Graduate program: Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical Engineering combines the mathematical skills, physical science knowledge, and analytical ability of the engineer with the life scientist's knowledge and understanding of biology. Biomedical engineers apply engineering principles to solve medical and biological problems.

The Biomedical Engineering Program at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is an interdisciplinary graduate program offered through the department of Applied Biology and Biomedical Engineering, which offers the Bachelor of Science and the Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering. Faculty members from Applied Biology & Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, and Optical Engineering are associated with the Biomedical Engineering (BE) program.

The program is intended primarily for degree candidates with a B.S. degree in any engineering discipline. Applications from students with different undergraduate majors are considered for admission on a case-by-case basis with the understanding that substantial additional undergraduate coursework may be required.

Department of Biomedical Engineering Website

Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering requirements

36 credit hours of course work
12 credit hours of thesis work
3 credit hours of graduate seminar

Students are required to take BE 511 and 3 other 500-level courses with a BE prefix listed in the graduate studies web page. Students are required to submit their Plan of Study for approval by their thesis advisor and their advisory committee.

Inquiries about the M.S. degree program in Biomedical Engineering can be addressed to:
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Applied Biology and Biomedical Engineering
5500 Wabash Avenue
CM148
Terre Haute, IN 47803

Joint Biomedical Engineering/Doctor of Medicine degree program

Indiana University, Terre Haute Center for Medical Education and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology have initiated a jointly administered, combined degree program to support the increasingly important field of biomedical engineering. The program provides students who are principally interested in the practice of medicine the opportunity for in-depth study in the application of engineering principles to important medical problems and medically relevant research in a biomedical engineering area of their preference.  For students who principally view their career goals to lie in the engineering domain the program affords them an unparalleled opportunity to learn the normal structure and function of the human body, how they are changed in the diseased state and the currently accepted methods used for diagnosis and therapy.  Graduates of the program will receive the degree of M.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine and the M.S. degree from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. It is anticipated that graduates of the program will be highly competitive for career opportunities in the clinical, academic or industrial arenas.

The program combines a two year M.S. Biomedical Engineering program and a four year M.D. program into a package which students can complete in only five years.

Admissions to the joint Master of Science/ Doctor of Medicine degree program is a dual process. Students entering the program will be independently accepted into the graduate program at RHIT and the doctor of medicine program at IU School of Medicine.

Students who successfully enter this program will have an advisory committee consisting of five members. Both Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and the Indiana University School of Medicine will appoint two members to the committee. The fifth member will be the Director of the Terre Haute Center for Medical Education. The Advisory Committee will review each student's progress each semester.

Three courses (16 quarter credits) taken during the first two years in medical school are shared requirements. These are Medical Biochemistry, Gross Anatomy, and Physiology. Additional academic program requirements include 20 credits of coursework, 12 credits of thesis, and 3 credits of graduate seminar. Joint research projects are encouraged, but the research and course requirements are tailored to individual student needs.