The Concentration in Biomedical Devices in the MS Biomedical Engineering, offered by the Department of Biomedical Engineering , offers the student the opportunity to focus on the design, development, and manufacture of medical devices that either come into contact with the human body or are implanted within the human body. This concentration area has been created to provide individuals with B.S. degrees in an engineering field or chemistry or physics with the necessary graduate-level education that prepares them to function effectively in this environment.

University Admission Requirements

Applicants must submit a complete graduate application by applying through the CSU Cal State Apply system and meet all the university admission requirements .

Applicants who have a major GPA of 3.0 or higher are not required to take the GRE. All others must take the GRE General Test and obtain a combined score of 315 or higher in the Verbal and Quantitative sections, and 3.5 or higher in the Analytical Writing section.

Transition Courses

Students may be required to complete some or all of the following transition courses (or equivalent courses) prior to being admitted to Classified Standing in the major.

• BME 65 - Biomedical Applications of Statics
    3 unit(s)
• BME 68 - Biomedical Applications of Metals and Ceramics
    3 unit(s)
• BME 115 - Foundations of Biomedical Engineering
    4 unit(s)
• BME 147 - Quantitative and Statistical Methods for Biomedical Engineers
    3 unit(s)
• BME 165 - Applied Engineering Biomechanics
    3 unit(s)
• CHEM 1A - General Chemistry
    5 unit(s) (5A + 5C)
• CHEM 1B - General Chemistry
    5 unit(s) (5A + 5C)
• EE 98 - Introduction to Circuit Analysis
    3 unit(s)
• MATH 33A - Ordinary Differential Equations for SCI & ENGR
    3 unit(s)
• MATH 33LA - Differential Equations and Linear Algebra
    3 unit(s)
• PHYS 50 - General Physics I: Mechanics
    4 unit(s) (5A + 5C)
• PHYS 51 - General Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism
    4 unit(s) (5A + 5C)

Students can be admitted to either classified or conditionally classified standing. 

Admission to Graduate Standing - Classified

To be admitted to classified standing, a student must possess a BS degree in biomedical engineering, or its equivalent from an accredited institution with a grade point average of 3.0 or better in the last 60 semester units, have met the GRE requirement if their major GPA is below 3.0, and have completed any required Transition Courses, or their equivalents, with grades of B or better.

Admission to Graduate Standing - Conditionally Classified

Students can be admitted to conditionally classified standing if they have a BS degree in an engineering discipline, chemistry, physics, or biology from an accredited institution. Students with conditionally classified standing will take a series of Transition Courses, as determined by the Graduate Coordinator. Once the series is completed satisfactorily, with grades of B or better, students can petition for transfer to classified standing. For more information on the transition courses see the section on Transition Courses below, or, contact the Biomedical Engineering Department Graduate Coordinator at biomedical-engineering@sjsu.edu.

Advancement to Candidacy

The university requirements for advancement to candidacy  for the master’s degree are outlined in the Graduate Policies & Procedures  section. Students should seek advancement to candidacy as soon as possible for their given program and on the advice of their graduate program coordinator. Graduate students may submit a Petition for Advancement to Graduate Candidacy form to the Graduate Admissions & Program Evaluations (GAPE) office after satisfying the following: achieved classified status; completed a minimum of nine letter-graded units with all grades “C” or higher; fulfilled the Campus Graduate Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (CGGWAR) requirement; achieved a minimum cumulative and program 3.0 GPA, and, graduate within the seven-year time limit for degree completion. Graduate students must submit their petition no later than one semester prior to graduating. Courses that satisfy the CGGWAR are listed in the course requirements for the program.

Program of Study Requirements 

Students must complete all residency, curriculum, unit, GPA, and culminating experience requirements as outlined in the Graduation Requirements  section of the Graduate Policies & Procedures . Students must comply with all other graduate requirements contained in this catalog.

Course Requirements

To meet the requirements for the MS, Biomedical Engineering degree, a student must complete 30 units of approved courses. Students must achieve a minimum grade of a “C” in each course, a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in all their coursework, AND a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the courses listed in the Candidacy form.

Culminating Experience (Plan A or Plan B)

Included in the 30 units of approved courses is the requirement that students must also complete a written thesis or project report and an oral defense of their thesis or project. The candidate may choose either the Plan A (thesis) or Plan B (project) option. For either option, the student is required to develop a project proposal in BME 291 . This must be approved by the student’s project adviser and the reading committee at the culmination of BME 291. Once the proposal is approved, the student is required to:

• Implement the approved research plan using appropriate methods for the investigation
• Use appropriate statistical techniques for analysis of the data and drawing conclusions
• Discuss the results in light of findings reported by other investigators
• Write a professional report of appropriate length
• Present it and defend the project to the reading committee

Plan A (Thesis)

Please see the “Plan A (Thesis)” description under the requirements for the Biomedical Engineering, MS  degree.

Plan B (Project)

Please see the “Plan A (Thesis)” description under the requirements for the Biomedical Engineering, MS  degree.