BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

This program is designed to allow highly qualified undergraduate students from the Case BME program to integrate B.S. courses and project work with M.S. courses and research. Nominally, the combined program can be completed in 5 years that include 3 summers starting after the junior year. The BS/MS program can reduce the time required to receive an MS degree because several courses taken during the undergraduate program at Case can be "double counted" towards M.S. requirements and because a research project can begin before the completion of the B.S. degree.

Application and Review Procedure

Admission to the B.S./M.S. program is typically open to BME juniors from Case with a grade point average of 3.4 or higher. Please note that the required GPA is significantly higher than the 3.0 required by the Case School of Engineering. To be most effective, applications to the BS/MS program should be submitted before the end of Spring semester in the junior year. The final deadline for BS/MS admissions is August 1 before the senior year. This will enable the GEC sufficient time to review the application and allow students to make any required changes to their POS for fall semester. Note that the BME department includes several requirements above and beyond the BS/MS requirements of the Case School of Engineering. The following steps should be taken to apply to the BS/MS program:

1. See academic advisor to discuss intentions
2. See Dean Hamel in the Undergraduate office to discuss intentions
3. Complete an SGS application* and submit to the program of interest. Submit Part B of paper application to Graduate Studies
4. If accepted, complete a **PPOS form (must be signed by student, faculty advisor, department chair and Dean of Undergraduate Studies).

Additional information for BME students:

1. An eligible BME faculty member (primary or secondary) must agree to serve as the M.S. research advisor and a primary BME faculty member (who might be the same person as the research advisor) must agree to be the academic advisor. Obtaining this agreement is the responsibility of the applying student. The BS/MS application must include letters of recommendation from both the research and academic advisor that states that they agree to serve in these roles and that they support the BS/MS application.
2. The BME department does not guarantee financial support during the MS portion of this program. However, the GEC requires students and potential research advisors to discuss and agree to some financial arrangement. The letter of recommendation from the proposed research advisor must therefore indicate that the issue of financial support has been discussed and that some arrangement has been agreed upon. The details of this arrangement do not need to be included in the letter.
3. Obtain the B.S./M.S. application form from Dean's Office, Case School of Engineering (CSE). This is the same application form provided by Graduate Studies.
4. Obtain the M.S. Program of Study (POS) form (in Appendix I of the BME Graduate Handbook).
5. Prepare the application package that includes the following:
   • • A current transcript
   • • The proposed M.S. Program of Study. Make sure that the Program of Study specifies both the academic and research advisors and includes both of their signatures. The BS/MS Program of Study must be augmented by the document that indicates how courses from the undergraduate program are to be "double counted" for the M.S. The "double counting" is subject to several requirements and special procedures:
     • • Only graduate-level courses (400 or higher) can be double counted. Thus, you should register for 400 level courses to satisfy undergraduate technical electives. On the Program of Study form these double counted courses should be indicated by an asterisk (*)
     • • EBME 651 (M.S. Thesis) for 3 credit hours replaces EBME 398 in the fall or spring of the senior year. You should register for EBME 651 but you must attend the meeting of EBME 398 and also fulfill all of the course requirements for EBME 398.
     • • A maximum of nine (9) credit hrs can be double counted. Typically, these are two 3- credit courses (400 level or high) + 3 credits of EBME 651.
   • • Three (3) reference reports (in sealed envelopes) including letters from your proposed academic and research advisor(s).

No decision will be made until the POS is approved by the GEC. After a positive recommendation by the GEC and conditional approval by the BME Department Chair, the CSE Dean's office will send an admission letter. The condition for admission is the submission of GRE scores within 2 months of the completing the B.S. requirements. The student cannot graduate from the B.S./M.S. program without official GRE scores. This is a BME requirement and not a CSE requirement. Note that it is strongly recommended that students plan to take the GRE exam in the Fall semester of their senior year to be eligible for pre-doctoral fellowships from the National Science Foundation or other sources.

* To download an application go to www.case.edu/provost/gradstudies/programs.html and select paper application

** Graduate Studies cannot process admission without a Planned Program of Study