Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering (BME)
The BS in Biomedical Engineering requires completion of the courses in the Core Curriculum as well as five upper-level Tier courses beyond the Core, as described below. Students must meet all McKelvey School of Engineering and Washington University requirements, including the English proficiency requirement (please refer to the Engineering Degree Requirements page). They must also satisfy ABET requirements for a professional degree, which require the accrual of 47 engineering topics units over their course work. A list of Topics Units - Engineering Courses is available on the Engineering Student Services website.
The Basic Core
The Biomedical Engineering Core Curriculum consists of 80 credits, outlined below.
| Courses | Units |
|---|---|
| Physical Sciences | |
| General Chemistry (CHEM 1701 or CHEM 1601, CHEM 1702 or CHEM 1602)(1701 and 1702 recommended) | 6 |
| General Chemistry Laboratory I, II (CHEM 1751, CHEM 1752) | 4 |
| General Physics (PHYS 1740, PHYS 1741, PHYS 1742, PHYS 1743) | 8 |
| 18 | |
| Biological Science | |
| Principles of Biology I (BIOL 2160) | 4 |
| Physiological Control Systems (BIOL 3057) | 3 |
| 6 | |
| Mathematics | |
| Calculus II & III (MATH 1520, MATH 2130) | 6 |
| Differential Equations (MATH 2500) | 3 |
| Engineering Mathematics A & B (ESE 3180, ESE 3190) | 6 |
| Engineering Statistics (ENGR 3280)* | 3 |
| 18 | |
| Engineering Science | |
| Introduction to Engineering Computing (ENGR 1201) | 3 |
| 3 | |
| Biomedical Engineering | |
| Introduction to Biomedical Engineering (BME 1400) | 3 |
| Introduction to Biomedical Circuits (BME 2200)** | 4 |
| Biomechanics (BME 2400) and Biomechanics Lab (BME 2401) | 4 |
| Quantitative Physiology I, II (BME 3010, BME 3015) | 8 |
| Bioengineering Thermodynamics (BME 3200) | 3 |
| Transport Phenomena in BME (BME 3660) | 3 |
| Senior Capstone Design A & B (BME 4970, BME 4971) | 4 |
| 29 | |
| Other | |
| Engineering Practice and Professional Values (ENGR 4501, ENGR 4502 and ENGR 4503) | 3 |
| Technical Writing (ENGR 3100) | 3 |
| 6 | |
| Total Basic Core | 80 |
- *
ESE 3260 Probability and Statistics for Engineering can be substituted for ENGR 3280 Engineering Statistics with Probability.
- **
ESE 2300 Introduction to Electrical and Electronic Circuits can be substituted for BME 2200 Intro to Biomedical Circuits.
Students must complete five upper-level Tier engineering courses (15 units), five humanities and social sciences courses (15 units), and three general electives courses (minimum 10 units) beyond the Core Curriculum to complete the major and to prepare for particular fields of employment or education beyond the baccalaureate degree. At least two of the five Tier electives need to be drawn from the Tier I course list below; the remaining three can be chosen from Tier I or Tier II. Students must complete a minimum of 120 units to meet the degree requirements.
Tier I
For the most up-to-date Tier list, please refer to the BME website.
Tier II
All upper-level (3000-5000) engineering and physics courses that carry 3 engineering topics units (with the exception of required courses such as BME 3010, BME 3015, BME 3200, and so on) count as Tier II electives.