Biomedical Engineering Program

Dr. Daniel Engebretson, Chair
Director of GEAR Center
4800 N. Career Ave. , Suite 221
Sioux Falls, SD 57107
Phone: (605) 367-7763
Email: bme@usd.edu
Website: http://www.usd.edu/graduate-school/biomedical-engineering.cfm

Departmental Faculty

Professors

Daniel Engebretson, Chair, BME Program - USD, Ph.D. Michigan State University. Specialization: Biological Sensing and In Vitro Diagnostics.

Assistant Professors

Ying Deng, Ph.D., Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Specializations: Bioactive Materials and Bionanotechnology in Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery; Engineering Biomaterials and Alternative Cell Sources for Biomedical Applications.

Gopinath Mani, Ph.D., The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA. Specializations: Biomaterials, Drug Delivery Systems, Surface Characterization and Modification of Biomaterials, Drug- eluting Stents, Self-Assembled Monolayers, Nanomedicine, and Polymer Nanocomposites.

Degrees:

Master of Science (33 credits)
Doctor of Philosophy (84 credits)

Program Description

Biomedical engineering (BME) focuses upon the application of engineering and science methodologies to the analysis of biological and physiological problems and to the development and delivery of health-care technologies. The biomedical engineer serves as an interface between traditional engineering disciplines and living systems and may work in either direction, applying the patterns of living organisms to engineering design or engineering new approaches to human health. Both the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees are cross-disciplinary degrees. The objective of the M.S. program is to prepare a student for research and development careers in the biomedical industry and for additional training at the doctoral level. The Ph.D. program will prepare a student for a career as a researcher who advances the frontiers of biomedical science and engineering with attention to generating new ideas for commercialization.

Faculty in the University of South Dakota’s Biomedical Engineering program focus on developing materials that are used as vehicles for drug delivery, to control biofilm formation, as scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, and biological sensors. The program was developed to be positioned at the interface between academic research and commercialization. Faculty members routinely interact with small and large businesses to identify market opportunities for products that emerge from their research. This presents unique opportunities for students in the program to explore the full gamut of research, development, and ultimately commercialization.

The Biomedical Engineering Program is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in the GEAR (Graduate Education & Applied Research) Center, 4800 N. Career Ave., Suite 221.

Admission Requirements

All Graduate School admission requirements must be met: (www.usd.edu/graduate-school/).
Applicants are encouraged to apply early. Assistantship decisions are typically made in mid-March for the fall term.
An appropriate baccalaureate degree (biomedical, chemical, electrical, mechanical, or metallurgical engineering; materials science and engineering; or other related discipline).
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test is required.
Undergraduate GPA of 2.7 or graduate GPA of 3.0.
The TOEFL or IELTS exam is required for students whose native language is not English. Required minimums are a score of 550(paper) or 79 (Internet-based); or official International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6 or higher or documentation of English being the primary language of previous educational experience. Foreign students who have obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree from an American college or university are not required to submit a TOEFL score.
Additional requirements exist for international students.
Calculus 3 is required for full admission. One can be provisionally admitted without Calculus 3 provided that Calc 3 is taken and passed in the first semester after admission.
Subject to program and Graduate Dean approval, applicants who do not meet all of the above criteria may be admitted on a provisional basis.

Financial Support

Graduate assistantships are available ($5,558-$30,000) on a competitive basis. Applications for assistantships are available from the Graduate School website homepage. Awarding of assistantships is based on:

Availability
Ability to communicate well in oral/written English
Satisfactory performance in course work