Department of Bioengineering

Contact Information

Interim Department Chair: Mark Redfern, PhD
Main Office: 302F Benedum
412-624-5688
E-mail: mredfern@pitt.edu
http:www.engineering.pitt.edu/bioengineering/

Graduate Degree Programs

The Department of Bioengineering offers three graduate degrees: (1) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Bioengineering, (2) Master of Science in Bioengineering, and (3) Master of Science in Bioengineering - Medical Product Engineering. The department also offers a certificate program in Medical Product Innovation. In addition, it participates in the MD/PhD program with the School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training Program, the DPT/PhD program in Physical Therapy with the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and the MBA/MS program with the Katz Graduate School of Business.

The graduate program in bioengineering incorporates six programmatic tracks:

Bioimaging and Signals
Biomechanics
Medical Product Engineering*
Molecular, Cellular, and Systems Engineering
Neural Engineering**
Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

* This track has separate tracks for the MS and PhD.

** The department also offers a non-thesis MS degree whose curriculum focuses on neural engineering.

The department has an active, interdisciplinary graduate bioengineering program in conjunction with faculty from the School of Medicine, the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, the School of Dental Medicine, the clinicians at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospitals, and other schools and departments at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

The graduate program is directed toward engineering and life science education and research, with particular emphasis on the PhD and the non-thesis Master’s degrees. Its scope is broadly defined to incorporate the application of engineering principles, methods, and technology in two general areas: (1) scientific queries into fundamental biological phenomena and (2) the development of instrumentation, materials, devices, and systems relative to application in the biological sciences and medicine. Thus, the bioengineering faculty are applying various forms of engineering principles, mathematics, computation, technology, and methodology to a broad variety of medical and life sciences problems.

Admissions

Applicants for admission are expected to have a minimum GPA (3.5 for PhD, 3.0 for MS) from an accredited BS program. They must submit transcripts of all college-level work, three letters of recommendation, and a statement of purpose. Reporting scores on the verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is optional. International applicants whose first language is not English are required to submit either TOEFL scores or Duolingo English Test Scores.

Students with a non-engineering background may be admitted provisionally on a case-by-case basis, and often are required to take undergraduate engineering and math courses considered as prerequisite for graduate course work in these areas. These undergraduate courses do not count toward the graduate degree credit requirements. Likewise, an undergraduate knowledge of physiology and basic biology and chemistry is assumed. In addition to the above basic requirements, evidence of significant research and/or industrial experience is very important as further evidence of ability to perform well at the graduate level. These experiences should be detailed clearly in recommendation letters, as well as in the student’s statement of purpose. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.

Financial Assistance

All doctoral students in good standing in the Department of Bioengineering are currently supported either by research or departmental funds. Financial assistance is typically arranged between a student and a faculty advisor. Students with exceptional qualifications will be considered for additional departmental support and fellowships.

Programs

Certificate

Bioengineering - Medical Product Innovation Certificate

Doctoral

Bioengineering, PhD

Joint Degree

Master’s

Courses

Bioengineering

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