General Information

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Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

Admission to the BME PhD program is a highly competitive process. Our Admissions Committee does a holistic review of all of the following materials. 

Application materials needed:

• GRE scores are NOT required.
• 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. Please upload via GradApp portal.
• Minimum of three letters of recommendation from former professors or individuals knowledgeable about your academic and scientific abilities. Students can submit/request additional letters of recommendation, if desired. Letters of recommendation should be uploaded via the Grad App portal.
• For initial application, Unofficial College transcripts required. If accepted into program, Official Transcripts will be required prior to matriculation. Applicants are required to have a Bachelor’s degree in engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, or quantitative life sciences for admission into the program, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 (recommended 3.3). Previous coursework including two courses in calculus, ordinary differential equations, and at least one course in life science is required. Applicants lacking in some area at the time of application may provide a plan to gain competence in these areas.
• CV/Resume document/PDF uploaded.
• International Student from a non-English speaking country: 

  • English Proficiency

    • Proof of English proficiency is required for any international applicant born in a country where English is not the official language.  

    • Please check our English Requirement list to verify your need to submit an English proficiency test.  

      Individual departments may require higher scores than the Graduate College and all tests must be dated within 2 years of the enrollment term to be considered valid.  The University of Arizona's institution code for sending official electronic score reports from ETS is 4832. 

  • Acceptable English Proficiency credentials:

    • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - minimum score of 79 iBT (or 60 on the revised PBT with no section score lower than 15).  Individual MyBest scores must also be dated within 2 years of the enrollment term to be considered valid. 

    • International English Language Testing System (IELTS) - minimum composite score of 7, with no subject area below a 6

    • Pearson PTE Academic - minimum score of 60

    • Graduate English Language Endorsement from the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL)

    • CEPT Full Academic test - offered by our Center for English as a Second Language (CESL), minimum Total score of 110.

  • Exemptions

    • Those exempt from submitting English proficiency scores are:

      • Applicants from countries where English is the official language.
      • Applicants who have completed a bachelors or graduate degree at a regionally accredited institution in the United States, or an approved institution in an official English speaking country.  Students eligible for this exemption, who are awarded a graduate teaching assistantship from their department, must complete the mandatory English Speaking Proficiency Evaluation (ESPE.)  Refer to the GA Manual for more information:  http://grad.arizona.edu/funding/ga.
      • Applicants who have not yet completed a degree, but have two years of full-time academic study and have taken 48 upper division, graded undergraduate semester units or 30 graded, graduate semester units.  Units must not be older than two years from the term of enrollment.  Students eligible for this exemption, who are awarded a graduate teaching assistantship from their department, must complete the mandatory English Speaking Proficiency Evaluation (ESPE.)  Refer to the GA Manual for more information:  http://grad.arizona.edu/funding/ga.

 

Standardized Tests

International student requirement:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - minimum score of 79 iBT (or 60 on the revised PBT with no section score lower than 15).  Individual MyBest scores must also be dated within 2 years of the enrollment term to be considered valid. 

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) - minimum composite score of 7, with no subject area below a 6

• Pearson PTE Academic - minimum score of 60

• Graduate English Language Endorsement from the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL)

• CEPT Full Academic test - offered by our Center for English as a Second Language (CESL), minimum Total score of 110.

 

Funding Opportunities

Graduate Funding

Support Throughout Your Degree Program

Teaching and Research Assistantships

All full-time BME doctoral students in good academic standing are supported financially during their graduate studies. This includes annual stipend, in-state tuition, out-of-state tuition (if applicable), and health insurance. First-semester support is typically provided by the department or the college in the form of fellowship or research assistantship.

Beyond the first semester, support is typically provided by the faculty adviser, using funds from the adviser's research grant or the departmentwide training grants (see following section), contingent upon the student's satisfactory academic progress and good standing in the BME program. Students can also be supported through teaching assistantships.

Teaching and research assistantships for master's students are handled on a case-by-case basis. Master's students may also be supported by a variety of fellowships and scholarships.

Detailed information about teaching and research assistantships is available in the UA Graduate College GA Manual.

Scholarships and Fellowships

The BME graduate program encourages all students to seek fellowship funding. The following resources simplify finding, applying for and managing fellowships and scholarships: 

• Graduate College search for funding
• UA graduate diversity programs 
• Scholarship Universe, UA scholarship database and search tool
• UA Office of Fellowships support for finding external funding
• UA Engineering’s deadline-driven list

Among fellowship sources for BME students are the following:

• American Heart Association
• ARCS Foundation (through department)
• BIO5 Institute
• National Institutes of Health Training Grants 
• UA Computational and Mathematical Modeling of Biomedical Systems
• Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research
• Flinn Foundation
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• NSF Graduate Research Program
• Whitaker Foundations

 

Admissions Deadlines

We currently admit students to begin our program in Fall only. Applications are only accepted between October 1st and January 6th. All application materials must be submitted by December 1 of the year preceding entrance for international applicants, and January 6th of the entrance year for domestic applicants.

Domestic Applicants:

• Fall: January 6

International Applicants:

• Fall: December 1

 

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

NRC Taxon(a) for this program: Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

63 

Core Coursework Requirements

Doctor of Philosophy Requirements

Doctoral students must complete a minimum of 63 units of graduate credit, and meet the Graduate College’s minimum units of courses in which regular grades have been earned. A high level of performance is expected of students who are enrolled in graduate programs at The University of Arizona.  Students must maintain a grade point average of 3.00 (letter grade of B) or better to continue enrollment in the degree-granting program, receive financial support, and to be awarded an M.S. or Ph.D. degree.

Students entering the program with a M.S. degree may petition to apply previous graduate coursework to the Ph.D. degree requirements. The Graduate College requires that at least 30 units of graduate credit must be completed at the University of Arizona.

Required  Courses

BME 510 (3) – Biology for Biomedical Engineering, minimum grade required: B

BME 511 (3) – Physiology for Biomedical Engineering, minimum grade required: B

BME 517 (3) – Measurement and Data Analysis in Biomedical Engineering, minimum grade required: B

Choose at least two courses from different focus areas (6 units total) of:

Biomaterials:

• BME 561 (3) – Biological and Synthetic Materials (Fall)
• BME 586 (3) – Biomaterial-Tissue Interactions (Spring)

Biomechanics

• BME 566 (3) – Biomechanical Engineering (Fall)

Biomedical Imaging & Optics

• BME 516 (3) – Biomedical Imaging (Spring)
• BME 520 – Biophotonics (Spring)

Biomedical Informatics

• BME 577 (3) – Intro to Biomedical Informatics (Fall)

Cell and Tissue Engineering

BME 581B – Cell and Tissue Engineering (Spring)

 

SLHS 649 (3) – Survival Skills & Ethics (Alternate course option with Graduate Studies Committee approval)

BME 696A Seminar/696C Forum (1)

(6 units count toward total unit requirement, full-time students required to register for/attend Seminar each semester in program)

BME 592 Rotation (2)

Graduate Coursework (10 units) Level 500+ courses, dependent on approval of mentor and Graduate Studies Committee

Example: 

ENGR 581A - Assess Erly Stg Medical Tech (2)

BME 585 – Nanotechnology (3)

CHEE 583 – Introduction to Polymers (3)

MCB 579 – Art of Scientific Discovery (3)

Units in the Minor (min. 9)

Minor unit amount based on that program’s requirements

Example:

MCB 577 (4) Prin of Cell Biology

MCB 580 (3) Intro to Systems Biology

MCB 588 (4) Prin Cell+Molec Neurobiology

BME 920 Dissertation (min.18 units)

 

Elective Coursework

Elective coursework can include BME and non-BME courses. Please email Andrea Anduaga (aanduaga@arizona.edu) with specific questions. 

 

Additional Requirements

N/A

 

Minor Requirements for Doctoral Students in this Program

The Graduate College requires all Ph.D. students to complete a "minor" program of study. Ph.D. candidates in the disciplines other than BME may select a minor in BME. 

• Life science majors: 9 units total - 6 units selected from BME core courses (BME 510, 511, 516, 517, 520, 561, 566, 577, 581B, 586) and 3 units from graduate BME courses in general. No non-traditional classroom experiences (rotations, independent study, internship, seminar, etc.) may be included in these 9 units.
• Engineering and Imaging majors: 9 units total – 6 units from BME core courses (BME 510, 511, 516, 517, 520, 561, 566, 577, 581B, 586; 3 units should be either BME 510 or 511) and 3 units from graduate BME courses in general. No non-traditional classroom experience (rotations, independent study, internship, seminar, etc.) may be included in these 9 units.

Completion of these courses with a "B" average for the required units is necessary for granting of the minor.  BME does not require representation at the written Comprehensive Examination, but does require a BME faculty member to be present at the oral examination, and BME-related material must be covered.  The student’s dissertation (Doctoral final oral examination) committee must contain one BME faculty member.  This committee member must be present at the dissertation defense, either in person or by teleconference.  The BME Program should receive a copy of the student’s Doctoral Plan of Study at the time they declare their minor in BME.  The student’s non-BME major advisor (mentor) cannot serve as the student’s advisor for a BME minor. 

A BME Doctoral student may choose to major and minor in Biomedical Engineering, i.e. obtain a "Distributed Minor in Biomedical Engineering".  The distributed minor consists of 9 units of formal graded course work in any area of Biomedical Engineering (excluding major course work, seminars, and lab rotations).

 

Student Handbook

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

 

Program StatisticsInformation about these numbers

Program-level Information
Application Acceptance Rate	30.56%
Avg. Time-to-degree (years)	4.83
Department-level Information
Enrollment Percent Male	55.41%
Enrollment Percent Female	44.59%
Enrollment Percent International	28.38%
Enrollment Percent URM	21.62%

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