Biomedical Engineering Five-Year Bachelor of Science and Master of Science Program
Fairfield University School of Engineering and Computing offers a five-year accelerated bachelor’s/master’s in Biomedical Engineering for undergraduates enrolled in the program. This accelerated program may reduce the time to obtain a master’s degree by a year and provides the experiential learning through research and design projects giving graduates the credentials needed to prepare for a broad range of careers. Upon completing the program, graduates gain the knowledge, confidence, and skills needed to solve the next generation of complex healthcare problems.
The accelerated five‑year program provides a streamlined pathway for qualified students to complete both a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science (MS) degree. In order to enroll in this program, students must apply and be formally admitted into it. Students typically apply at the end of the third year of undergraduate study. During the first three years, students follow the standard undergraduate curriculum. In the fourth year, students complete all remaining baccalaureate degree requirements and may enroll in up to two graduate‑level courses. Up to six graduate credits taken in the fourth year may be applied to both the bachelor’s and master’s degree requirements for this specifically designed program in the School of Engineering and Computing.
Upon conferral of the bachelor’s degree, students must enroll in the graduate program in the immediately subsequent academic semester (Fall or Spring). Students completing the undergraduate degree in May must enroll in the following Fall term; students completing the degree in January must enroll in the following Spring term. An approved official leave of absence is the only exception to this continuous enrollment requirement.
To complete the MS degree in this accelerated program, students must complete a total of ten graduate‑level courses, including the two courses taken during the undergraduate program, followed by eight additional graduate courses during the fifth year. Students who do not continue directly into the graduate program as articulated above and who do not receive an approved leave of absence will be removed from the accelerated program and enrolled into the regular MS degree. In these cases, students must complete ten unique graduate‑level courses (30 unique credits) to earn the MS degree; in such cases, graduate courses taken during the undergraduate program will remain on the undergraduate transcript only and may not be applied toward the master’s degree requirements. For this reason, students who cannot remain continuously enrolled in the accelerated program are encouraged to speak with their Dean’s Office to discuss the ramifications for doing so.
Students accepted in this program are expected to have an overall GPA of 3.00 or higher and receive approval of the faculty advisor. Students will be awarded the BS in Biomedical Engineering when all requirements are met, usually at the end of the fourth year. The MS degree will be awarded when all graduate requirements of the combined degree curricula have been satisfied, usually at the end of the fifth year.
Accelerated Degree Curriculum
Students must develop a plan of study for the MS portion of the degree with approval of their faculty advisor, including the following:
Thesis Option
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| All Requirements for BS in Biomedical Engineering 1 | 127 | |
| BIEG 5319 | Advanced Experimental Design in Biomedical Engineering | 3 |
| MATH 5417 | Applied Statistics I | 3 |
| or SWEG 5317 | Computational Statistics for Biomedical Sciences | |
| BIEG 6971 | Thesis I | 3 |
| BIEG 6972 | Thesis II | 3 |
| Select two Biomedical Engineering elective courses from approved list | 6 | |
| Select two electives from Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Management of Technology with approval from the program director. | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 151 | |
- 1
Requirements are the same as those listed for the BS, except students may select up to two graduate-level electives to fulfill the major elective requirement.
Non-Thesis Option
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| All Requirements for BS in Biomedical Engineering 1 | 127 | |
| BIEG 5319 | Advanced Experimental Design in Biomedical Engineering | 3 |
| MATH 5417 | Applied Statistics I | 3 |
| or SWEG 5317 | Computational Statistics for Biomedical Sciences | |
| Select three Biomedical Engineering elective courses from approved list | 9 | |
| Select three electives from Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Management of Technology with approval from the program director. | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 151 | |
- 1
Requirements are the same as those listed for the BS, except students may select up to two graduate-level electives to fulfill the major elective requirement.
Note:
1. A minimum of 30 credits must be completed at the graduate level.
2. The total number of credits for 5 year accelerated BS/MS BME takes into account the two graduate-level electives (6 credits) that count towards both the BS and MS degrees.
Biomedical Engineering Electives
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Biomedical Engineering Electives | ||
| BIEG 5309 | Biosensors | 3 |
| BIEG 5311 | Biomaterials | 3 |
| BIEG 5313 | Quantitative Biomedical Engineering | 3 |
| BIEG 5314 | Introduction to Molecular Modeling | 3 |
| BIEG 5316 | Soft Tissue Mechanics | 3 |
| BIEG 5318 | Orthopedic Device Design | 3 |
| BIEG 5326 | Biotransport | 3 |
| BIEG 5328 | Musculoskeletal Biomechanics | 3 |
| BIEG 5331 | Biomedical Signal Processing | 3 |
| BIEG 5332 | Biomedical Imaging | 3 |
| BIEG 5335 | Clinical Engineering | 3 |
| BIEG 5350 | Medical Device Design | 3 |
| BIEG 5370 | Cardiac Mechanics | 3 |
| BIEG 5375 | Bioelectronics | 3 |
| BIEG 5387 | Instrumental Analysis in Biomedical Engineering | 3 |
| BIEG 5403 | Advanced Biomechanics | 3 |
| BIEG 5333 | Biomedical Visualization | 3 |
| BIEG 5415 | Engineering Applications of Numerical Methods | 3 |
| BIEG 5301 | Feedback Control System | 3 |
| BIEG 5990 | Independent Study | 3 |
Non-Biomedical Engineering Electives
Possible electives may include:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineering | ||
| MEEG 5303 | Industrial Automation | 3 |
| MEEG 5305 | Design of Mechatronics Systems | 3 |
| MEEG 5312 | Advanced Product Design and Manufacturing | 3 |
| MEEG 5319 | Applications of Finite Element Analysis | 3 |
| MEEG 5372 | Applications of Theory of Elasticity | 3 |
| Electrical Engineering | ||
| ECEG 5315 | Nanoelectronics I | 3 |
| ECEG 5335 | Microelectronics | 3 |
| ECEG 5379 | Communication Systems | 3 |
| ECEG 5480 | Wireless Systems I | 3 |
| Computer Engineering | ||
| ECEG 5303 | Industrial Automation | 3 |
| ECEG 5325 | Computer Graphics | 3 |
| ECEG 5346 | Computer Systems Architecture | 3 |
| ECEG 5406 | Advanced Digital Design | 3 |
| SWEG 5357 | Database Management Systems | 3 |
| SWEG 5355 | Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
| SWEG 5360 | Machine Learning | 3 |
| Management of Technology | ||
| MGMT 6584 | Global Competitive Strategy | 3 |
| MGTN 5460 | Project Management | 3 |
| MGMT 6508 | Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation: The Entrepreneurial Firm | 3 |
| MGTN 5415 | Information Systems | 3 |
| MGTN 5470 | Leadership in Technical Enterprise | 3 |