710
|
Recent Advances in Protein Biochemistry
|
3
|
|
BMED 739/BIOL 730
|
Recent Advances in Biotechnology
|
3
|
|
BMED 720
|
Biophysical Engineering of Cellular Systems
|
3
|
|
BMED 794
|
Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering
|
3
|
Subject to the approval of the dissertation Main Advisor, up to two elective courses (6 credit hours) can be taken from relevant PhD programs in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, College of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at KU to help the student bridge a knowledge gap that will support his/her research.
Candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree
Overall Program Structure
The Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering (BMED) program (for Candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree) consists of a minimum of 72 credit hours. The required program credits are distributed as follows: 12 credits of Program Core courses, 24 credits of Program Elective courses, 36 credits for a PhD Research Dissertation and two zero-credit PhD Research Seminar courses. The table below presents a summary of the structure and requirements required in the Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering program. All the Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering program courses, with the exception of the Seminar in Research Methods and the PhD Research Dissertation, have a credit rating of three credits each.
Summary of Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering Degree Program Structure and Requirements (for Candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree)
|
Category
|
Credits Required
|
|
Program Core
|
12
|
|
Program Electives
|
24
|
|
BMED 703 PhD Research Seminar I
|
0
|
|
BMED 704 PhD Research Seminar II
|
0
|
|
BMED 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam
|
0
|
|
BMED 796 PhD Research Proposal Exam
|
0
|
|
BMED 799 PhD Research Dissertation
|
36
|
|
Total
|
72
|
Program Requirements
Students admitted to the PhD program with only a Bachelor’s Degree must satisfy the following requirements:
- Complete a minimum of 36 credits of coursework (12 courses of 3 credit hours each). This is in addition to two zero-credit PhD Research Seminar courses. Subject to the advisor’s approval, up to two PhD level courses (maximum of 6 credits) can be taken from other doctoral programs offered at KU.
- Pass all courses with a minimum passing grade of C in every course.
- Achieve an overall CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of at least 3.0 out of 4.
- Pass the Written Qualifying Exam (WQE), which assesses the technical background of the student. WQE is administered after the student successfully completes a minimum of 27 credits of formal coursework.
- Pass the Research Proposal Examination (RPE), typically before the end of the 6th semester of full-time study.
- Have at least one full paper accepted for publication in a quartile one ranked journal, per Scopus, in the research field of the dissertation before submitting the request of intent to defend the dissertation. The paper must be based on one of the research contributions in the dissertation, and the student must be the lead author of the paper.
- Complete Dissertation on original research and defend it successfully in a viva voce Dissertation Defense examination.
Program Core (12 credit hours)
|
ENGR 701
|
Research Methods in Engineering
|
3
|
|
BMED 781
|
Advanced Multivariate Data Analysis
|
3
|
|
BMED 782
|
Advanced Physiological Systems
|
3
|
|
BMED 720
|
Biophysical Engineering of Cellular Systems
|
3
|
|
BMED/MATH 725
|
Computational Systems Biology of Cancer
|
3
|
Program Electives
Students must complete a minimum of eight technical elective courses with at least six courses (except BMED 725 or BMED 720, which is used as a core course) from the list below.
|
BMED 711
|
Biomolecular and Cellular Engineering
|
3
|
|
BMED 712
|
Rehabilitation and Augmentation of Human Movement
|
3
|
|
BMED 713
|
Advanced Physiological Systems
|
3
|
|
BMED 714
|
Deep Learning Applications in Biomedical Engineering and Health Informatics
|
3
|
|
BMED 716
|
Medical Device Innovation
|
3
|
|
BMED/MATH 725
|
Computational Systems Biology of Cancer
|
3
|
|
BMED 730
|
Advanced Deep Learning for the Life Sciences
|
3
|
|
BMED 721/BIOL 720
|
Recent Advances in Cell Signalling and Cancer Biology
|
3
|
|
BMED 733
|
Neuroimaging: Methods and Applications
|
3
|
|
BMED 710/ BIOL 710
|
Recent Advances in Protein Biochemistry
|
3
|
|
BMED 739/BIOL 730
|
Recent Advances in Biotechnology
|
3
|
|
BMED 720
|
Biophysical Engineering of Cellular Systems
|
3
|
|
BMED 794
|
Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering
|
3
|
Subject to the approval of the dissertation Main Advisor, up to two elective courses (6 credit hours) can be taken from relevant PhD programs in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, College of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at KU to help the student bridge a knowledge gap that will support his/her research.
