MSc in Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology

The degree of Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering (MSc in BMED) is awarded for successfully completing the requirements of a program of study which includes taught courses as well as a thesis. The thesis is an independent investigation of specialized areas within the general field of Biomedical Engineering. The MSc in BMED gives candidates the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in the broad fields of BME (Biomedical Engineering) and contributes to the process of discovery and knowledge creation through the conduct of original research. Candidates for this degree are taught and supervised by experienced faculty and are expected to demonstrate initiative in their approach and innovation in their work. In addition to successfully completing the taught course component of the program, candidates prepare and present a thesis on their chosen area. Research may be undertaken in several topics corresponding to the areas of focus identified by the University.

Career Opportunities

Graduates from the Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering (MSc in BMED) of Khalifa University, will be equipped with solid engineering principles, in conjunction with know-hows in the frontiers of medical and biological sciences. As students, during their MSc in BMED studies were given opportunities to perform research in one of the core BME disciplines including Computational Bioengineering; Biomechanics; Regenerative Medicine; RNA Post-Transcriptional Modifications (Epitranscriptome), Molecular Medicine; Biomaterials; Biosignal Processing; Bioinformatics; Computational Neuroscience and Genomics. Hence, many career opportunities emerge. The latter include areas such as in telemedicine; sports medicine; bio-robotics; medical informatics; stem cell biology; system biology; artificial organ; drug delivery; and biosensors.

The new graduates will lead in the design and development of advanced equipment, electronic devices, biomolecular systems, as well as software used in healthcare and medical devices. They will be research engineers, AI in health experts, application specialists and biopharmaceutics scientists in several emerging sectors of biomedical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including medical instrumentations; clinical engineering; protein engineering; rehabilitation engineering; drug manufacturing and AI-based medical informatics. Furthermore, graduates go through rigorous training and research experience to help them pursue their studies at PhD level.

The educational goals (objectives) of the MSc Biomedical Engineering program are to produce graduates who:

Are able to apply their training on the interface of engineering, medicine and science in an ethical, creative, and innovative manner to solve problems related to health and healthcare that are locally and globally relevant.
Are recognized as leaders in their respective careers in biomedical engineering in industry, hospitals and clinical practice, government, and academia.
Engage in life-long learning by continuing their education in graduate or professional schools or through career development and professional training.

A student graduating with the M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering will be able to:

Identify, formulate, and solve advanced biomedical engineering and science problems and apply current engineering and science tools and techniques.
Conduct interdisciplinary research; design and conduct experiments, manage, analyze, interpret data and disseminate research results.
Function in team environments and communicate effectively with engineering, medical and science stakeholders and communities.
Acquire knowledge of contemporary issues in the fields of biomedical engineering, science and medicine and develop an aptitude for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Understand and apply professional and ethical standards in local and global frameworks.

Overall Structure and Requirements

The MSc in Biomedical Engineering (BMED) program consists of a minimum of 30 credit hours. The required program credits are distributed as follows: 12 credits of Program Core courses, 9 credits of Program Elective courses, and 9 credits of BMED Master’s Thesis work. The table below presents a summary of the MSc in BMED degree program structure and requirements. All the MSc in BMED program courses, with the exception of the Seminar in Research Methods and the Master’s Thesis, have a credit rating of three credits each.

Summary of MSc in BMED Degree Program Structure and Requirements

Category	Credits Required
Program Core	12
Program Electives	9
Seminar in Research Methods	0
BMED Master’s Thesis	9
Total	30

Program Requirements

Students seeking the degree of MSc in BMED must successfully complete a minimum of 30 credited hours as specified in the categories detailed in this section, with a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.0.

Program Core

The MSc in BMED degree program core requires a minimum of 12 credits, consisting of 4 core courses, and the research seminar course which has zero credit rating. The courses are specified below.

Program Core Courses (12 credits):

Students to complete the following listed courses:

BMED 600 Physiological Systems
BMED 601 Experimental Biochemistry
BMED602/ESMA 617 Innovation and Creativity in Technology Organizations
BMED 603 Multivariate Statistics and Data Analysis

ENGR 695 Seminar in Research Methods (0 credits)

Program Electives

Students must complete a minimum of 9 credits of electives. The BMED program electives that students can select from are listed below. Students can also select up to two elective courses (6 credits) from other MSc programs in the College of Engineering at KU subject to the approval of their research advisor.

BMED 631 Advanced Biosignal Processing
BMED 632 Physiological Control Systems
BMED 633 Advanced Rehabilitation Engineering
BMED 611 Clinical Pathology
BMED 612 Molecular Genetics & Genome Technologies
BMED 620 Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience
BMED634/COSC 620 Algorithms in Bioinformatics
BMED635/ESMA 673 Healthcare Information Systems
BMED 640 Biomaterials for Drug Delivery
BMED 694 Selected Topics in Biomedical Engineering
ENGR 602 Engineering Numerical Methods

BMED 699 Master’s Thesis (minimum 9 credits)

A student must complete a master’s thesis that involves creative research-oriented work within the broad field of BMED, under the direct supervision of a main advisor, who must be a full-time faculty in the BMED Department, and at least one other full-time faculty who acts as co-advisor. The research findings must be documented in a formal thesis and defended successfully in a viva voce examination. Furthermore, the research should lead to publishable quality scholarly articles.

Students must consult with their respective advisors on the courses that they will enroll in, the required pre-requisites, and the thesis topic selection. Full-time graduate students must register for 9 to 12 credits, including thesis credits, during a regular semester (Fall and Spring) and a maximum of 6 credits during a Summer term. In the case of part-time students, the credit load is normally 6 credits during a regular semester as well as the summer term.

Students can only register for thesis credits after successfully completing a minimum of 9 credits of the core courses of the master’s program they are enrolled in. It is to be noted that the minimum pass grade for graduate courses is a “C” letter grade. Students should consult the Graduate Catalog to learn about the graduate programs, the grading system, graduation requirements, and other pertinent matters.