Master of Science - Biomedical Engineering

Plan Description

The objective of the M.S.B.E. degree program is to provide a graduate-level educational experience that will prepare individuals to undertake design and research in the area of biomedical engineering. The program is multidisciplinary and integrates knowledge from the traditional engineering sciences, the life sciences, and medicine.

Specific goals of the program include development of:

1. A thorough grounding in the life sciences;
2. Mastery of engineering tools and approaches;
3. Familiarity with the problems of making and interpreting quantitative measurements of living systems;
4. The ability to use modeling techniques; and
5. The ability to formulate and solve problems with medical relevance, including the design of devices, systems, and processes to improve human health.

Learning Outcomes

www.unlv.edu/degree/msbe-biomedical-engineering

Plan Admission Requirements

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate College, an applicant for the M.S. program must complete the following requirements:

1. Applicants must complete the on-line process in the “Apply Yourself (AY)” system.
2. In addition to the required information in the general AY application system, the Mechanical Engineering Department has two additional requirements which can also be submitted in the AY system as optional items. Electronic submission is the preferred method. If these items are not completed in the AY system before you finish and make payment, you cannot go back and do them electronically afterwards. In this case, you must mail hardcopies to the Mechanical Engineering Department. The two items are:
   1. A written statement of purpose indicating interests and objectives in working toward a M.S. degree.
   2. Two letters of recommendation. There is no specified format. Your references should point out the qualifications that make you a good candidate for admission.
3. The applicant must have a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a closely related discipline. Students with non-engineering backgrounds will be required to complete a set of course work requirements that will assure successful completion of the M.S. specialization and qualify the student to sit for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. The Graduate Program Committee (GPC) will decide upon special cases.
4. The applicant must submit his/her official copy of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test scores. To be admitted to the graduate program in Mechanical Engineering, the applicant must be at or above the 75 percentile range (of the group taking the GRE when the applicant takes the exam) in the quantitative reasoning section of the exam. If the applicant is less than 75 percent, at the discretion of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the applicant may be provisionally admitted to the graduate program with the requirement that he/she retake the GRE during the first semester after admission. If the applicant fails to retake the GRE during the first semester after admission or if the applicant fails to be at or above the 75 percent range in the quantitative reasoning section of the exam after retaking the exam, at its discretion, the Department of Mechanical Engineering may remove the applicant from the graduate program. The GRE university code for UNLV is 4861. The Mechanical Engineering Department code is 1502.
5. The GPC will examine the applicant’s academic record and will make the final determination of the applicant’s admissibility to the M.S. program. In general, a minimum post baccalaureate GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale or equivalent is required for admission in addition to a GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale or equivalent in all engineering courses.
6. All domestic and international applicants must review and follow the Graduate College Admission and Registration Requirements.

Our department admissions committee looks at all of these requirements when making admissions decisions.

Students who have not taken at least three of the courses listed below (or their equivalent), will be required to do so in addition to course requirements listed below.

BIO 209 – Introduction to Cell Biology
BIO 360 – Mammalian Physiology
CHE 225 – Organic Chemistry I
BIOL 209 – Introduction to Cell Biology
BIOL 223 – Human Anatomy and Physiology I
BIOL 480 – Introduction to Biological Modeling
CHEM 220 – Introductory Organic Chemistry
CHEM 474 – Biochemistry I
CHEM 478 – Endocrinology
MATH 283 – Calculus III
MATH 427 – Differential Equations I
MATH 431 – Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists I
STAT 463 – Applied Statistics for Engineers
ME 301 – Structure and Properties of Solids
ME 302 – Material Mechanics
ME 311 – Engineering Thermodynamics
ME 314 – Introduction to Heat Transfer
ME 380 – Fluid Dynamics for Mechanical Engineers
ME 402 – Computational Methods for Engineers
ME 421 – Automatic Controls
ME 425 – Robotics

The Integrated BS-MS degree program is designed to provide high-achieving MEG undergraduate students with the opportunity to be exposed to graduate courses and to encourage them to continue with graduate degree by reducing the time needed for degree completion. Up to nine credit hours of approved graduate-level course work can be taken as technical electives for the grade of B or better during the senior year and those credit hours will be waived for the graduate degree. The following conditions are needed to enroll in the Integrated BS-MS program:

1. A minimum of two semesters of full-time enrollment in B.S. of Mechanical Engineering program is required.
2. Applications are normally submitted with two semesters remaining in the senior year.
3. A minimum of 90 credit hours of course work applicable to the B.S. of Mechanical Engineering degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher must be completed before beginning the joint degree program.
4. Student has to choose the thesis option.

Plan Requirements

See Subplan Requirements below.

Subplan 1: Non-Thesis Track
Subplan 2: Thesis Track
Subplan 3: Integrated BS-MS Track

Subplan 1 Requirements: Non-Thesis Track

Total Credits Required: 30

Course Requirements

Required Courses – Credits: 27

Complete 27 credits of advisor-approved common core introductory biomedical engineering and health science courses.

Design Project – Credits: 3

ME 796 - Design Project in Mechanical Engineering 

Degree Requirements 

1. Requires 33 credits of approved graduate courses. At least 18 credits must be earned from 700-level courses, and 15 credits must be in engineering.
2. Satisfactory progress is defined as filing an approved program before the completion of nine credits of course work, completion of at least six credits of the approved program per calendar year, maintenance of a GPA of 3.00 (4.00 scale), no grades below C, (C- is not acceptable) and compliance with the letter and spirit of the Graduate Catalog and published policies of the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. If progress is not satisfactory, probation and separation may result, in accordance with the rules of the Graduate College. Any student whose GPA falls below 3.00 will be placed on probation and will have one semester to raise it to 3.00 or above.
3. Only those courses in which a student received a grade of C or better may be used for graduate credit. Students must comply with Graduate College policy.
4. Courses numbered below 600 do not count toward the hours required for the M.S. degree.
5. Each student’s program should show suitable breadth and coherence. As specified in the Graduate Catalog, the program of study will be developed by the student and advisor and filed with the Graduate College. Prior to filing, the program must receive approval by the student’s committee. An approved program must be filed before the completion of nine credits of course work after admission (regular or provisional). The responsibility rests with the student. Students will be dropped from the graduate engineering program if they neglect this requirement.

Graduation Requirements 

1. The student must submit all required forms to the Graduate College and then apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing his/her degree requirements.
2. Successfully complete a design project.

Subplan 2 Requirements: Thesis Track

Total Credits Required: 30

Course Requirements

Required Courses – Credits: 24

Complete 24 credits of advisor-approved common core introductory biomedical engineering and health science courses.

Thesis – Credits: 6

ME 797 - Thesis in Mechanical Engineering 

Degree Requirements 

1. Requires 24 credits of approved graduate courses plus six credits of work associated with the master’s level thesis, for a total of 30 credits. At least 15 credits must be earned from 700-level courses, and at least 15 credits must be in engineering. The final examination will include a defense of thesis.
2. Satisfactory progress is defined as filing an approved program before the completion of nine credits of course work, completion of at least six credits of the approved program per calendar year, maintenance of a GPA of 3.00 (4.00 scale), no grades below C, (C- is not acceptable) and compliance with the letter and spirit of the Graduate Catalog and published policies of the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. If progress is not satisfactory, probation and separation may result, in accordance with the rules of the Graduate College. Any student whose GPA falls below 3.00 will be placed on probation and will have one semester to raise it to 3.00 or above.
3. Only those courses in which a student received a grade of C or better may be used for graduate credit. Students must comply with Graduate College policy.
4. Courses numbered below 600 do not count toward the hours required for the M.S. degree.
5. In consultation with his/her advisor, a student will organize a thesis committee of at least three departmental members. In addition, a fourth member from outside the department, known as the Graduate College Representative, must be appointed. An additional committee member may be added at the student and department’s discretion. Please see Graduate College policy for committee appointment guidelines.
6. Each student’s program should show suitable breadth and coherence. As specified in the Graduate Catalog, the program of study will be developed by the student and advisor and filed with the Graduate College. Prior to filing, the program must receive approval by the student’s committee. An approved program must be filed before the completion of nine credits of course work after admission (regular or provisional). The responsibility rests with the student. Students will be dropped from the graduate engineering program if they neglect this requirement.

Graduation Requirements 

1. The student must submit all required forms to the Graduate College and then apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing his/her degree requirements.
2. The student must submit and successfully defend his/her thesis by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
3. The student must submit his/her approved, properly formatted hard-copy thesis to the Graduate College, and submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest by the posted deadline.

Subplan 3 Requirements: Integrated BS-MS Track

Total Credits Required: 21-27

Course Requirements

Required Courses – Credits: 15-21

Complete 15-21 credits of advisor-approved common core introductory biomedical engineering and health science courses.

Thesis – Credits: 6

ME 797 - Thesis in Mechanical Engineering 

Degree Requirements 

1. Total credits required depends on the total number of approved graduate-level course work taken as technical electives (with a grade of B or better) during the senior year.
2. Requires 15-21 credits of approved graduate courses plus six credits of work associated with the master’s level thesis, for a total of 21-27 credits. At least 15 credits must be earned from 700-level courses, and at least 15 credits must be in engineering. The final examination will include a defense of thesis.
3. Satisfactory progress is defined as filing an approved program before the completion of nine credits of course work, completion of at least six credits of the approved program per calendar year, maintenance of a GPA of 3.00 (4.00 scale), no grades below C, (C- is not acceptable) and compliance with the letter and spirit of the Graduate Catalog and published policies of the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. If progress is not satisfactory, probation and separation may result, in accordance with the rules of the Graduate College. Any student whose GPA falls below 3.00 will be placed on probation and will have one semester to raise it to 3.00 or above.
4. Only those courses in which a student received a grade of C or better may be used for graduate credit. Students must comply with Graduate College policy.
5. Courses numbered below 600 do not count toward the hours required for the M.S. degree.
6. In consultation with his/her advisor, a student will organize a thesis committee of at least three departmental members. In addition, a fourth member from outside the department, known as the Graduate College Representative, must be appointed. An additional committee member may be added at the student and department’s discretion. Please see Graduate College policy for committee appointment guidelines.
7. Each student’s program should show suitable breadth and coherence. As specified in the Graduate Catalog, the program of study will be developed by the student and advisor and filed with the Graduate College. Prior to filing, the program must receive approval by the student’s committee. An approved program must be filed before the completion of nine credits of course work after admission (regular or provisional). The responsibility rests with the student. Students will be dropped from the graduate engineering program if they neglect this requirement.

Graduation Requirements 

1. The student must submit all required forms to the Graduate College and then apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing his/her degree requirements.
2. The student must submit and successfully defend his/her thesis by the posted deadline. The defense must be advertised and is open to the public.
3. The student must submit his/her approved, properly formatted hard-copy thesis to the Graduate College, and submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest by the posted deadline.

Plan Graduation Requirements

Refer to your subplan for Graduation Requirements.

Subplan 1: Non-Thesis Track
Subplan 2: Thesis Track
Subplan 3: Integrated BS-MS Track