Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering


Department: Biomedical Engineering
Transcript Designation: Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering
Program Advisor: Academic Questions: e-mail advisor@cvn.columbia.edu
Administrative Questions: e-mail cvn@cvn.columbia.edu



About the MS Program in Biomedical Engineering:

Biomedical engineering is an evolving discipline in engineering that draws on collaboration among engineers, physicians, and scientists to provide interdisciplinary insight into medical and biological problems. The field has developed its own knowledge base and principles that are the foundation for the academic programs designed by the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia.

The MS program in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia prepares students to apply engineering and applied science to problems in biology, medicine, and the understanding of living systems and their behavior, and to develop biomedical systems and devices. Modern engineering encompasses sophisticated approaches to measurement, data acquisition and analysis, simulation, and systems identification. These approaches are useful in the study of individual cells, organs, entire organisms, and populations of organisms. The increasing value of mathematical models in the analysis of living systems is an important sign of the success of contemporary activity. The programs offered in the Department of Biomedical Engineering seek to emphasize the confluence of basic engineering science and applied engineering with the physical and biological sciences, particularly in the areas of biomechanics, cell and tissue engineering, and biomedical imaging.


Admission Requirements:

Degree required for admission: Students admitted to the program must possess an undergraduate degree in engineering, science, mathematics, computer science or other related field (subject to the approval of the Biomedical Engineering Program) from an accredited academic institution. Applicants should have a strong undergraduate record to be competitive for admission.

GPA required: Minimum of 3.0

GRE requirements: General test required

Other application requirements: Two recommendation letters, transcripts, resume, and a personal-professional statement are required. TOEFL test scores are required of all students who received their bachelor's degree in a country where English is not the official and spoken language. All application requirements in the Graduate Application must be completed as specified in the application.

PLEASE NOTE: Students pursuing coursework in Biomedical Engineering in the non-degree program are able to use up to a maximum of six credits (2 courses) towards this MS program, if later admitted.


Prerequisite Requirements:

Students applying to the MS program in Biomedical Engineering should have taken the following foundation courses:

One year of Calculus
One year of Biology
One year of Chemistry
One year of Physics

Applicants lacking some of these courses may be considered for admission with stipulated deficiencies that must be satisfied in addition to the requirements of the degree program.


Degree Requirements:

Students must complete all core courses (described below) and selected electives (described below) for a total of 30 graduate points of academic work with a GPA of 2.5 or better. All degree requirements must be completed within 5 years of the first course credited toward the degree. This includes courses taken in the non-degree program.

Core Courses (12 credits):

BMEN E4001: Quantitative Physiology I
BMEN E4002: Quantitative Physiology II
BMEN E6001: Computational Modeling of Physiological Systems: Cellular/Molecular
                   (formerly known as Advanced Quantitative Physiology I)

One mathematics course. Choose from:

        APMA E4001: Principles of Applied Mathematics
        APMA E4101: Introduction to Non-linear Dynamical Systems
        APMA E4200: Partial Differential Equations
        APMA E4400: Introduction to Biophysical Modeling


Choose any 2 Biomedical Engineering Electives (6 credits):

BMEN E4305: Cardiac Mechanics
BMEN E4410: Ultrasound in Diagnostic Imaging
BMEN E4501: Tissue Engineering I (Biomaterials)
BMEN E4502: Tissue Engineering II
CBMF W4761: Computational Genomics
BMEN E6002: Computational Modeling of Physiological Systems: Organs
                   (formerly known as Advanced Quantitative Physiology II)


Choose any 4 Free Electives (12 credits):

A student must select four elective courses (4000 level or above) for a total of 12 points of graduate credit. These elective courses allow the student to pick subjects from a variety of areas within the Engineering School to complement the core program. The determination of which courses are applicable towards the elective requirements is subject to the approval of the faculty advisor.


Transfer of credit:

Up to 6 credit hours (points) of acceptable graduate-level academic work from an accredited academic institution earned prior to enrolling at Columbia may be transferred to Columbia, subject to Departmental approval. Students must request the transfer of credit while applying to the MS program. Credit will only be considered for transfer if the grades earned were at least 3.0 on the 4.0 scale, and an official college transcript, copy of the class syllabus and/or course description from the school's bulletin must accompany the "Transfer of Credit Request" form. Please note that courses already used towards completion of another degree program can not be re-used for transfer credit.