BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING OVERVIEW
Biomedical engineering involves the application of engineering principles and methods to define and solve problems in medicine and biology. Students choose biomedical engineering to be of service to people, for the challenge of working with living systems, and to apply advanced technology to problems of health care delivery.
Biomedical engineering careers can be found in industrial, health care, academic, private laboratory and government settings. The typical biomedical engineer will work in a team environment that may include physical scientists, engineers, clinicians and life scientists.
Engineering education requires a strong high school preparation. Pre-biomedical-engineering students should have high school preparation of at least one-half year in trigonometry and at least one year each in elementary algebra, intermediate and advanced algebra, plane geometry, biology, chemistry and physics, thus developing their competencies to the highest possible levels and preparing to move immediately into demanding college courses in calculus, calculus-based physics and chemistry for science majors. It is also essential that pre-engineering students have the competence to read rapidly and with comprehension, and to write clearly and correctly.
All lower-division students in biomedical engineering concentrate on mathematics, science and introductory engineering courses, building competence in these cornerstone areas for future application in upper-division engineering courses. To satisfy the requirements specified by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, All engineering degree plans must include:
- One year (32 hours) of an appropriate combination of mathematics and basic sciences.
- One and a half years (48 hours) of engineering topics.
- A general education component that complements the technical content.
