Bioengineering Graduate Degree Requirements
The requirements on this page apply to the Ph.D. Graduate Program in Bioengineering. For M.S./M.D. dual degree program requirements, see the M.S./M.D. program page »
The Ph.D. program consists of:
- 45 credits of required, restricted and unrestricted elective courses,
- a research aptitude examination (RAE),
- an oral defense of a written dissertation research proposal, and
- preparation and oral defense of a publication-quality dissertation that advances the field.
Topics on this page:
- Prerequisites
- Required Courses
- Elective Courses
- Summary of Ph.D. Course Requirements
- Typical Timeline for Completion of Course Requirements
- Time Limitations
- Points of Information on Courses and Scheduling
- Transfer of Credit
- Teaching Requirement
- Laboratory Rotation and Research Advisor Selection Guidelines
- Research Aptitude Exam (RAE)
- Dissertation Research Proposal
- Ph.D. Dissertation
- Forms Required for Graduation
Prerequisites
The Bioengineering Graduate Program has no explicit requirements regarding prerequisites; however, students are expected to have the engineering, math and biology background necessary to be successful at taking the core graduate courses. The Graduate Director may recommend that an incoming student take selected courses with significant math and/or biology content prior to attempting the transport and bioengineering design courses.
TopRequired Courses
All students must take the following three bioengineering courses (9 credits):
- BIOE 601: Rate Processes in Biological Systems
- BIOE 604: Transport Phenomena in Bioengineering Systems
- BIOE 612: Physiological Evaluation of Bioengineering Designs
The laboratory rotation courses BIOE 605/606 (2 credits) and the Bioengineering Seminar Series BIOE 608 (1 credit) are also required. Attendance at all Bioengineering seminars is expected throughout the graduate student’s career, irrespective of whether the course is taken for credit or not.
Additionally, a total of 18 credit hours of Dissertation Research credits must be taken (BIOE 899). Qualification for advancement to candidacy requires that students earn a GPA of 3.0 or better in each of the core courses. If a student receives a C in a core course, then it must be repeated.
Students must have completed 20 credits and have at least a 3.0 GPA at the end of the second semester to remain in good standing in the PhD program.
For more information and descriptions, please visit our graduate courses page »
Elective Courses
In addition to the required courses, each student must take two restricted elective courses (6 credits). Restricted elective courses consist of topics spanning fundamental bioengineering disciplines. The list of restricted electives will be updated every semester with current course offerings. The current restricted electives courses are shown below:
- BIOE602: Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics
- BIOE 603: Quantitative Cell Physiology
- BIOE 611: Tissue Engineering
- BIOE 620: Modern Methods of Drug Delivery
- BIOE 631: Environmental Biosystems
- BIOE 632: Biosensor Instrumentation and Techniques
- BIOE 653: Biomaterials
- BIOE 689C: Biomedical Optics
- BIOE 689M: Cell Engineering
Three more unrestricted elective courses (9 credits) will be selected in consultation with the student's advisor.
Summary of Ph.D. Course Requirements
| Courses | Credits |
| 3 Required | 9 |
| 2 Rotation | 2 |
| 1 Seminar | 1 |
| 2 Restricted Electives | 6 |
| 3 Unrestricted Electives | 9 |
| Dissertation Research | 18 |
| TOTAL | 45 |
Typical Timeline for Completion of Course Requirements
Fall Semester 1st Year: (10 credits)
- BIOE 601 (3 credits)
- Restricted Elective (3 credits)
- Restricted Elective (3 credits)
- Lab Rotation (1 credit)
Spring Semester 1st Year: (10 credits)
- BIOE 612 (3 credits)
- BIOE 604 (3 credits)
- Unrestricted Elective (3 credits)
- Lab Rotation (1 credit)
Fall Semester 2nd Year: (4 credits)
- BIOE 608 (1 credit)
- Unrestricted Elective (3 credits)
Spring Semester 2nd Year Courses: (3 credits)
- 1 Unrestricted Elective (3 credits)
Time Limitations
The recommended time for completion of the entire program for the Ph.D. degree, including the dissertation and final examination, is within 4.5 years of matriculation. This is accomplished by passing the Research Aptitude Exam (see below) in the winter term of the first year, successfully defending the proposal 2 years later, and defending the dissertation a year and a half after the proposal (see schematic below).
For current policies related to time limitations, including maximum time allowed, extensions, readmission, and continuation of funding, please download the BIOE Graduate Program Student Handbook (PDF).
Points of Information on Courses and Scheduling
Pre-candidacy students are required to register for 2 credits/semester of BIOE 898 (Pre-Candidacy Research) if they are not taking classes.
Post-candidacy students will be registered automatically by the graduate school for 6 credits/semester of BIOE 899 (Dissertation Research).
Transfer of Credit
A candidate may request that up to 6 credit hours of appropriate graduate course work taken at other accredited institutions be applied toward the Ph.D. degree. In general, courses from international universities are not accepted. Prior approval is required if the transfer work is to be taken after admission to the Program. The Graduate Director must agree that the specific courses are appropriate to and acceptable in the student program, and a grade of B or better must have been earned in such courses. The courses must be graduate level and have been taken for graduate credit at the original institution. The credits must not have been used to satisfy the requirements for any other degree. The student is responsible for providing a course description, a course syllabus, an official transcript and other related materials for any potential transfer work to the Graduate Director.
The grades earned in transfer work do not affect the grade point average of the work taken at the University of Maryland, nor do the courses appear on the University of Maryland transcript. The student still needs to take the same total credits at UMCP to graduate with a Ph.D. degree in Bioengineering, but can use additional elective courses at UMCP, or dissertation research credits (BIOE 899) taken at UMCP to satisfy the minimum 45 credits for the Ph.D. program. Advanced special students matriculating within UMCP can transfer up to 12 credits of graduate coursework.
Teaching Requirement
As part of the Ph.D. program's educational requirements, all Ph.D. students must act as Teaching Assistants (TAs) for a minimum of two semesters, preferably during their second year of studies. The assignment of these duties will be made by the Graduate Director. There is no compensation associated with the Teaching Assistantship, as this is an academic requirement.
Laboratory Rotation and Research Advisor Selection Guidelines
- Shortly after the first semester begins, there will be a morning or afternoon of research presentations to introduce the students to bioengineering research in the department.
- Each student will then be asked to rank five professors. The Graduate Director will assign each student to three rotations from the list.
- Students will do three laboratory rotations of about 6 weeks each, starting after Labor Day and ending in March. Specific dates will be provided each academic year.
- As part of the lab rotation grade, students are required to attend the Friday Bioengineering Seminars.
- Students are welcome but are not required to discuss research opportunities with other faculty members besides those with whom the student rotates.
- On March 15 the student will turn in his/her ranked list of three desired research advisors, which may include laboratories that were not among the rotation labs.
- By April 1 (or earlier) the student will be notified of the assignment of his/her advisor.
Research Aptitude Exam (RAE)
All students entering the Ph.D. program must take the Research Aptitude Examination (RAE) held in January, prior to the second semester of their first year. The date and time of the examination will be announced by the graduate program before the end of the Fall semester.
The exam will be distributed electronically and will include multiple problem statements. One problem statement should be chosen. A written proposal and an oral presentation of the chosen problem are required. The objective of the written proposal is to communicate one’s vision of how a specific research problem may be investigated. The objective of the oral presentation is to succinctly communicate the key points of the written proposal. Typically, this would require an introduction that presents the field of research and then a discussion of the experimental plan.
The outcome of the RAE is reported as pass or fail. No provisional passes are granted, although the committee may mandate courses to correct deficiencies or make other recommendations to the student.
For a complete list the RAE's specific requirements, policies and procedures, please download the BIOE Graduate Program Student Handbook (PDF).
Dissertation Research Proposal
The dissertation research proposal consists of a written document and an oral presentation, held after the student successfully passes the Research Aptitude Exam, and after earning a GPA of 3.0 in each of the core courses. The research advisor serves as chair of the PhD proposal committee, which shall consist of a minimum of 3 voting members, all of whom hold a Ph.D., Sc.D., M.D., D.D.S., D.M.D. or equivalent degree.
The recommended time for the Ph.D. proposal oral examination is within 2 years after successful completion of the first Research Aptitude Exam attempt (2.5 years since matriculation). Students must successfully pass their Ph.D. proposal within 3 years of the first Research Aptitude Exam attempt (3.5 years since matriculation).
For a complete list of the Dissertation Research Proposal's specific requirements, policies and procedures, please download the BIOE Graduate Program Student Handbook (PDF).
Ph.D. Dissertation
A dissertation or its equivalent is required of all candidates for a doctoral degree. The topic of the dissertation must be approved by the advisor and the dissertation committee. All candidates for the doctoral degree who have advanced to candidacy will be automatically registered for 6 credit hours of Doctoral Dissertation Research (BIOE 899) by the Graduate School per semester. Directions for preparing and submitting dissertations are found in the Graduate Student Academic Handbook (published by the Graduate School). The ability to do independent research must be demonstrated by an original dissertation. A minimum of 18 hours of Thesis/Dissertation Research (BIOE 899) is required.
For a complete list of the Graduate Program in Bioengineering Ph.D. Dissertation's specific requirements, policies and procedures, please download the BIOE Graduate Program Student Handbook (PDF).
For directions for preparing and submitting dissertations, visit the University of Maryland Graduate School web site »
Forms Required for Graduation
The Graduate School requires all students in the Ph.D. program to submit the following forms to the Office of the Registrar:
- Application for Admission to Candidacy Form
- Nomination of Dissertation Committee Form
- Report of Examining Committee Form
- Application for Graduation
(must be submitted electronically on www.testudo.umd.edu) - Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Publication Form
(See www.gradschool.umd.edu/etd/)
M.S. Students should submit the Approved Program Form.
Visit the Graduate School web site for current versions of these and other forms »
The student will not be allowed to graduate without having submitted these forms. It is the student's responsibility to complete these forms by the required deadlines.
See Also:
