Undergraduate Program

The program in biomedical engineering leading to the B.S. degree is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org

The objectives of the undergraduate program in biomedical engineering are as follows:

  1. Professional employment in areas such as the medical device industry, engineering consulting, and biotechnology;
  2. Graduate studies in biomedical engineering or related fields;
  3. Attendance at medical, dental, or other professional schools.

The undergraduate program in biomedical engineering will prepare graduates who will have:

        (1) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
        (2) an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
        (3) an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
        (4) an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
        (5) an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
        (6) an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
        (7) an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

The undergraduate curriculum is designed to provide broad knowledge of the physical and engineering sciences and their application to the solution of biological and medical problems. Students are strongly encouraged to take courses in the order specified in the course tables; deviations should be discussed with a departmental adviser and approved by the department before registration. The first two years provide a strong grounding in the physical and chemical sciences, engineering fundamentals, mathematics, and modern biology. This background is used to provide a unique physical approach to the study of biological systems. The last two years of the undergraduate program provide substantial exposure to fundamentals in biomedical engineering with emphasis on the integration of principles of biomedical engineering, quantitative analysis of physiology, and experimental quantification and measurements of biomedical systems. The common core biomedical engineering curriculum provides a broad yet solid foundation in biomedical engineering. The flexible choice of technical electives in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, other departments in the Engineering School, as well as in other departments in the arts and sciences allows students to broaden their biomedical engineering education to their individualized interests for a personalized curriculum. These qualities allow the faculty to prepare students for activity in all contemporary areas of biomedical engineering. Graduates of the program are equipped for employment in the large industrial sector devoted to health care, which includes pharmaceuticals, medical devices, artificial organs, prosthetics and sensory aids, diagnostics, medical instrumentation, and medical imaging. Graduates also accept employment in oversight organizations (FDA, NIH, OSHA, and others), medical centers, and research institutes. They are prepared for graduate study in biomedical engineering and several related areas of engineering and the health sciences. Students can meet entrance requirements for graduate training in the various allied health professions. No more than three additional courses are required to satisfy entrance requirements for most U.S. medical schools.

All biomedical engineering students are expected to register for nontechnical electives, both those specifically required by the School of Engineering and Applied Science and those needed to meet the 27-point total of nontechnical electives required for graduation.

First and Second Years

As outlined in this bulletin, in the first two years, all engineering students are expected to complete a sequence of courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science, engineering, modern biology, English composition, and physical education, as well as nontechnical electives including the humanities. For most of these sequences, the students may choose from two or more tracks. If there is a question regarding the acceptability of a course as a nontechnical elective, please consult the approved listing of courses or contact your advising dean for clarification.

Please see the charts in this section for a specific description of course requirements.

For students who are interested in the biomedical engineering major, they must take E1201: Introduction to electrical engineering. For the computer science requirement, students must take ENGI E1006. They must take the two-semester BIOL UN2005 and UN2006: Introduction to Biology I & II in the second year, which gives students a comprehensive overview of modern biology from molecular to organ system levels. In addition, all students must take APMA E2101: Introduction to applied mathematics in their second year.

Third and Fourth Years

The biomedical engineering programs at Columbia are based on engineering and biological fundamentals. This is emphasized in our core requirements, which cannot be waived nor substituted. All students must take the two-semester introduction to biomedical engineering courses, BMEN E3010 and E3020: Biomedical engineering I & II, which provide a broad yet solid foundation in the biomedical engineering discipline. In parallel, all students take the two-semester Quantitative physiology, I and II sequence (BMEN E4001-E4002), which is taught by biomedical engineering faculty and emphasizes quantitative applications of engineering principles in understanding biological systems and phenomena from molecular to organ system levels. In the fields of biomedical engineering, experimental techniques and principles are fundamental skills that good biomedical engineers must master. Beginning in junior year, all students take the two-semester sequence Biomedical engineering laboratory, I&II (BMEN E3810, E3820). In this twosemester series, students learn through hands-on experience the principles and methods of biomedical engineering experimentation, measurement techniques, quantitative theories of biomedical engineering, data analysis, and independent design of biomedical engineering experiments, in parallel to the Biomedical engineering I & II and Quantitative physiology I & II courses. In addition, all students must take BMEN E4110: Biostatistics for engineers. In the senior year, students are required to take a two-semester capstone design course, Biomedical engineering design (BMEN E3910 and E3920), in which students work within a team to tackle an open-ended design project in biomedical engineering. The underlying philosophy of these core requirements is to provide our biomedical engineering students with a broad knowledge and
understanding of topics in the field of biomedical engineering.

Parallel to these studies in core courses, students are required to take flexible technical elective courses, which are defined in the following section.

It is strongly advised that students take required courses during the specific term that they are designated in the course tables, as scheduling conflicts may arise if courses are taken out of sequence.

Technical Elective Requirements

Technical electives provide in depth understanding of a students chosen interests. A technical elective is defined as a 3000-level or above course taught in SEAS or 3000-level or above course in biology, chemistry, or biotechnology. 2000 level organic chemistry and biochemistry courses may also count towards technical electives, please consult your adviser.

Students are required to take 21 points of these technical electives. Of these, at least 15 points must be clearly engineering in nature (Engineering Content Technical Electives) as defined below. In addition, at least 6 points of the Engineering Content electives must be from courses in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

  1. Engineering Content technical electives provide sufficient engineering content to count toward the 48 units of engineering courses required for ABET accreditation and are defined as:
    1. All 3000-level or higher courses in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, except BMEN E4010, E4103, E4104, E4105, E4106, E4107, E4108, and E6510; additionally, BMEN E4000 001 in fall 2019. (Note that only 3 points of BMEN E3998 may be counted toward technical elective degree requirements.)
    2. All 3000-level or higher courses in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, except MECE E4007: Creative engineering and entrepreneurship
    3. All 3000-level or higher courses in the Department of Chemical Engineering, except CHEN E4020: Safeguarding intellectual and business property
    4. All 3000-level or higher courses in the Department of Electrical Engineering, except EEHS E3900: History of telecommunications: from the telegraph to the Internet
    5. All 3000-level or higher courses in the Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics program, except CIEN E4128, E4129, E4130, E4131, E4132, E4133, E4134, E4135, E4136, and E4140
    6. All 3000-level or higher courses in the Earth and Environmental Engineering program
       
  2. Courses from the following departments are not allowed to count toward the required 48 units of engineering courses:
    1. Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics
    2. Department of Computer Science
    3. Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
    4. Program of Materials Science and Engineering

Once 48 points of engineering content are satisfied, students may choose any course above the 3000-level in Columbia Engineering as well as biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and biotechnology as technical electives.

If a 3000-level or greater course is cross listed between two departments, eligibility as an engineering content technical elective is determined by either of the listed departments in its designation, independent of order. At least one of the programs that are listed must be ABET accredited to be considered engineering content. For example, APBM E4560 Anatomy for physicists & engineers and BMCH E4810 Artificial organs are both engineering content technical electives. Finally, a cross-listed course that is greater than or equal to 3000-level and with BMEN in its call letters will qualify as a BME Engineering Technical Elective.

The accompanying charts describe the eight-semester degree program schedule of courses leading to the bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering.

The undergraduate Biomedical Engineering program is designed to provide a solid biomedical engineering curriculum through its core requirements while providing flexibility to meet the individualized interests of the students. All students are encouraged to design their own educational paths through flexible technical electives while meeting the following requirements: (1) courses must be at the 3000-level or above; (2) five of the seven electives must meet the above criteria to be considered engineering content; and (3) two of the seven electives must be biomedical engineering courses. The following grouped courses provide a useful guide for students who wish to focus their studies in a particular Biomedical Engineering topic. The requirements for these elective concentrations are identical to those of the major's course requirements. To declare and earn this designation a student must take at least four of the courses listed for that concentration, and at least two of those must be biomedical engineering courses. It is not necessary to declare a concentration for the B.S. program.

BIOFABRICATION & NANOTECHNOLOGY
MECE E3100:Introduction to mechanics of fluids (3)
MECE E3113: Mechanics of solids (3)
MSAE E4090: Nanotechnology (3)
MECE E4212: Microelectromechanical systems (3)
BMEN E4550: Micro- and nanostructures in cellular engineering (3)
BMEN E4580: Foundations of nanobiotechnology and nanobioscience (3)
BMEN E4590: BioMems: cellular and molecular applications (3)

BIOINFORMATICS & MACHINE LEARNING
BIOL UN3041:Cell biology (3) (3)
COMS W3101: Programming languages (1)
COMS W3137: Data structures and algorithms (4)
BINF G4006: Translational bioinformatics (3)
BINF G4015: Computational systems biology: proteins, networks, function (3)
ECBM E4040: Neural networks and deep learning (3)
ECBM E4060: Introduction to genomic information science and technology (3)
STAT GU4241: Statistical machine learning (3)
COMS W4252: Introduction to computational learning theory (3)
BMEN E4420: Biomedical signal processing and signal modeling (3)
BMEN E4460: Deep learning in biomedical imaging (3)
BMEN E4460: Deep learning in biomedical signals and processing (3)
COMS W4701: Artificial intelligence (3)
CBMF W4761: Computational genomics (3)
COMS W4771: Machine learning (3)
BMEN E4895: Analysis and quantification of medical images (3)

BIOMATERIALS
MSAE E3010: Introduction to materials science (3)
BMEN E4501: Biomaterials and scaffold design (3)
BMEN E4510: Tissue engineering (3)
BMEN E4520: Synthetic biology: principles of genetic circuits (3)
BMEN E4530:
Drug and gene delivery (3)
BMEN E4590:
BioMems: cellular and molecular applications (3)
MEBM E4710:
Morphogenesis shape and structure in biological materials (3)
CHEN E4800:
Protein engineering (3)

BIOMECHANICS
MECE E3100:
Introduction to mechanics of fluids (3)
ENME E3105:
Mechanics (4)
MECE E3113:
Mechanics of solids (3)
MECE E3301:
Thermodynamics (3)
BMEN E4301:
Structure, mechanics and adaptation of bone (3)
BMEN E4302:
Biomechanics of soft tissue (3)
BMEN E4310:
Solid biomechanics (3)
BMEN E4320:
Fluid biomechanics (3)
BMEN E4340:
Biomechanics of cells (3)
MEBM E4710:
Morphogenesis shape and structure in biological materials (3)
BMEN E4750:
Sound and hearing (3)

BIOSIGNALS & BIOMEDICAL IMAGING
ELEN E3810:
Signals and systems (3.5)
BMEN E4410: Ultrasound in diagnostic imaging (3)
BMEN E4420:
Biomedical signal process and signal modeling (3)
BMEN E4430:
Principles of MRI (3)
BMEE E4740:
Bioinstrumentation (3)
ELEN E4810:
Digital signal processing (3)
BMEN E4894:
Biomedical imaging (3)
BMEN E4898:
Biophotonics (3)

CELL AND TISSUE ENGINEERING
CHEM UN2443:
Organic chemistry I (3.5)
CHEM UN2444:
Organics chemistry II (3.5)
BMEN E4210:
Driving forces of biological systems (3)
BMEN E4310:
Solid biomechanics (3)
BMEN E4501:
Biomaterials and scaffold design (3)
BMEN E4510:
Tissue engineering (3)
BMEN E4550:
Micro- and nanostructures in cellular engineering (3)

 

 

DESIGN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
MECE E3408:
Computer graphics and design (3)
ENGI W4100:
Research to Revenue (3)
BIOT GU4160:
Biotechnology Law (3)
BIOT GU4161:
Ethics in Biopharmaceutical Patent and Regulatory Law (3)
BIOT GU4200:
Biopharmaceutical Development & Regulation (3)
BIOT GU4201:
Biotechnology Development and Regulatory Issues (3)
BMEE E4740:
Bioinstrumentation (3)
CHEN E4920:
Pharmaceutical industry for engineers (3)

GENOMICS AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY
CHBM E4321:
The genome and the cell (3)
APMA E4400:
Introduction to biological modeling (3)
BMEN E4420:
Biosignal process and modeling (3)
BMEN E4520:
Synthetic biology: principles of genetic circuits (3)
BMEN E4530:
Drug and gene delivery (3)
BMEN E4590:
BioMems: cellular and molecular applications (3)
CHEN E4700:
Principles of genomic technologies (3)
CHEN E4760:
Genomics sequence laboratory (3)
CHEN E4800:
Protein engineering (3)

NEURAL ENGINEERING
ELEN E3810:
Signals and systems (3.5)
BMEB W4020:
Computational neuroscience: circuits in the brain (3)
BMEE E4030:
Neural control engineering (3)
BMEN E4050:
Electrophysiology of human memory and navigation (0)
BMEN E4310:
Solid biomechanics (3)
BMEN E4420:
Biosignal process and modeling (3)
BMEN E4430:
Principles of MRI (3)
ELEN E4810:
Digital signal processing (3)
BMEN E4894:
Biomedical imaging (3)

PREMED AND PRE-HEALTH PROFESSIONAL
CHEM UN2443:
Organic chemistry I (3.5)
CHEM UN2444:
Organic chemistry II (3.5)
CHEM UN2493:
Organic chemistry lab (techniques) (0)
CHEM UN2494:
Organic chemistry lab (synthesis) (0)
BIOC UN3300:
Biochemistry (4)
BMEN E4320:
Fluid biomechanics (3)
BMEN E4410:
Ultrasound in diagnostic imaging (3)
BMEN E4530:
Drug and gene delivery (3)

ROBOTICS AND CONTROL OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
MECE E3100:
Introduction to mechanics of fluids (3)
ENME E3105:
Mechanics (4)
MECE E3113:
Mechanics of solids (3)
BMEE E4030:
Neural control engineering (3)
BMEN E4050:
Electrophysiology of human memory and navigation (3)
MEBM E4439:
Modeling and identification of dynamic systems (3)
MECE E4602:
Introduction to robotics (3)
BMEE E4740:
Bioinstrumentation (3)

To meet entrance requirements of most U.S. medical schools, students will need to take BIOC GU4501 Biochemistry: Structure and metabolism (4), CHEM GU2543 Organic chemistry laboratory (3), PHYS UN1494: Introduction to experimental physics (3), and PSYC UN1001: The science of psychology (3) as well.

 

Dual Degree Programs

 Integrated B.S./M.S. Program in Biomedical Engineering

The B.S./M.S. degree program is open to a select group of Columbia juniors and makes possible the earning of both the B.S. and M.S. degrees in an integrated fashion. Benefits of this program include the matching of graduate courses with the corresponding prerequisites, a greater ability to plan ahead for optimal course planning, and a simplified application process with no GRE required. Up to 6 points from the B.S. degree requirements, specifically BMEN E4001 and E4002, will also count toward fulfilling the M.S. degree course requirements. To qualify for this program, students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and should apply for the program by April 30 in their junior year. For more information on requirements and application process, please visit bme.columbia.edu.

M.D./M.S. Program in Biomedical Engineering

The Doctor of Medicine/Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering (M.D./M.S.) program is an integrated program offered between The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science and the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. The purpose of this program is to supplement the current training of medical students with world-class training in biomedical engineering at the graduate-level. This interdisciplinary educational experience will prepare students to become innovative leaders in science, engineering, and medicine. The program is open to a select group of Columbia medical students and makes possible the earning of both the M.D. and M.S. degree in 5 years (4 years for the M.D. program, 1 year for the M.S. program). Six points from the M.D. degree,, through completion of anatomy coursework, will also count toward the Master of Science degree. Students must first be admitted to the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University and then apply to the Department of Biomedical Engineering. For more information on requirements and application process, please visit bme.columbia.edu.