Engineering/Medical Integrated Curriculum (ENGMEDIC)

The ENGMEDIC program was created by the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering and the School of Medicine. It is an early selection program designed for biomedical engineering students who are interested in becoming physicians. A small number of highly qualified students, who have completed two years of the pre-medical option of the undergraduate biomedical engineering curriculum, are admitted to the program each year.

The program integrates elements of pre-clinical medical training with upper-division requirements for the BS in Biomedical Engineering, thus allowing students to fulfill some of the medical school curriculum during the last two years of undergraduate study. The program utilizes a series of instructional modules which include biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, socio-medical sciences, medical histology, human physiology, public health, and humanities.

The ENGMEDIC program is not designed to accelerate either the undergraduate degree or medical training, but rather to effect a better transition from undergraduate engineering to graduate medical study. The BS in Biomedical Engineering is normally earned after four years of undergraduate study, the MD after an additional four years of study at the School of Medicine.

Program Requirements

ENGMEDIC students must demonstrate their ability to master engineering concepts and the modules of instruction. Students are expected to obtain a GPA of at least 3.20 each semester after entering the program. They must also obtain a 3.00 cumulative average in science/engineering courses taken after entry into the program. In addition to maintaining a cumulative average of 3.20 or higher, students must also earn grades of B or better in the following courses: BE 401, BE 402, BE 420/BE 436, BE 491, BE 492, and EK 424. Students in the ENGMEDIC program are subject to the rules and regulations of the College of Engineering until they receive their BS degrees. Students are expected to take a full-time courseload each semester.

Students must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), usually in the spring of the third year of undergraduate study. ENGMEDIC students are expected to earn a combined score equal to or greater than 30 on the three numerically scored sub-sections of the MCAT before being promoted to the School of Medicine. The writing sample component of the MCAT must also be completed.

The academic record of each student is reviewed by the Promotions Committee for the Early Assurance Programs each semester. Formal admission to the School of Medicine is granted upon satisfactory completion of the first two years of the ENGMEDIC program.

College of Engineering (ENG) Requirements for ENGMEDIC Students

The Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program leads to a BS in Biomedical Engineering and is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). An ENGMEDIC program planning sheet is available which illustrates a course sequence incorporating the ENGMEDIC modules that will assure that all Biomedical Engineering BS requirements are met. There are several ENGMEDIC modules offered, which may be of interest to ENGMEDIC students, but that do not satisfy either engineering requirements or medical school requirements. ENGMEDIC students with AP credit or credit for summer courses will find that they have additional flexibility in their programs, and may elect to take additional ENGMEDIC modules.

General Education Requirements

Students in the ENGMEDIC program must satisfy the College of Engineering General Education requirement. It is recommended that ENGMEDIC students use the Humanities ENGMEDIC courses (CAS PH 251 Medical Ethics and CAS PH 452 Ethics of Health Care) toward satisfying the general education requirement.

Biomedical Engineering Course Requirements

The following additional courses are required during the junior and senior years for the Biomedical Engineering degree:

• ENG BE 401 Signals and Systems in Biomedical Engineering (4 cr)
• ENG BE 491 Engineering Physiology Laboratory I (2 cr)
• GSM PH 730 Human Physiology A (4 cr)
• ENG EK 424 Energy and Thermodynamics (4 cr)
• ENG BE 402 Control Systems in Biomedical Engineering (4 cr)
• ENG BE 492 Engineering Physiology Laboratory II (2 cr)
• ENG BE 436 Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics or BE 420 Introduction to Solid Biomechanics (4 cr)
• GMS PH 731 Human Physiology B (4 cr)
• Biomedical Elective 1* (4 cr)
• Biomedical Elective 2* (4 cr)
• Engineering Elective* (4 cr)
• ENG BE 465 Senior Project (2 cr)
• ENG BE 466 Senior Project (4 cr)
• ENG BE 467 Design, Development, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship in BME (2 cr)

*One of these must be from the design elective list.

Biomedical and Engineering Electives

The Biomedical electives and the Engineering elective must be chosen from the list of acceptable courses that appears on the back of the junior and senior Biomedical Engineering program planning sheets. Additionally, one of these electives must be a Design elective chosen from the list on the back of program planning sheets.

Module Requirements for ENGMEDIC Students

Four modules of instruction must be completed in order to be eligible for promotion to medical school. Normally, students use GMS PH 730 and PH 731 to fulfill two of these modules. However, students who enter Boston University with AP credit or who take courses over the summer may satisfy this requirement in other ways.

Things to bear in mind, when choosing modules:

• Students must complete both GMS PH 730 and PH 731 with no grade below B- and at least a B average to fulfill the MED Physiology requirement.
• Newly admitted ENGMEDIC students are strongly encouraged to take a genetics or advanced biology course during the summer between the sophomore and junior years, either at Boston University or at another school.

Medical School Requirements for ENGMEDIC Students

All ENGMEDIC students must complete two courses in English. These are typically completed through CAS WR 100 and CAS WR 150. Additionally, ENGMEDIC students must complete two humanities courses. These cannot be fulfilled by AP credits; they must be posted on a college or university transcript.

Eligibility & Admission

Students apply to the ENGMEDIC program in the Spring semester of the sophomore year. Applications are available online.

To be considered for admission, students must have completed or be taking the following courses:

• CAS WR 100 Writing Seminar
• CAS MA 225 Multivariate Calculus
• CAS MA 226 Differential Equations
• CAS PY 212 Physics II
• CAS BE 209 Principles of Molecular Cell Biology
• CAS CH 203 Organic Chemistry I
• CAS CH 204 Organic Chemistry II
• ENG EK 301 Engineering Mechanics
• ENG EK 307 Electric Circuit Theory
• ENG BE 200 Introduction to Probabilistic Systems
• ENG EK 102 Introduction to Linear Algebra or CAS MA 142 Introduction to Linear Algebra

Applications are evaluated by the ENGMEDIC Joint Admissions Committee composed of representatives from the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the School of Medicine. After an initial review, the most competitive applicants will be interviewed by two members of the Admissions Committee.