Doctoral Degree Procdeures:
IDC Guidelines Biomedical Engineering
Introduction
The Ph.D. Program provides opportunities to conduct independent,
contemporary and significant research in biomedical engineering. Students
are expected to identify, formulate and analyze research questions
using clinical, experimental, and/or theoretical investigation involving
modern experimental techniques, numerical and mathematical analysis,
and computer simulations. The Program also develops students’ interdisciplinary
communication skills, thereby enhancing their ability to interact with
other professionals.
The following provides guidelines regarding specific program requirements
for the Biomedical Engineering Department. For more information,
the student should consult the document on Interdisciplinary Doctoral
Procedures provided by the College of Engineering.
Academic Matters – Ph.D. Degree
in Engineering
Upon arrival, the first-year Ph.D. student will meet with the graduate
coordinator and prospective advisors to establish an initial plan
of study for the first semester. Over the course of the first semester,
the student must identify an interdisciplinary field of study, and
a dissertation director, and then finalize plans for coursework research
and degree requirements throughout the first year. Among these requirements,
the student must form an interdisciplinary doctoral committee (IDC).
The chair of the IDC must be in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
The IDC shall consist of at least five faculty members, of whom
at least two members must be from the Biomedical Engineering Department
and one from outside the College of Engineering.
The Plan of Study
The Plan of Study is established by the IDC in accordance with the
following guidelines:
The Plan of Study has a minimum of 96 total credit hours with a
minimum of 48 credits of coursework at the 600-700 level of which
up to 6 credits could be substituted with 500 level course work.
At least 6 credits of the coursework must be from outside the Biomedical
Engineering Department. The intent of the coursework in the Plan
of Study is to provide the background necessary to perform the dissertation
research and prepare the student for a career in research.
The Qualifying Examinations
The Qualifying Examinations consist of open-book and closed-book
sections covering the physiology, instrumentation, biometry, and
at least four areas of undergraduate preparation chosen by the student
(eg. dynamics, thermodynamics, mass transfer, differential equations,
numerical analysis, linear algebra, fluid mechanics, circuits and
systems, signal processing, control, systems, solid mechanics, etc.).
This exam is composed and conducted by the faculty of the Biomedical
Engineering Department. Grades on each topic will be either “pass”, “fail”,
or “marginal pass”. Students achieving less than a passing
grade shall be required to satisfactorily complete remedial work
on the subject in question as designated by the IDC. However, students
receiving failing grade in any subject or if the student receives
more than two marginal pass grades, then the student has to retake
the exam in those subjects.
The Qualifying Examinations will be offered at least once per year,
normally in May, and must be taken no later than the end of the student’s
first year of study. One retake of the examination is allowed.
The Candidacy Examination
The purpose of the Candidacy Examination is to test the student’s
ability to conduct independent research. The student must pass the
Candidacy Examination composed and administered by the IDC within
one year, completing at least 90% of coursework. The student cannot
enroll in doctoral dissertation credits before passing the Candidacy
Examination.
The Dissertation Proposal
The student must present an acceptable Proposal for Dissertation
Research to the IDC. This should be done within six months after
passing the candidacy exam. The proposal shall be in the written
form and given to the IDC at least 10 days prior to the scheduled
date of the Dissertation Proposal oral presentation. The student,
with the approval of the IDC, can present the Dissertation Proposal
at the same time as his candidacy examination.
The Dissertation and Oral Defense
The dissertation must be a scientifically acceptable and comprehensive
study whose format meets all accepted standards of the College of
Engineering and the IDC. The written dissertation should be given
to the IDC at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the oral
defense. The doctoral candidate must successfully pass this oral
defense allowing no ‘fail’ vote from the members of the
IDC.
