Undergraduate program

University of Minnesota undergraduates who major in Biomedical Engineering get a broad foundation in biology, medicine, and technology, and learn how to solve health problems.

The Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (BBmE) is Accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.

What biomedical engineers do

Biomedical engineers apply the fundamentals of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology to solve medically relevant problems. Examples of biomedical engineering activities include:

  • Medical device design, fabrication, and testing.

  • Prosthesis fabrication.

  • Ergonomics and human factors.

  • Physiological function monitoring.

  • Home health care technology development.

  • Biomedical informatics.

  • Functional imaging and tomography.

  • Biomaterial development and biocompatibility.

  • Artificial tissue and organ fabrication.

  • Cell- and biomolecule-based sensors and therapeutics.

  • Gene therapy development.

  • Biomedical microsystems.

Our program

While these examples represent current areas of interest, biomedical engineering continues to rapidly change with advances in biology, medicine, and technology. Therefore, it’s a program goal to ensure students have sufficient breadth in their studies.

This enables students to adapt and develop new opportunities and areas of application during their professional career. At the same time, the program seeks to promote sufficient depth in one area of biomedical engineering so students can develop particular expertise in an area of their choosing.

Enrollment and degree statistics: College of Science and Engineering majors

Key features

Key features of our undergraduate program are:

  • A two-course freshman seminar sequence where students are introduced to both biomedical engineering research by professors, and medical devices and career opportunities by practicing biomedical engineers from local medical device companies.

  • 10 credits of required biology and physiology courses.

  • Five 4-credit core biomedical engineering courses with integrated laboratory experiences.

  • A two-course senior design sequence where students are advised by practicing biomedical engineers.

  • 27 credits (eight courses) of engineering/science electives in the senior year (a “custom track”). This gives students the flexibility to tailor their studies to their career interests.

Educational objectives

These features are consistent with our Program Educational Objectives (PEOs):

Graduates of the BBmE program are expected to be able to attain at least one of the following within a few years of graduating:

  • Be employed as a biomedical engineer, or engineer, scientist, or professional in a related field, and/or providing societal service, using knowledge and skills learned in the program.

  • Be progressing toward an advanced degree in one of the following: a) biomedical engineering, or related field of science or engineering; b) medicine, or other health professional program; or c) law, business, or other professional degree program.

Post-graduation job placement

Student outcomes

These PEOs are consistent with our Student Outcomes (SOs):

  • An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.

  • 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.

  • An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.

  • 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 function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.

  • An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.

  • An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

  • An understanding of biology and physiology, and the capability to apply advanced mathematics (including differential equations and statistics), science, and engineering to solve problems at the interface of engineering and biology.

  • The ability to make measurements on and interpret data from living systems, addressing the problems associated with the interaction between living and non-living materials and systems.

These outcomes serve our constituencies:

  • Current students in the BBmE program.

  • Alumni of the BBmE program.

  • Practicing engineers in the biomedical device industry.

  • Science and engineering graduate faculty at other universities.

For more information on ABET accreditation, student outcomes, and constituencies, please contact the director of undergraduate studies at bmedus@umn.edu.

Student success