Admissions

How students can apply to the Biomedical Engineering major: Guidance for freshmen, transfers, and current College of Science and Engineering (CSE) students. 

Lower division

Freshmen and transfer students must first be admitted to CSE before applying to the Biomedical Engineering major.

Lower division students are encouraged to work with CSE Academic Advising for course planning, registration, and information on academic policies.

Inter-college transfers

Students at the University of Minnesota in a college other than CSE who would like to major in Biomedical Engineering must complete an inter-college transfer to CSE. The college requires completing the following courses before applying to transfer:

  • Calculus I and II (MATH 1271 and 1272, or 1371 and 1372).

  • Calculus-based Physics I and II (PHYS 1301W and 1302W).

  • Chemistry I and II (CHEM 1061/1065 and 1062/1066).

BMEn course registration requests for non-CSE students

Registration priority for BMEn courses is restricted to CSE students. Seats are only released to non-CSE students after queued registration is complete and open registration has begun. For some classes that often fill up, the department will wait until the week before classes begin to allow non-CSE students to enroll.

Non-CSE students who wish to take a BMEn course should fill out the permission number request form and include a thorough explanation/justification for the request.

Upper division

Lower division students in the College of Science and Engineering must apply for upper division standing in Biomedical Engineering by the time they reach 60 semester credits. Transfer students must complete at least one semester at the University before applying for upper division.

There are two criteria for admission to upper division:

  1. Successful completion of prerequisite coursework.
  2. Minimum technical grade point average.

Prerequisite coursework

The following courses must be completed (or in-progress at the time of application) in order for a student to be admitted to upper division:

  • BMEn 2401 - Programming for Biomedical Engineers

  • BMEn 2501 - Cellular and Molecular Biology for Biomedical Engineers

  • Chem 2301 - Organic Chemistry I

  • At least one of the following Math courses:

    • Math 2373 - Linear Algebra and Differential Equations

    • Math 2374 - Multivariable Calculus

  • Phys 1302W - Introductory Physics for Science and Engineering II

Refer to the four-year plan to see how these courses and their prerequisites can be completed in the first two years of study.

Technical GPA

The technical GPA includes coursework in calculus, physics, chemistry, computer science, and engineering. Students can see their current technical GPA by logging into the APAS (Academic Progress Audit System) report.

Students who have completed the required courses for admission to this major and have a 3.2 technical GPA at the end of fall semester will be guaranteed admission. All other students who have completed the required courses will be considered for admission on a space-available basis. Admission following spring semester is based on space availability.

How to apply

Applications for upper division are handled and processed by the college, not the department.

Note: Only students who have been admitted to upper division in Biomedical Engineering are permitted to take the BMEn 3000- and 4000-level courses.