Biomedical Engineering, Bachelor of Science College of Engineering
The Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Major
The Biomedical Engineering (BS) program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET under the commission's General Criteria and Program Criteria for Bioengineering and Biomedical and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.
Biomedical engineering is an interdisciplinary field of study that integrates knowledge of engineering principles with the biomedical sciences. It is a very diverse field with biomedical engineers working in areas ranging from medical imaging to regenerative medicine. Some major contributions of Biomedical Engineering include the left ventricular assist device (LVAD), artificial joints, hemodialysis, bioengineered skin, coronary stents, computed tomography (CT), and flexible endoscopes.
Students who choose biomedical engineering are interested in contributing to human health and quality of life, but do not routinely interact directly with patients, as do physicians. Due to the need to complete additional coursework beyond BME degree requirements, this major is not a primary route for pre-medical studies.
The mission of the BS degree program of the Department of Biomedical Engineering is to combine exceptional teaching with state-of-the-art research for the advancement of technologies and computational techniques that meet medical and societal challenges.
The educational objectives of our program are that a B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering should prepare students to:
- Be successfully engaged in their chosen career through engineering practice, academic or clinical research, healthcare, education, service, or related activities, or through the pursuit of graduate or professional degrees; and
- Contribute effectively to society through responsible professional practice, fostering of cross-disciplinary collaboration, generation of innovative solutions to problems, and continuous pursuit of knowledge for personal and technological advancement.
The biomedical engineering curriculum is designed to provide a solid interdisciplinary foundation in life and physical sciences, mathematics and engineering, while allowing for sufficient flexibility in the upper division requirements to encourage students to explore specializations within the field. Our instructional program is designed to impart knowledge of contemporary issues at the forefront of biomedical engineering research. Employment opportunities exist in industry, hospitals, academic research and teaching institutions, national laboratories, government regulatory agencies, consulting and finance. The major also provides excellent grounding in the skills necessary for graduate-level studies in engineering disciplines and biological sciences, as well as for professional studies in health (medicine, dentistry, optometry, prosthetics), business and law.
For information about graduate degree options, see Biomedical Engineering (Graduate Group).
Areas of Specialization
As Biomedical engineering is a broad field, specializing in a subfield of engineering can provide more in-depth expertise in a focus area. Through the judicious selection of upper division engineering and science electives, students can create this depth in one of our suggested areas of specialization or in an area of the student's choosing. One of the strengths of the UC Davis program is the flexibility to design one's own emphasis of study. These specializations are neither required nor degree-notated.
Biomechanics
This is a broad subfield that includes orthopedic/rehabilitation engineering and the study of mechanical forces produced by biological systems. This subfield helps us understand the fluid dynamics of blood flow and the forces acting on tissue in the artery allowing us to design better cardiovascular interventional devices. This field involves a more intensive study of mechanics, dynamics and thermodynamics.
Cellular & Tissue
The cellular and tissue specialization applies biomedical engineering principles to control behavior at the gene, protein, cell, and tissue level. Engineers in this area work with cellular therapies, protein production, gene therapy, tissue engineering and regeneration, and biomaterials development. This subfield draws heavily from the chemical and biological sciences and can involve studying biomedical transport, natural or synthetic biomaterials, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
Imaging
Visualizing anatomical structure, physiological processes, metabolic activity and molecular expression in living tissues is essential for the diagnosis of disease, development of new therapeutics, evaluation of the response to therapeutics, and guidance of interventional procedures. An imaging biomedical engineer can develop instruments for imaging, create algorithms for three-dimensional reconstruction of imaging data, and generate new contrast agents to enhance image quality. Our program has a particular strength in molecular imaging, which involves detecting molecular-scale events within living systems. Depending upon your area of interest, the imaging specialization can require further study in electronics, signal processing, chemistry or computer programming.
Medical Devices
Biomedical engineers can develop devices, instruments and implants ranging from the nano- to macro-scale that can be used in the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease. This involves combining technologies like pharmaceuticals, electronics and mechanical devices to develop combination medical treatments.
Systems & Synthetic Biology
In systems and synthetic biology, students apply engineering principles to better understand, design and build biological systems at the cellular level. They integrate cellular, biochemical, genetic, electromechanical and computational approaches in their work, which can be applied to health and other applications. Systems and synthetic biology specialists can build engineered or artificial cells for fighting cancer or antibiotic resistance, improve tissue engineering and drug production approaches and study how complex and dynamic molecular systems control cellular behavior.
Pre-Medical Student
As engineering is playing an increasing role in the practice of medicine, students can focus on the intersection of engineering and medicine for future careers as physician-scientists. Please note that to meet admission requirements for medical school, students must complete extra coursework in addition to the listed Department of Biomedical Engineering Curriculum Requirements.
The Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering
Doctoral and master's degrees in Biomedical Engineering are offered through the interdisciplinary Graduate Group in Biomedical Engineering; see Biomedical Engineering & Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group.
The major requirements below are in addition to meeting University Degree Requirements & College Degree Requirements; unless otherwise noted. The minimum number of units required for the Biomedical Engineering Bachelor of Science is 158.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Division Required Courses | ||
| Students are encouraged to adhere carefully to all prerequisite requirements. The instructor is authorized to drop students from a course for which stated prerequisites have not been completed. | ||
| Mathematics | ||
| MAT 021A | Calculus | 4 |
| MAT 021B | Calculus | 4 |
| MAT 021C | Calculus | 4 |
| MAT 021D | Vector Analysis | 4 |
| MAT 022A | Linear Algebra | 3-4 |
| or MAT 027A | Linear Algebra with Applications to Biology | |
| or BIS 027A | Linear Algebra with Applications to Biology | |
| MAT 022B | Differential Equations | 3-4 |
| or MAT 027B | Differential Equations with Applications to Biology | |
| or BIS 027B | Differential Equations with Applications to Biology | |
| Physics | ||
| PHY 009A | Classical Physics | 5 |
| or PHY 009HA | Honors Physics | |
| PHY 009B | Classical Physics | 5 |
| PHY 009C | Classical Physics | 5 |
| Chemistry | ||
| CHE 002A & CHE 002B & CHE 002C | General Chemistry and General Chemistry and General Chemistry | 15 |
| CHE 008A | Organic Chemistry: Brief Course | 2-4 |
| or CHE 118A | Organic Chemistry for Health & Life Sciences | |
| CHE 008B | Organic Chemistry: Brief Course | 4 |
| or CHE 118B | Organic Chemistry for Health & Life Sciences | |
| Engineering | ||
| ENG 006 | Engineering Problem Solving | 4 |
| ENG 017 | Circuits I | 4 |
| or ENG 017V | Circuits I | |
| Biological Science | ||
| BIS 002A | Introduction to Biology: Essentials of Life on Earth | 5 |
| Biomedical Engineering | ||
| BIM 001 | Introduction to Biomedical Engineering | 2 |
| BIM 020 | Fundamentals of Bioengineering | 4 |
| BIM 020L | Graphics Design for BME | 2 |
| Lower Division Composition/Writing; choose one; a grade of C- or better is required: | 4 | |
| Major Works of the Ancient World | ||
| Major Works of the Medieval & Early Modern World | ||
| Major Works of the Modern World | ||
| Major Works of the Contemporary World | ||
| Introduction to Literature | ||
or ENL 003V | Introduction to Literature | |
| Introduction to Native American Literature | ||
| Introduction to Academic Literacies | ||
| Introduction to Academic Literacies: Online | ||
| Introduction to Academic Literacies | ||
| Lower Division Required Courses Subtotal | 83-87 | |
| Upper Division Required Courses | ||
| Engineering | ||
| ENG 100 | Electronic Circuits & Systems | 3-5 |
| or EEC 100 | Circuits II | |
| ENG 105 | Thermodynamics | 4 |
| ENG 190 | Professional Responsibilities of Engineers | 3 |
| Biomedical Engineering | ||
| BIM 116 | Quantitative Physiology | 5 |
| or NPB 101 | Systemic Physiology | |
| BIM 105 | Probability & Data Science for Biomedical Engineers | 4 |
| BIM 106 | Biotransport Phenomena | 4 |
| BIM 107 | Manufacturing Processes for BME | 2 |
| BIM 108 | Biomedical Signals & Control | 4 |
| BIM 109 | Biomaterials | 4 |
| BIM 110A | Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Experience | 3 |
| BIM 110B | Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Experience | 3 |
| BIM 110C | Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Experience | 3 |
| BIM 111 | Biomedical Instrumentation Laboratory | 6 |
| Science & Engineering Electives are to be selected in consultation with a staff or faculty advisor. | ||
| Science Electives | ||
| To be chosen according to specialization: | 7 | |
| Introduction to Biology: Principles of Ecology & Evolution | ||
| Introduction to Biology: Biodiversity & the Tree of Life | ||
| Introduction to Programming | ||
| Introduction to Data Structures | ||
| Modern Physics | ||
| Cellular Dynamics | ||
| Biomolecular Engineering | ||
| Biomolecular Engineering Laboratory | ||
Any letter graded upper division course in the Biological Sciences, Chemistry or Physics that is designated as Science & Engineering topical breadth. | ||
With the approval of the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Committee; 4 units: | ||
| Internship in Biomedical Engineering | ||
or BIM 199 | Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates | |
| Engineering Electives | ||
| Any letter graded upper division Biomedical Engineering course that is not required. Courses that do not count are BIM 102, BIM 161A, BIM 161L, and select variable unit classes from BIM 099, BIM 192, BIM 189A, BIM 189B, BIM 189C, BIM 19.9 | 20 | |
With the approval of the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Committee; 4 units: | ||
| Internship in Biomedical Engineering | ||
or BIM 199 | Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates | |
No more than 4 units allowed from lower division coursework. | ||
| Statics | ||
| Properties of Materials | ||
or ENG 045Y | Properties of Materials | |
| Dynamics | ||
| Fluid Mechanics | ||
| Mechanics of Materials | ||
| Mechanics of Materials Laboratory | ||
| Engineering Economics | ||
| Electronic Circuits I | ||
| Electronic Circuits II | ||
| Digital Integrated Circuits | ||
| Electromagnetics I | ||
| Introductory Electromagnetics II | ||
| Principles of Device Physics I | ||
or EEC 140AV | Principles of Device Physics I | |
| Principles of Device Physics II | ||
| Digital Signals & Systems | ||
| Control Systems | ||
or EEC 157AV | Control Systems | |
| Control Systems II | ||
or EEC 157BY | Control Systems II | |
| Signal Analysis & Communications | ||
| Biomechanics & Ergonomics | ||
| Modeling of Dynamic Processes in Biological Systems | ||
| Bioinstrumentation & Control | ||
| Rheology of Biological Materials | ||
| Fluid Mechanics for Biochemical & Chemical Engineers | ||
| Rheology & Polymer Processing | ||
| Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics Laboratory | ||
| Chemical Engineering Transport Lab | ||
| Chemical Engineering Kinetics & Reactor Design Laboratory | ||
| Fundamentals of Biomanufacturing | ||
ECH 161A | (Discontinued) | |
ECH 161B | (Discontinued) | |
| Bioprocess Engineering Laboratory | ||
| Introduction to Colloid & Surface Phenomena | ||
| Theory & Practice of Bioinformatics | ||
| Principles of Polymer Materials Science | ||
| Thermodynamics of Materials | ||
| Structure & Characterization of Engineering Materials | ||
| Structure & Characterization of Materials Laboratory | ||
| Kinetics of Materials | ||
| Smart Materials | ||
| Smart Materials Laboratory | ||
| Mechanical Behavior of Materials | ||
| Mechanical Behavior Laboratory | ||
| Materials in Engineering Design | ||
| Manufacturing of 3D & Composite Materials | ||
| Failure Analysis | ||
| Mechanical Design | ||
| Mechanical Design | ||
| Statistical Methods in Design & Manufacturing | ||
| Computer-Aided Mechanism Design | ||
| Mechatronics | ||
| Heat Transfer | ||
| Analysis, Simulation & Design of Mechatronic Systems | ||
| Automatic Control of Engineering Systems | ||
| Additional Elective Policies 1 | ||
| Upper Division Composition Requirement | ||
| Choose one; grade of C- or better is required: | 0-4 | |
| Advanced Composition | ||
or UWP 101V | Advanced Composition | |
or UWP 101Y | Advanced Composition | |
| Writing in the Disciplines: Biology | ||
| Writing in the Disciplines: Engineering | ||
| Writing in the Professions: Business Writing | ||
or UWP 104AV | Writing in the Professions: Business Writing | |
or UWP 104AY | Writing in the Professions: Business Writing | |
| Writing in the Professions: Science | ||
| Writing in the Professions: Health | ||
or UWP 104FV | Writing in the Professions: Health | |
or UWP 104FY | Writing in the Professions: Health | |
| Writing in the Professions: Internships | ||
| Writing in the Professions: Technical Writing | ||
Passing the Upper Division Composition Exam. | ||
| Upper Division Required Courses Subtotal | 75-81 | |
| Total Units | 158-162 | |
- 1
2 units from CHE 118A may be applied towards Science Electives if CHE 118A is also used to satisfy lower division subject credit. 2 units from EEC 100 may be applied towards Engineering Electives if EEC 100 is taken to satisfy upper division subject credit. 1 unit from MAT 027A/BIS 027A and 1 unit from MAT 027B/BIS 027B may be applied to Science Electives.