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Biomedical Engineering Concentration

The biomedical engineering concentration prepares you for medical school or a career researching and developing products for the health care industry.

Preparing You for Success

This concentration helps you apply mechanical engineering principles to medicine and biology for healthcare applications. You have the flexibility to pursue careers in mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering or medicine. Courses provide students with knowledge in mechanical engineering as well as knowledge in developing prosthetics, artificial organs, medical implants, MRI imaging, CAT scans, and other devices that improve lives. You work in labs with many hands-on experiments and also work on research or design projects. The degree is capped by a yearlong team project in which you develop a product or solution for a healthcare professional or medical device company. This knowledge equips you to create life-enhancing products and procedures.

By the time you graduate, your experiences may include:

  • An internship or part-time job for an industrial business such as GE Medical Systems, Baxter International Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, OSF Jump Simulation Center, or the National Center for Agricultural Research
  • Collaboration with faculty and students from other departments such as electrical engineering, business, biology, chemistry, physical therapy and nursing
  • Biomedical research mentored by faculty
  • Opportunities to attend and present your research at various conferences.
  • Networking, professional development and skills competitions through the department’s Honors Program, motorsports club, Engineers Without Borders, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and other organizations
  • Community engagement through Habitat For Humanity design projects

Making Your Mark

A biomedical engineering concentration is valuable for a career in product design, law or medicine. All recent graduates who applied to medical school continued their education. Graduates are also working for Caterpillar, General Electric, Honda and the U.S. Navy. Others have attended graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Southern California and Georgia Tech.

Accreditation

Bradley's mechanical engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org.

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Concentration Requirements

The biomedical engineering concentration requires the completion of the undergraduate mechanical engineering major with the following exceptions:

Required Courses - 7 hrs.

  • BIO 230: Human Anatomy and Physiology - 3 hrs.
  • BIO 231: Human Anatomy and Physiology Lab - 1 hr.
  • 1ME 280: Introduction to Biomedical Engineering - 3 hrs.

Biomedical Electives (choose two) - 6 hrs.

  • ME 580: Biomechanics - 3 hrs.
  • ME 582: Medical Imaging - 3 hrs.
  • ME 588: Human Centered Design - 3 hrs.

Technical Electives (choose one) - 3 hrs.

  • ME 354: Principles of Materials Science Laboratory Practices - 3 hrs.
  • ME 407: Power Plant Design - 3 hrs.
  • 2ME 409: Mechanical Engineering Projects - 1-4 hrs.
  • ME 448: Computer Aided Design in Mechanical Engineering - 3 hrs.
  • 3ME 491: Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering - 3 hrs.
  • ME 501: Advanced Thermodynamics - 3 hrs.
  • ME 502: Problems in Advanced Dynamics - 3 hrs.
  • ME 503: Internal Combustion Engines - 3 hrs.
  • ME 507: Nuclear Energy - 3 hrs.
  • ME 509: Solar Engineering - 3 hrs.
  • ME 515: Intermediate Heat Transfer - 3 hrs.
  • ME 520: Gas Dynamics - 3 hrs.
  • ME 521: Intermediate Fluid Mechanics - 3 hrs.
  • ME 533: Propulsion Systems - 3 hrs.
  • ME 534: Environmental Engineering-Air Conditioning - 3 hrs.
  • ME 535: Environmental Engineering-Refrigeration - 3 hrs.
  • ME 536: Industrial Pollution Prevention - 3 hrs.
  • ME 537: Building Energy Management - 3 hrs.
  • ME 540: Advanced Mechanical Vibrations - 3 hrs.
  • ME 544: Mechanical Systems Analysis (3 hours)
  • ME 547: Fluid Power Control Systems - 3 hrs.
  • ME 548: Optimization of Mechanical Systems - 3 hrs.
  • ME 549: Microprocessor Interfacing in Mechanical Systems - 3 hrs.
  • ME 554: Fracture of Solids (3 hours)
  • ME 556: Mechanics of Composite Materials - 3 hrs.
  • ME 557: Advanced Design of Machine Elements - 3 hrs.
  • ME 560: Principles of Robotic Programming - 3 hrs.
  • ME 562: Analysis and Design of Robotic Systems - 3 hrs.
  • ME 573: Methods of Engineering Analysis (3 hours)
  • ME 577: Advanced Design of Machine Elements - 3 hrs.
  • 2ME 591: Topics in Mechanical Engineering - 3-9 hrs.
  • Other Approved Technical Electives
    • Biology: BIO 310 to BIO 599
    • Chemistry: CHM 252, 256, and CHM 316 to CHM 599
    • Computer Science: C S 210, 321 to CS 599
    • Computer Information Systems: CIS 377 to 446, CIS 545
    • Mathematics: MTH 207, MTH 302 to MTH 599
    • Physics: PHY 202, PHY 305 to PHY 599
    • Civil Engineering: C E 310 to C E 599
    • Electrical Engineering: ECE 301 to ECE 599
    • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering: IME 311 to IME 325, IME 341 to IME 599
    • Entrepreneurship: ENT 381, ENT 385
    • Business: BUS 361, BUS 362
    • Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: SEI 300

1ME 280 will count only as a required course for all students in the biomedical concentration. However, if a student in the biomedical concentration decides to drop the concentration, then ME 280 (that was taken as a required course) will count as a technical elective.
2ME 409 may be repeated for technical elective credit. Only 6 hours of ME 409 will count towards the degree completion.
3ME 491/ME 591 may be repeated up to three (3) times (different topics) for technical elective credit.