Page Contents
Note: This page provides a general overview. For complete and accurate information, please refer to the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook and consult with your advisor.
Eligibility and Academic Standards
Affiliation Eligibility Requirements
You must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of greater than 2.0. A minimum GPA of 2.4 in required math, science, and engineering courses completed with at most one grade below C-. Research/project team credit does not apply to this GPA. For any course that is repeated, the two grades will be averaged.
You must complete the following requirements by the start of your junior year:
- Completion of BIOMG 1350 with a grade of at least C-.
- A 5 on AP Bio can substitute for BIOMG 1350.
- Other advanced placement (AP, IB, GCE credit) cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.
- IOG 1440 cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.
- Designated engineering common curriculum to be completed before affiliation:
- MATH 1910, 1920, 2930 [should note this on CC]
- PHYS 1112, 2213 [why are these listed and not PHYS 1110, when all three are CC?]
- CHEM 2090 [should note this on CC]
- BME 2000/ENGRD 2202 [does this mean both, or are they the same thing?]
- Any ENGRI
- CS 111X (CS 1112 strongly recommended). [should note on CC]
Note: Participation in volunteer engagement/science-based community/internship/project team/laboratory research activity at Cornell is encouraged, not required
Academic Standards
Good standing requirements for biomedical engineering:
- Minimum of 12 credits per semester completed with passing grades. No course with a grade lower than C- may be used to satisfy a prerequisite for a subsequent biomedical engineering course.
- Semester GPA > 2.3
- Cumulative GPA > 2.1
- No grade below C- in any core or concentration course required for graduation. Only one course below a C- within major required courses is allowed for graduation.
- No failing grade
Biomedical Engineering Concentrations
Students will ultimately choose one of four concentrations within the Biomedical Engineering major:
- Biomaterials and Drug Delivery (BMDD) [internal link]
- Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (BMMB) [internal link]
- Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation (BMII) [internal link]
- Molecular, Cellular, and Systems Engineering. (MCSE) [internal link]
[The requirements for each concentration are described below.]
Experiential Learning Requirement
Biomedical Engineering has a unique experiential learning requirement, which can be fulfilled in a number of different ways.
Required Engineering Distributions
-
ENGRD 2202
Biomedical Transport Phenomenal
-
ENGRD 2020
Statics and Mechanics of Solids
ENGRD 2020 is required by the Major. It is recommended to use it also to fulfill the second ENGRD requirement as part of the Common Curriculum. The course is best taken during semester 3 and must be completed before semester 5. If taken as second ENGRD, then total required credits drop to only 125 rather than 129.
Required Major Courses
-
BIOMG 1350
Introductory Biology: Cell and Developmental Biology
-
BME 2010
Physiology of Human Health and Disease
-
BME 2080/2081
Experiential Learning Seminar
-
BME 2110
Biomolecular Thermodynamics and Physical Chemistry
-
BME 2210
Biomedical Applications of Materials
-
BME 3010
Cellular Principles of Biomedical Engineering
-
BME 3020
Molecular Principles of Biomedical Engineering
-
BME 3030
Biomedical Circuits, Signals, and Systems
-
BME 4010
Biomedical Engineering Analysis of Metabolic and Structural Systems
-
BME 4020
Electrical and Chemical Physiology
-
BME 4080/409
Biomedical Engineering Design Laboratory
-
BTRY 3010
Biological Statistics
-
ENGRD 2020
Statistics and Mechanics of Solids
A score of 5 of the CEEB AP Biology exam may substitute for BIOMG 1350.
Biomedical Materials and Drug Delivery Concentration
Required Courses
-
BME 3210
Multiscale Biomaterial Analysis
-
BME 4190 or BME 4490
MCSE Practicum Laboratory, or BMMB Practicum Laboratory
-
CHEM 1570
Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry
CHEM 1570 can also be satisfied by the pre-medicine organic chemistry/biochemistry sequence. CHEM 1570 cannot count as a common curriculum requirement and a concentration required course.
Electives
-
BEE 3400
Design and Analysis of Biomaterials
-
BIOAP/BIOMS 4140
Principles of Pharmacology
-
BME 5830
Cell-Biomaterial Interactions
-
BME 5850
Current Advances in Tissue Engineering
-
BME 6210
Engineering Principles of Drug Delivery (Seniors only)
-
CHEME 5430
Bioprocess Engineering
-
FSAD 6160
Rheology of Solids: Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Fibers and Polymers
-
MSE 4020 or MAE 4640 or BME 5810 or MAE 6670
Mechanical Properties of Materials; Processing and Design, or Orthopedic Tissue Mechanics, or Soft Tissue Biomechanics, or Soft Tissue Biomechanics II
-
MAE 4670
Polymer Mechanics
-
MSE 4610
Biomedical Materials and Their Applications
-
MSE 5210
Properties of Solid Polymers
Six credits of elective courses should be chosen from this list.
Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation Concentration
Required Courses
-
BME 3310
Medical and Preclinical Imaging
-
BME 4390
Electronics for Biomedical Engineers
-
PHYS 2214
Physics III: Oscillations, Waves, and Quantum Physics
PHYS 2214 cannot count as a common curriculum requirement and a concentration required course.
Electives
-
AEP 3300
Modern Experimental Optics
-
BIONB 4320
Neural Circuits for Motor Control in Health and Disease
-
BME/BIONB/ECE 4910
Principles of Neurophysiology
-
CS 3110
Data Structures and Functional Programming
-
CS 4780 or ECE 4200
Machine Learning for Intelligent Systems, or Fundamentals of Machine Learning
-
CS 4786
Machine Learning for Data Sciences
-
ECE 3100
Introduction to Probability and Inference for Random Signals and Systems
-
ECE 3140/CS 3420 or ECE 5725
Embedded Systems, or Design with Embedded Operating Systems
-
ECE 3250
Mathematics of Signal and System Analysis
-
ECE 4250
Digital Signal and Image Processing
-
ECE 4300
Lasers and Optoelectronics
-
ECE 4320
Micro and Nano Sensors and Systems
-
ECE 4370
Photonics: Devices and Applications
-
ECE 4760
Designing with Microcontrollers
-
ECE 5470 or CS 4670
Computer Vision
-
ECE/BME 5780
Computer Analysis of Biomedical Images
Six credits of elective courses should be chosen from this list.
Biomedical Mechanics and Mechanobiology Concentration
Required Courses
-
BME 3410
Systems Mechanobiology
-
BME 4490
Biomechanics Laboratory
-
PHYS 2214 or CHEM 1570
Physics III: Oscillations, Waves, and Quantum Physics, or Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry
CHEM 1570 can also be satisfied by the pre-medicine organic chemistry/biochemistry sequence. CHEM 1570 and PHYS 2214 cannot count as a common curriculum requirement and a concentration required course.
Electives
-
BEE 3500 or MAE 3240
Heat and Mass Transfer or Heat Transfer
-
BEE 4530
Computer Aided Engineering
-
BME 4410/MAE 4650 or BEE 3310
Biofluid Mechanics or Bio-Fluid Mechanics
-
BME/MAE 4640
Orthopaedic Tissue Mechanics
-
BME 5810
Soft Tissue Biomechanics
-
FSAD 6160
Rheology of Solids: Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Fibers and Polymers
-
MAE 3230
Introductory Fluid Mechanics
-
MAE 3783
Mechatronics
-
MAE 4670
Polymer Mechanics
-
MAE 470
Finite Element Analysis for Mechanical and Aerospace Design
-
MAE 4710
Applied Dynamics
-
MAE 6670
Soft Tissue Biomechanics II
-
MSE 4020
Mechanical Properties of Materials, Processing, and Design
Six credits of elective courses should be chosen from this list.
Molecular, Cellular, and Systems Engineering Concentration
Required Courses
-
BME 3110
Cellular Systems Biology
-
BME 4190
Laboratory Techniques for Molecular, Cellular, and Systems Engineering
-
CHEM 1570
Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry b
CHEM 1570 can also be satisfied by the pre-medicine organic chemistry/biochemistry sequence. CHEM 1570 cannot count as a common curriculum requirement and a concentration required course.
Electives
-
BIOMG 4390
Molecular Basis of Disease
-
BME 5110
Stem Cell Bioengineering
-
BME 5830
Cell-Biomaterials Interactions
-
BME 5850
Current Practices in Tissue Engineering
-
BTRY 4381
Biomedical Data Mining and Modeling
-
BTRY 4830
Quantitative Genetics and Genomics
-
BTRY 4840
Computational Genetics and Genomics
-
CHEM 4810
Computational Methods in Chemistry
-
CHEME 5430
Bioprocess Engineering
-
CHEME 5440
Advanced Principles of Biomolecular Engineering
-
CS 4780 or ECE 420 or INFO 3950
Machine Learning for Intelligent Systems, or Fundamentals of Machine Learning, or Data Analytics for Information Science
-
CS 4786
Machine Learning for Data Sciences
Six credits of elective courses should be chosen from this list.