Department website: https://www.odu.edu/biomedical-engineering
Biomedical Engineering Program
Michel Audette, Graduate Program Director
2123F Engineering Systems Building
757-683-6940
www.odu.edu/eng/programs/biomedical/
The Biomedical Engineering graduate degree programs are available to full-time and part-time students seeking to improve their research and professional skills in biomedical engineering. The programs strive to provide the highest quality engineering education at the graduate level, to engage in scholarly research at the forefront of biomedical engineering, and to serve the profession of biomedical engineering. While the biomedical engineering program is administered by the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, the program is highly interdisciplinary and students are admitted from broad areas of engineering, science, and healthcare. Cutting-edge research opportunities and instruction are offered in:
• Bioelectrics and Pulsed Power
• Cellular & Molecular Bioengineering
• Cardiovascular Engineering
• Musculoskeletal Biomechanics
• Plasma Medicine
• Systems Biology & Computational Bioengineering
Facilities: The Biomachina Laboratory; the Biomechanics Laboratory; Biomedical Devices and Biomanufacturing Lab; the Cellular Mechanobiology Laboratory; the Machine Intelligence & HR Communications Lab; the Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory; the Medical Simulations Laboratory; the Medical Simulations Lab; and the Virginia Institute for Imaging and Vision Analysis (VIIVA).
The program also has strong ties to several other on- and off-campus laboratories, including the Applied Research Center at the Jefferson National Laboratory, the Center for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, the Frank Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics, Center for Bioelectronics, and the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC). Regional, national, and international clinical collaborators support the program. These unique resources position the biomedical engineering program as a leader in education and research in the Southeast and nationally.
Doctor of Philosophy Admission Requirements
Admission to the Ph.D. program in biomedical engineering is in accordance with Old Dominion University and Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology requirements for doctoral programs as specified in this catalog. Specific additional requirements include the following:
- Completion of a master’s degree in a closely related field is expected. Accepted students from disciplines other than Biomedical Engineering will be required to complete a number of leveling courses to meet the prerequisites of the program; the Graduate Program Director will work with the admitted students to create the list of leveling courses, including calculus and differential equations.
- A minimum GPA of 3.50 (out of 4.0) is required of most students. A student with a lower GPA meeting ODU's graduate admission requirements and with evidence of a high level of professional capability may be eligible for admission to the program upon submission of a petition to the graduate program director.
- Recent scores, typically, not more than five years old, on the Graduate Record Examination’s (GRE) verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections must be submitted by all applicants.
- Three letters of recommendation (typically at least two of which are from faculty in the highest degree program completed when the application is within five years of graduation from that degree program) are encouraged but not required.
- The applicant must submit a resume and a statement of purpose and goals.
- Foundation knowledge in physics, basic chemistry, physiology, computer programming, and mathematics (including differential equations and statistics) is expected. Some leveling courses may be required to complement the student’s expertise, namely in physiology, statistics, and differential equations.
- The Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University has the Direct Bachelor-to-Ph.D. and linked Bachelor/Ph.D. programs that allow exceptionally well-qualified undergraduate students to apply for admission directly to a Ph.D. program. Typically, undergraduate students apply at the end of their junior year for admission to the linked programs.
Curriculum Requirements
The Ph.D. degree requires:
- 24 credit hours of graduate-level courses beyond the master's degree,
- 24 research credit hours (BME 899) beyond the master's degree,
- successful completion of a written diagnostic examination,
- successful completion of written and oral candidacy examinations,
- successful completion of a dissertation research proposal, and
- successful completion and public defense of a dissertation.
- Or, in the absence of a master's degree, 78 credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree are required.
The program of study will be developed with the approval of the graduate program director and the student’s advisor. The 24-credit course program shall include a common core of 12 credits (four 3-credit courses) including : BME 811 Biological Mechanisms for Biomedical Engineers, BME 812 Engineering Fundamentals in Biomedicine, BME 840 Regenerative Medicine, and BME 847 Responsible Conduct of Research (now worth 3CH). 12 credits of elective coursework are also required and are described below.
For students without a master's degree, a total of 78 credit hours of graduate level coursework is required, consisting of 48 credit hours of graduate courses (the 24 course credits listed above for master's holders, plus 24 elective credits), as well as 30 research credit hours (BME 899). Three fifths of the required 48 course credit hours must be at the 800 level and need to comply with regular PhD program degree requirements.
Exceptions to the credit-hour distribution requirements at any level must be approved in writing by the graduate program director, the dean or his or her designee, and the provost or his or her designee. Additional course work or appropriate research background may be required to meet prerequisites for courses or in preparation for the diagnostic examination.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credit Hours |
| Biological Mechanisms for Biomedical Engineers | |
| Engineering Fundamentals in Biomedicine | |
| Regenerative Medicine | |
| Responsible Conduct of Research | |
| Therapy and Function Models for Medical Simulation | |
| Introduction to Bioelectrics | |
| Introduction to Medical Image Analysis | |
| Biomedical Applications of Low Temperature Plasmas | |
| Digital Signal Processing I | |
| Cardiovascular Physiology | |
| Biomedical Sciences Journal Club | |
| Advanced Cell Biology | |
| Biomedical Sciences Laboratory | |
| Modern Biomedical Instrumentation | |
| Mathematical Modeling in Physiology | |
| Biomaterials | |
| Predoctoral Fellowship Grant Writing | |
| Finite Element Analysis | |
| Principles of Visualization | |
| Computational and Statistical Methods in Biomedical Engineering | |
| Advanced Bioelectrics | |
| Biomembranes and Ion Channels | |
| Autonomous and Robotic Systems Analysis and Control | |
| Applied Medical Image Analysis | |
| Advanced Study in Biology | |
| Grant Writing in Biology | |
| Digital Image Processing | |
| Advanced Manufacturing Technology | |
| Biomechanics | |
| Cellular Biomechanics | |
| Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering | |
| Independent Study | |
| Doctoral Graduate Credit | |
| |
| PHD Dissertation Research | |
| Total Credit Hours | 48 |
Doctor of Philosophy Degree Requirements
The Ph.D. in biomedical engineering is offered in accordance with the general requirements for doctoral degrees as specified in the Requirements for Graduate Degree Section of this catalog. Specific program of study requirements include the following:
- Completion of a minimum of 48 hours of graduate credits to include: a minimum of 24 credits of course work beyond the master’s degree and a minimum of 24 credits of dissertation research. At least 15 credits of non-dissertation course work must be at the 800-level. The Graduate Program Director in concurrence with the Chair can approve exceptions to these requirements under special circumstances.
- For students without a master's degree, a total of 78 credit hours of graduate level coursework is required, consisting of 48 credit hours of graduate courses (the 24 course credits listed above for master's holders, plus 24 elective credits), as well as 30 research credit hours (BME 899). Three fifths of the required 48 course credit hours must be at the 800 level and need to comply with regular PhD program degree requirements.
- Successful completion of a written diagnostic examination before the end of the first academic year.
- Successful completion of a written and oral qualifying examination near the completion of the coursework.
- Successful presentation of a dissertation research proposal at the beginning of the dissertation research.
- The successful completion and public defense of a dissertation representing independent, original research worthy of publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. At least one published and one submitted manuscript as first author in peer-reviewed, indexed journals are expected.
