The Biomedical Engineering program fully participates in the Honors Program at UConn, and has the largest number of Honors students in the School of Engineering. For information about the University of Connecticut Honors Program, visit their website at http://www.honors.uconn.edu. All necessary Honors forms are available on the Honors Program website.
Honors Course Guidelines
Honors courses (or conversions) are intended to provide in-depth coverage of advanced topics not typically covered in the non-Honors section of the class. As part of the Honors course, students are expected to tackle more sophisticated topics while satisfying more rigorous standards than for non-Honors courses. The content of the Honors portion of the class may include:
- Additional project(s).
- Additional exam questions or a different exam.
- Additional homework assignments or additional homework problems.
All of which focus on advanced topics not covered in non-Honors portion of the class. Honors courses require a minimum time commitment of 20 hours beyond the course requirements for a 3-credit course. Honors courses may also utilize a different grading scheme to accommodate the additional and different types of material covered.
The BME Program will offer Honors sections for the following courses so that the Honors Program requirements can be satisfied within the BME Program.
BME 2101 Introduction to Biomedical Engineering (Fall, Sophomore Year) Three credits. Prerequisite or Corequisite: MATH 1132Q and PHYS 1230 or 1501Q or 1530Q; open only to Biomedical Engineering majors, others by instructor consent. Recommended Prep: BIOL 1107 Fundamental concepts and techniques of engineering and medical science and their integration. The art and science of medicine and the process of medical diagnosis and treatment. Topics include: diagnostic instrumentation, diagnostic measurements and their interplay; bioelectric phenomena, biomechanics, and biomaterials; biochemical engineering; computers in medicine; molecular medicine and biotechnology; medical imaging.
BME 3500 Biomedical Engineering Measurements (Fall, Junior Year) Four credits. Prerequisite: BME 2101; BME 3400 or ECE 3101, which may be taken concurrently; open only to Biomedical Engineering majors, others by instructor consent. A lecture and laboratory course that covers fundamentals of biomedical measurement and patient safety. Measurements of physical quantities by means of electronic instruments, mechanical devices and biochemical processes. Analysis of measurement systems using mathematical models. Methods of measuring signals in the presence of noise. Use of computers in measurement systems.
BME 3600 Biomechanics (Fall, Junior Year) Four credits. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: BME 3150; or CE 2110 and 2120; ENGL 1010 or 1011 or 2011 or 3800; open only to Biomedical Engineering majors, others by instructor consent. Covers mechanics of bone and soft tissues. Biosolids and biofluids. Simple and combined stress and strain, torsion and flexure. Tissue strength and constitutive equations. Fatigue and fracture resistance of bone. Synovial joint mechanics, friction and wear.
BME 3700 Biomaterials (Spring, Junior Year) Four credits. Prerequisite: MSE 2101 and BME 2101; MATH 2410; open only to Biomedical Engineering majors, others by instructor consent. Not open to students who have passed MSE 3700. A lecture and laboratory course that introduces a series of implant materials, including metals, ceramics, glass ceramics, polymers, and composites. These materials are compared with the natural materials, with consideration given to issues of mechanical properties, biocompatibility, degradation of materials by biological systems, and biological response to artificial materials. Particular attention is given to materials for the total hip prosthesis, dental restoration, and implantable medical devices.
BME 4900 Biomedical Engineering Design I (Fall, Senior Year) Three credits. Prerequisite: This course is taken by seniors in the semester before BME4910. Discussion of the design process; project statement, specifications, project planning, scheduling and division of responsibility, ethics in engineering design, safety, environmental considerations, economic constraints, liability, manufacturing, and marketing. Projects are carried out using a team-based approach. Selection and analysis of a design project to be undertaken in BME 291 is carried out. Written progress reports, a proposal, an interim project report, a final report, and oral presentations are required.
BME 4910W Biomedical Engineering Design II (Spring, Senior Year) Three credits. Prerequisite: This course is taken by seniors in the semester before BME 4910W. Discussion of the design process; project statement, specifications, project planning, scheduling and division of responsibility, ethics in engineering design, safety, environmental considerations, economic constraints, liability, manufacturing, and marketing. Projects are carried out using a team-based approach. Selection and analysis of a design project to be undertaken in BME 4910W is carried out. Written progress reports, a proposal, an interim project report, a final report, and oral presentations are required.
Note: BME graduate courses may be taken to fulfill honors courses.
Honors Thesis
- The BME Honors Thesis will be a minimum 25 page report.
- The formatting may be similar to a research article in that it contains, at minimum, the following:
- Table of Contents
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods, Design and/or Experimental Procedures
- Results
- Conclusion and Future Work
- References
- Anything else that your Honors Thesis Advisor requires
- There are two ways to complete your Honors Thesis:
- As an aspect of Senior Design. If you wish to complete your Honors Thesis during Senior Design (BME 4900 & 4910W), you will need to write a separate Honors Thesis above and beyond your Senior Design Final Report. Your Thesis may revolve around and should expand upon your portion of the Team project, but will be independent of the Senior Design Final Report. You must work with your Honors Thesis Advisor to determine how you will complete the Thesis.
- As a 3 or 4 credit Independent Study, BME 4999. If you want to pursue research with a BME faculty member, you may, with the Instructor’s consent, use this Independent Study to complete your Honors Thesis. While the faculty member can be within or outside of the BME department, the nature of the research and/or design needs to fall within the scope of BME. If completed in this way, not only will you will be using the Independent Study to meet your Honors credit and Thesis requirements, but it may also fulfill a 3 credit BME elective.
Your Honors Thesis Advisor may set other requirements or guidelines.