General Information

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Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

Admission to the BME Accelerated MS program is a selective process. Our Admissions Committee does a holistic review of all of the following materials. 

Admissions materials needed:

1. A 1-2 page essay or statement of purpose describing your background, research interests and career goals. Include in your statement any information pertinent to your research experience, whether in course work, special projects or employment. Please explain why you want to obtain a graduate degree in Biomedical Engineering and what, specifically, led you to apply to our graduate program. This should be uploaded via the Grad App portal.
2. A minimum of two letters of recommendation from former professors or individuals knowledgeable about your academic and scientific abilities. Students may submit/request additional letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should be uploaded to the Grad App portal.
3. A CV/resume to be uploaded.
4. An Unofficial Transcript that can be uploaded via the Grad Path portal. Applicants are required to currently be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in enginering, mathematics, physical sciences, or quantitative life sciences for admission into the Program, with a minimum GPA of 3.3. Previous coursework including two courses in calculus, ordinary differential equations, and at least one course in life science is required. 

Financial assistance, such as assistantships, traineeships, fellowships and internships, is available according to merit and awarded on a competitive basis after review of the applicants admitted to our program.

Specific AMP expectations:

1. Completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credit hours will be required at the time of application; a minimum of 90 undergraduate credit hours will be required at the time of entry into the AMP. If the student’s GPA falls below 3.3 at the time they have completed 90 units, the student will not be admitted into the program. Courses taken for audit may not be included in the total number of units counted for eligibility or admission.

2. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3 on a minimum of 12 units of undergraduate UA.

3. Completion of at least 12 earned undergraduate credits at The University of Arizona’s main campus. Units still graded Incomplete, units graded Pass/Fail or units taken as audit will not count toward the requirement of the 12 undergraduate units.

4. Completion or near completion of general education requirements.

5. Submission of a graduate application and payment of a graduate application fee.

6. Demonstration of the maturity necessary for success in an accelerated, highly competitive program.

7. Expectation to complete the undergraduate degree within four years. The undergraduate degree requirements must be completed before the student is eligible to have the Master’s degree awarded.

 

Standardized Tests

Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not a requirement of the BME AMP.

 

Funding Opportunities

Financial support from the program is not normally provided to students in the Accelerated Masters Program. Students are encouraged to obtain a relevant position at UA or industry that can provide the experience necessary for the master's thesis or report. Such positions may be paid or students can obtain course credit (e.g. industrial/clinical internship BME 693). Due to the accelerated nature of the program, outside employment not related to the masters thesis or report is strongly discouraged.

Students may also be supported by a variety of fellowships and awards, many of which are listed by the Graduate College. The University of Arizona Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid also provides financial aid information.

The BME Graduate Program also encourages individual students to seek supplementary Predoctoral Fellowship funding. This provides the student with an opportunity to develop grant-writing skills and permits the student to supplement the stipend. 

 

 

Admissions Deadlines

Qualified students apply to the program in the second semester of their junior year (i.e., with two full semesters remaining in their undergraduate program). The application deadline is June 1st for students who expect to graduate in May of the following year.

 

 

International Conditional Admission

International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.

Other Information

The GRE Institution Code for The University of Arizona is 4832

ETS Major Field Code(s) for this program: 4832

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

30 

Core Coursework Requirements

​Requirements

Students complete 12 units of advanced courses in their senior year, which apply toward both the bachelor's and master's degrees. After completing bachelor's degree requirements with grades of "B" or better in all courses, students are granted graduate status and enter the master's program.

Students may choose to complete a master's thesis or master's report. Students may find that the report, which does not require original laboratory research, is more compatible with the accelerated nature of this program, but a thesis is encouraged if appropriate.

Complete a minimum of 30 units of graduate credit. 

Required Courses:

BME 510 (3) – Biology for Biomedical Engineering

BME 511 (3) – Physiology for Biomedical Engineering

BME 517 (3) – Measurement and Data Analysis in Biomedical Engineering OR BME 547 (3) – Sensors and Controls

Choose at least one (3 units total) out of the following:

BME 516 (3) – Biomedical Imaging 

BME 510 (3) – Biophotonics

BME 561 (3) – Biological and Synthetic Materials 

BME 566 (3) – Biomechanical Engineering 

BME 577 (3) – Intro to Biomedical Informatics 

BME 581B (3) – Cell and Tissue Engineering

BME 586 (3) – Biomaterial-Tissue Interactions 

BME 696A Seminar/696C Forum (1)

(2 units required; taken in 2nd year of AMP)

BME 592 Rotation (1)

Graduate Coursework (9 units) – List:

Level 500+ courses, dependent on approval of mentor and Graduate Studies Committee. This may include BME or non-BME graduate courses.

Example:

BME 585 (3) - Nanotechnology for BME

MCB 582 (3) - Modeling Human Disease

BIOS 576A (3) - Biostatistics for Research

BME 910 Thesis (6 units) or BME 909 Master’s Report (3 units) and additional coursework (3 units) 

 

Elective Coursework

Nine units in graduate engineering, life or physical sciences, or mathematics courses (which can include one additional unit of Research Methods in Biomedical Engineering, or up to two additional units of BME seminar/student forum)

 

Additional Requirements

N/A

 

Student Handbook

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.

 

Additional Information

This is an Accelerated Master's Program (AMP).

The Graduate College offers exceptional undergraduate students in selected majors the opportunity to earn both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in as few as 5 years. The Accelerated Master's Program is for the top undergraduates in participating majors who plan to continue in a graduate program in the same, or closely related, UA discipline.

Programs will select from among a qualified pool, based on the following criteria. Individual programs may have more stringent or additional requirements:

• Completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credit hours will be required at the time of application; a minimum of 90 undergraduate credit hours will be required at the time of entry into the AMP. If the student's GPA falls below 3.30 at the time s/he has completed 90 units, the student will not be admitted into the program. Courses taken for audit may not be included in the total number of units counted for eligibility or admission.
• Completion of at least 12 earned units of undergraduate course work in the major at the UA.
• Units still graded Incomplete, units graded Pass/Fail or units taken as audit will not count toward the requirement of the 12 undergraduate units in the major.
• Completion or near completion of general education requirements.
• Submission of a graduate application and payment of a graduate application fee.
• Demonstration of the maturity necessary for success in an accelerated, highly competitive program.
• Expectation to complete the undergraduate degree within four years. The undergraduate degree requirements must be completed before the student is eligible to have the Master's degree awarded.
• Interested students should verify departmental requirements as they may have additional or more stringent requirements than the Graduate College minimum requirements.

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