Each track offers a menu of electives that ensure expertise in a particular area of specialization. Typically, five or six elective courses fulfill the technical requirements for track designation. Check with the Bioengineering Department office for updated track and technical elective information. Note that BIOEN 4201 and 4202, Bioengineering Project I and II (senior thesis project), offer additional opportunity for hands-on learning that may be either engineering- or science-oriented.

Admission to Major Status. Admission is restricted and based on academic achievement. It is important that students note that admission is based on grade point average, and that grades on AP tests are applied to this average. Check with the undergraduate counselor in the department office for details. A student must have major status to register for upper-division courses (3000-level or higher) or receive permission from the course instructor.

To be considered for admission to major status, a student must have completed BIOEN 1101 and 1102; BIOL 2001 and 2002 (or equivalent); CHEM 2310 and 2330; MATH 2250; and PHYCS 2210.

Model Undergraduate Plan of Study

First Year
Fall Semester (16)
BIOEN 1101 Fundamentals of Bioengineering I (3)
BIOL 2001 Principles of Biology I (4)
CHEM 1210 General Chemistry I (4)
CHEM 1230 General Chemistry Lab I (1)
MATH 1250 Calculus for AP Students I (4)
Spring Semester (16)
BIOEN 1102 Fundamentals of Bioengineering II (3)
BIOL 2002 Principles of Biology II (4)
CHEM 1220 General Chemistry II (4)
CHEM 1240 General Chemistry Lab II (1)
MATH 1260 Calculus for AP Students II (4)

Second Year
Fall Semester (15)
CHEM 2310 Organic Chemistry I (4)
CHEM 2330 Organic Chemistry Lab I (1)
MATH 2250 Differential Equations & Linear Algebra (3)
PHYCS 2210 Physics for Scientists I (4)
CP SC 1000 Engineering Computing (3)
Spring Semester (15)
CHEM 2320 Organic Chemistry II (4)
CHEM 2340 Organic Chemistry Lab II (1)
PHYCS 2220 Physics for Scientists II (4)
WRTG 2010 College Writing (3)
Bioengineering Track Elective 1 (3)

Third Year
Fall Semester (16)
BIOEN 3201 Physiology I (3)
BIOEN 3101 Bioengineering Lab I (1)
BIOEN 3301 Biophysics (3)
MATH 3150 PDE's for Engineers (3)
Bioengineering Track Elective 2 (3)
General Education Elective (3)
Spring Semester (16)
BIOEN 3202 Physiology II (3)
BIOEN 3102 Bioengineering Lab II (1)
Bioengineering Track Elective 3 (3)
Bioengineering Track Elective 4 (3)
General Education Elective (3)
General Education Elective (3)

Fourth Year
Fall Semester (15)
BIOEN 5101 Bioinstrumentation (3)
BIOEN 5201 Biomechanics (3)
BIOEN 4103 Bioengineering Lab III (1)
BIOEN 4201 Bioengineering Project I (2)
General Education Elective (3)
General Education Elective (3)
Spring Semester (16)
BIOEN 5301 Biomaterials (3)
BIOEN 4104 Bioengineering Lab IV (1)
BIOEN 4201 Bioengineering Project II (3)
Bioengineering Track Elective 5 (3)
Bioengineering Technical Elective (3)
General Education Elective (3)

Tracks. The required track elective courses are listed below:

Bioelectrical Engineering Track
Track Course 1: EL EN 1000 Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering (4) and EL EN 1010 Introduction to Laboratory Instrumentation and Methods (0.5)
Track Course 2: EL EN 2000 Fundamentals of Electrical Circuits (4)
Track courses 3, 4, and 5, plus the technical elective (choose four (4) courses from the following list):
EL EN 2100 Fundamentals of Engineering Electronics (4)
EL EN 3300 Fundamentals of EM and Trans Lines (4)
EL EN 3500 Fundamentals of Signals and Systems (4)
EL EN 3700 Fundamentals of Digital Systems Design (4)
CP SC 2010 Introduction to Computer Science I (4)
Students who elect this track will substitute one of the following courses for Bioengineering 5101, which is required in the senior year for people in other tracks:
BIOEN 6221 Fundamentals of Micromachining (2)
BIOEN 6222 Biomedical Applications of Micromachining (2)
BIOEN 6470 Ultrasound (2)
EL EN 3510 Introduction to Feedback Systems (4)

Biomaterials Science and Engineering Track
MSE 2010 Introduction to Materials Science & Engineering (4)
MSE 3410 Introduction to Polymers (2)
or MSE 3310 Introduction to Ceramics (2)
ME EN 1300 Statics and Strength of Materials (4)
BIOEN 5090 Biophysical Chemistry (3)
MSE 3011 Structural Analysis of Materials (4)

Biomechanical Engineering Track
ME EN 1300 Statics and Strength of Materials (4)
ME EN 2400 Dynamics (4)
ME EN 3300 Strength of Materials (4)
ME EN 3650 Heat Transfer (4)
ME EN 3700 Fluid Mechanics (5)
Students who elect the biomechanical engineering track substitute BIOEN 6210, Introduction to Biomechanics, for BIOEN 5201, Biomechanics.

Biomolecular Engineering Track
BIOEN 5030 From Biology to Engineering (2)
BIOEN 5090 Biophysical Chemistry (3)
BIOEN 6170 Biomolecular Engineering (3)
CHEM 3510 Biological Chemistry I (3)
CHEM 3515 Biological Chemistry Laboratory (2)
CHEM 3520 Biological Chemistry II (3)

Computational Bioengineering Track
Election of the computational bioengineering track gives the student a minor in computer science.
CP SC 1010 Unix (0.5)
CP SC 2010 Introduction to Computer Science I (4)
CP SC 2020 Introduction to Computer Science II (4)
CP SC 3200 Scientific Computation (3)
CP SC 3500 Software Practice (4)
Select one course from the following:
CP SC 5210 Advanced Scientific Computing I (3)
CP SC 5630 Scientific Visualization (3)
CP SC 5300 Artificial Intelligence* (3)
CP SC 5310 Robotics* (3)
CP SC 5320 Computer Vision* (3)
CP SC 5600 Computer Graphics* (3)
*These courses require CP SC 3510, Algorithms and Data Structures.

Scholarships. The College of Engineering provides a limited number of scholarships and tuition waivers to highly qualified applicants. Contact the department office for details.

Duplication of Credit. No single course may be counted more than once to fulfill the requirements.

Continuing Performance. Students must maintain a cumulative GPA above 2.5. Each course taken to satisfy departmental requirements listed above must be passed with a grade of C or better. A student may repeat upper-division courses (3000-level or above) only once, and the second grade received will be counted for the requirement. All mathematics, science, and bioengineering core and technical electives must be taken for a letter grade; they may not be taken CR/NC.

Students are expected to complete all degree requirements within four years of acceptance to major status. Students who are not making satisfactory progress may be dropped from the program and declared inactive. To be reinstated to active status, students must submit a written petition to the bioengineering director of undergraduate studies. Reinstated students matriculate under the latest graduation requirements.

Probation. A student whose GPA falls below 2.5 is placed on academic probation and given written instructions for a return to good standing. Normally, these conditions must be met during the ensuing semester. Students who fail to meet probationary conditions are dropped from the program. Reinstatement requires a written petition to Bioengineering, Director of Undergraduate Studies. Reinstated students matriculate under the latest graduation requirements.

Graduate Program

Degrees. M.E., M.S., Ph.D. in bioengineering. For additional information, see the Graduate Information section of this catalog.
The Department of Bioengineering accepts to its graduate program students with bachelor's degrees or the equivalent in engineering, life sciences, or physical sciences. Individual graduate programs are planned to prepare each student for a career in the application of science and engineering to problems in medicine and biology. Faculty have joint appointments in other departments in the College of Engineering and in the School of Medicine and College of Pharmacy. Close ties exist with researchers on campus, as well as at local hospitals, the Division of Artificial Organs, and various research firms located in the Salt Lake City area. Career opportunities exist in clinical engineering (hospitals), biomedical engineering (industry and government), and research and teaching (universities, research groups).

Admission. Applicants must have received, prior to commencing graduate study, a bachelor's degree from an accredited institute, college, or university. While no single field of undergraduate specialization is required, applicants are expected to have mastered basic material in the following areas: mathematics (calculus through differential equations), physics (college physics with calculus, including mechanics and electronics), chemistry (organic and/or biochemistry), materials science (introductory course or strength of materials), and biology (introductory human anatomy or physiology).

Completed applications are considered annually beginning January 1; applications not complete by May 1 are normally considered the following year. Each applicant must submit a completed Application for Admission to Graduate School form with appropriate fee, official transcripts, scores from the General Test of the GRE, three letters of reference, and a one- or two-page personal essay outlining the applicant's background, interests, goals, and reasons for applying to the department. International students must also submit scores from the TOEFL: a minimum score of 575 is required for admission; students with scores below 600 may be required to enroll in English courses.

Areas of Specialization

Bioinstrumentation: Integrated circuit micro- electrodes; neonatal ICU monitoring; trauma/ burn instrumentation; biological measurements by light scattering; optical probes for physiological monitoring; interface optical spectroscopy by evanescent-wave methods; iontophoresis devices; intensive-care and diagnostic instrumentation; microscale biosensors and instrumentation.

Biomaterials: Biomedical materials; surgical devices and implants; blood and living cell interactions; surface chemistry; protein adsorption and cell cultures; tissue engineering.

Radiation and Imaging: Microwave; ultrasound; MRI, SPECT, MEG, CT, and other imaging modalities; image processing; visualization; inverse methods.

Biomechanics: Mechanics of cells, soft tissue, organs, and bone; orthopedic biomechanics and prosthetics; artificial limb hardware and control; biorobotics.
Quantitative Physiology: Neurophysiology; phototransduction; muscle physiology; computer simulations of biological systems; cybernetics; bioelectricity; mathematical biology.

Neural Interfaces: Intrafasicular electrodes for prosthetic sensing and control; micromachined electrodes for prosthetic sensing and control; micromachined, high-density electrode arrays for cortical/peripheral neural recording and stimulation; drug/chemical delivery systems; neural tissue engineering;
neurophysiology.

Advanced Courses: Curriculum Tracks. After satisfactorily completing their core curriculum, students who plan to pursue a Ph.D. degree enroll in advanced courses designed to enhance their knowledge in specific research areas. To help students select suitable courses, curriculum tracks have been developed which represent areas of the department's research strengths. The courses in each track are only recommendations. Students and their supervisory committees will design their courses of study to meet individual needs. The curriculum tracks are (1) Biomaterials, Biotechnology, and Tissue Engineering; (2) Biomechanics; (3) Medical Imaging; (4) Biological Sensors, Instrumentation, and Control; and (5) Neural Interfaces.

Degree Requirements. The core program, required of all entering students, includes courses in biomaterials and quantitative physiology. M.S. students must pass a written comprehensive examination covering material from the core courses. M.E.: a minimum of 27 credit hours in course work and 3 hours in research are required. No thesis is required, but candidates must complete a written summarization of the research project. M.S.: a minimum of 21 hours of course work and 9 hours in research is required. Ph.D.: a minimum of 20 hours of course work beyond the master's degree or equivalent and 14 hours in research is required. The Ph.D. degree must be completed within six years from the date of acceptance into the program. Students must pass a written qualifying examination and thesis proposal to become Ph.D. candidates.

Credit Limitations. Students may not count more than 6 credit hours of nonmatriculated graduate work toward any graduate degree without prior approval. Candidates for graduate degrees are required to maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA with no grade below C accepted for credit toward degrees. For more detailed information, see the Graduate Information section of this catalog.

Research Assistantships. Contact the department office for details.

BIOEN Course Descriptions