Doctoral Degree Program in Biomedical Engineering
Applicants to the Ph.D. program are expected to demonstrate outstanding ability and to show, based on their record of previous scholarship and experience, that they are likely to do superior creative work in their respective fields. Holding a master's degree from this or any other institution does not render the applicant automatically admissible to a doctoral program. In general, doctoral applicants must meet all admission requirements for the BME M.S. degree and must present evidence that they are capable of doing independent work of distinction. Exceptional students with a B.S. degree may be directly admitted into the BME Ph.D. program. It is recommended, however, that applicants to the doctoral program first earn a BME M.S. degree before starting Ph.D. studies.
Beyond the M.S., a minimum of 24 credit hours of BME coursework is required for the Ph.D. Additionally, 15 credits of Doctoral Dissertation Research-GRAD 6950 (495)* are required. There is no language requirement for a Ph.D. in BME. If a doctoral student has not taken the five required
M.S. courses or their equivalents, as described above, these courses are required in addition to the
coursework and research credits otherwise required for the Ph.D. The BME Program Director must approve any exceptions to the course requirements.
*Old catalog numbers in parentheses
Candidacy and Plan of Study
The BME graduate program does not require submission of a plan of study. The PeopleSoft system is used to monitor graduate degree requirements. It is important to let the program director when you have completed degree requirements (successfully defended and met the course requirements). After this notification, the program director will certify with the graduate school that the degree requirements have been met.
Competency Tests
Doctoral candidates must pass two tests: the Qualifying Exam and the General Exam.
Qualifying Exam - Admitted Ph.D. students must pass the BME Qualifying Exam (given in May of each year) within their first year of study. The objective of this exam is to determine the student's suitability to advance to candidacy for Ph.D. studies in Biomedical Engineering. This examination seeks to evaluate a candidate's competency in basic skills and knowledge essential to conducting research in Biomedical Engineering by examining the student's grasp of material covered in the BME core curriculum.
The Ph.D. Qualifying Exam is a written test given by the BME program with five parts that are based on the candidate's in-depth grasp of the material in five of the following seven core areas: clinical instrumentation or biomechanical instrumentation, human biomechanics, physiological systems, biomaterials and tissue engineering, physiological modeling, medical imaging systems, and bioinformatics. Students who have passed any of these courses at the University of Connecticut with a grade of B or better will automatically pass the portion of the Qualifying exam related to that course, and therefore do not need to take that part of the exam.
General Exam - All Ph.D. Candidates must take the BME General Exam no later than nine months before defending their dissertation at a time arranged between the Ph.D. Candidate and Advisory Committee. The objective of the General Exam is to evaluate a Ph.D. candidate's competency in developing and formulating a research project and the student's ability to approach a new problem in ways appropriate for an independent scientist.
The exam will consist of a research proposal based on the student's research project. At least two weeks prior to the exam, the student will submit a written research proposal (approximately 40 pages) to the advising committee. The general exam is mainly an oral defense of this research proposal by the student. The committee tries to evaluate the candidate's competency in developing and formulating the research project, as well as the scientific merits of the project, research hypothesis, research methods, potential findings, implications and limitations. The General Exam must be conducted by at least five faculty (including the Ph.D. Candidate's Advisory Committee) in the fields related to the student's project. There are no exemptions from the General Exam.
Research Requirement
Research required for the doctoral degree in biomedical engineering involves the use of advanced engineering techniques for the solution of a biological or medical problem. Ph.D. candidates must submit at least two journal papers to a leading BME journal before graduation, with at least one of them having gone through the review process favorably. Note that the journal submissions must be full papers, with two short papers the equivalent of a full paper.
Industrial Engineering Internship
The industrial internship offers an in-depth, vigorous, industrial experience that complements the engineering expertise gained in the classroom. Students in the industrial internship can earn an MS and Ph.D degree. Companies located throughout New England participate in the program. The primary objectives of this industrial internship program are to provide: exposure to the industrial workplace; the opportunity to apply engineering knowledge and expertise to a variety of industrial projects; and the opportunity to interact with a variety of industrial work groups, including administrators, engineers, and technicians. Additional details are contained in the BME Graduate Program Handbook.
