Translational Bioengineering (PhD)

Applicants must meet Graduate School admission requirements along with additional program requirements. Applicants must, as a minimum, have completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from an accredited program or a similar field with a 3.25 cumulative GPA to be considered for admission. Applicants with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 will be considered for provisional acceptance. The ideal applicant will have completed or be in the process of completing either a Master’s (MS or MEng) Degree in Engineering at the time of application.

Applicants must submit:

a. A completed graduate application for the Graduate School

b. An application fee

c. Official transcript(s) from each college attended certifying at least a bachelor's degree. All transcripts not in English must be certified as authentic and translated verbatim into English.

d. Personal statement (include intended area of study and/or research interest, previous experience related to bioengineering and how the PhD in Translational Bioengineering will allow them to fulfill their career goals as identified by their focus are of interest).

e. Resume/CV

f. Three letters of recommendation

g. Students whose native language is non-English or degree is from a non-US accredited institution are required to submit TOEFL scores (administered by the Educational Testing Service). A minimum TOEFL score of 79 or high on the internet-based test is required. Alternatively, a minimum of 6.5 on the Internation English Language Testing System will be accepted or Duolingo score of 105

h. Optional Graduate Record Exam (GRE)

Program Requirements

To earn the Doctor of Philosophy in Translational Bioengineering, students are required to successfully complete the following:

  1. 47 credit hours of course work beyond their bachelor's degree (18 core credit hours, 9 specialty are credit hours, and 20 guided elective credit hours)
  2. Participate in the Bioengineering Seminar Series (75% attendance rate and one presentation/year as a Doctoral candidate)
  3. Pass the preliminary examination
  4. Pass the Dissertation proposal
  5. Successfully defend a dissertation
  6. Submit three or more peer-reviewed journal papers representing their original dissertation research
Required Core Courses
BE 601Bioengineering Seminar1
BE 601Bioengineering Seminar1
BE 601Bioengineering Seminar1
BE 603Bioengineering Research Ethics2
BE 621Bioinstrumentation4
BE 654Advanced Physiology for Engineers3
BE 695Bioengineering Research Design & Methods3
ME 565Advanced Engineering Mathematics I3
Minimum Total Hours18


Students must choose 9 credit hours from one of the following focus areas:

  • Molecular & Tissue Engineering (MTE)
  • Bioimaging & Biocomputational Modeling (BBM)
  • Bioelectrical & Biomedical Devicies (BBD)
  • Biomechanics & Rehabilitation (BR)
Focus Area: Molecular & Tissue Engineering (MTE)
Choose 9 hours from the courses below:9
Nanoscale Bioengineering: Application and Methodology of Nanobiomaterials in Bioengineering
Introduction to Tissue Engineering
Tissue and Molecular Biology Techniques Laboratory
Advanced Biomaterials
Cellular Mechanobiology in Cancer
Techniques in Biomolecular Interactions
Molecular Biology
Minimum Total Hours9
Focus Area: Bioimaging and Biocomputational Modeling (BBM)
Choose 9 hours from the courses below:9
Medical Image Computing
Machine Learning in Medicine
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence in Bioengineering
Modeling of Biological Phenomena
Machine Learning in Python
Computer Tools for Medical Image Analysis
Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Digital Pathology
Computational Methods for Medical Image Analysis
Artificial Intelligence and Radiomics
Simulation and Modeling of Discrete Systems
Digital Image Processing
Minimum Total Hours9
Focus Area: Bioelectrical & Biomedical Devices (BBD)
Choose 9 hours from the courses below:9
LabVIEW for Bioengineers
Advanced Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing for Bioengineers
Biomedical Acoustics
Artificial Organs
Fundamentals of Microfabrication and MEMS
Cardiovascular Dynamics
Advanced Biomaterials
Minimum Total Hours9
Focus Area: Biomechanics & Rehabilitation (BR)
Choose 9 hours from the courses below:9
Optimum Design Methods
Biomechanical Computer Modeling and Simulation of Human Movement
Cardiovascular Dynamics
Injury Biomechanics
Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology
Kinematics and Kinetics of Human Movement
Biofluid Mechanics
Minimum Total Hours9

Specialization Area Guided Electives

Courses in Specialization Area must be unique from those taken to fulfill the Focus Area requirement, and must follow a track listed below. Students must work with their advisor to establish a Plan of Study for Specialization Courses. All Specialization courses must be approved by the student's advisor prior to registration.

Traditional Bioengineering (T)

18 credit hours from those listed below with a minimum of six (6) credit hours in engineering courses and Teaching Practicum, BE 668 (two (2) credit hours).

Clinical Translational Bioengineering (C)

12 credit hours from list below designated as ASNB, BIOC, MBIO, OBIO, or PHZB; remaining six (6) credit hours in engineering courses and Clinical Practicum, BE 692 (two (2) credit hours).

Entrepreneurship of Bioengineering Technologies (E)

12 credit hours from list below designated as ENTR; remaining six (6) credit hours in engineering courses and Teaching Practicum, BE 668 (two (2) credit hours).

BE 668Translational Bioengineering teaching Practicum2
or BE 692 Bioengineering Clinical Rotation
Biomedical Acoustics
LabVIEW for Bioengineers
Machine Learning in Python
Machine Learning in Medicine
Medical Image Computing
Computer Tools for Medical Image Analysis
Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Digital Pathology
Introduction to Tissue Engineering
Nanoscale Bioengineering: Application and Methodology of Nanobiomaterials in Bioengineering
Advanced Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing for Bioengineers
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence in Bioengineering
Tissue and Molecular Biology Techniques Laboratory
Cardiovascular Dynamics
Biomechanical Computer Modeling and Simulation of Human Movement
Injury Biomechanics
Computational Methods for Medical Image Analysis
Artificial Intelligence and Radiomics
Advanced Biomaterials
Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology
Cellular Mechanobiology in Cancer
Artificial Organs
Modeling of Biological Phenomena
Fundamentals of Neuroscience
Molecular Neuroscience
Seminar on Developmental Neurobiology
Advanced Biochemistry I
Cancer Biology
Python and Data Analytics
Special Topics in Computer Science and Engineering
Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms
Computer Graphics
Data Mining
Computer Vision
Data Mining with Linear Models
Introduction to Bioinformatics
Special Topics in Computer Science and Engineering
Digital Signal Processing
Digital Signal Processing Laboratory
Introduction to Biometrics
Microfabrications/MEMS Laboratory
Fundamentals of Autonomous Robots
Fundamentals of Autonomous Robots Lab
Deep Learning
Sampled-Data Control Systems
Introduction to Optimum Control
Research Design I
Research Design II
Strategic Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship Theory I
Entrepreneurship Theory II
Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Experimental Design in Engineering
Advanced Engineering Mathematics II
Mechatronics
Advanced Fluid Mechanics
Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering
Molecular Microbiology
Immunology
Methods and Analysis in the Biomedical Sciences
Topics in Advanced Microbiology
Craniofacial Osteology
Craniomaxillofacial Diagnostic Imaging
Advanced Oral Pathology
Data Mining I
Data Mining II
Introduction to Statistical Computing
Probability
Biostatistical Methods I
Multivariate Statistical Analysis
Categorical Data Analysis
Advanced Statistical Computing I
Advanced Human Cardiovascular Physiology