Undergraduate Program in Biomedical Engineering

Overview

Envision an educational environment that personalizes instruction in a community-centered approach to create leaders in academia, industry and medicine? We do. Our accredited biomedical engineering program is a pioneer in its field and remains one of the most well respected programs nationally. Our students become independent, productive and adaptive interdisciplinary experts.

The foundations of biomedical engineering are the same as those in other engineering disciplines, as it is built on mathematics, physics, chemistry and engineering principles. Biomedical engineering relies on these foundations to solve problems in biology and medicine over the widest range of scales - from nanoscale and molecular levels to the whole body. Biomedical engineering provides a robust platform for employment in the medical device and instrumentation industries as well as careers in companies that specialize in the development and application of biologics, biomaterials, implants and processes.

In addition, our graduates gain entry into nationally recognized graduate schools for continuing studies in biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineering is also excellent preparation for and a rigorous path of entry into graduate study in medicine for those students willing and able to excel in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, physiology and engineering.

Are you a high school student who wants to learn more about the Vanderbilt University Biomedical Engineering Department? Email hannah.r.behrmann@vanderbilt.edu or amanda.r.lowery@vanderbilt.edu to schedule a time to get a personal tour of the department or to ask any questions you may have about BME at Vanderbilt.

Student Opportunities

VUBME Internships
Internships provide practical experience and are an important part of the professional development of new engineers. Did you know that there is a Career Coach specifically for Biomedical Engineering majors? Schedule an appointment using DoreWays or reach out directly to Alex Rizzutto (alex.rizzutto@vanderbilt.edu) to learn about how the Career Center can assist you with resumes/cover letters, interviewing, internships, connecting with employers, and more. Some internship opportunities are also listed here.
REU & Summer Programs (Research Experience for Undergraduates):
These programs are usually funded by the NSF. If you want to see a more complete listing of programs, you may visit the NSF website.
Government & Non-Profit:
The Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP) is a ten week summer research opportunity for undergraduate Juniors & Seniors, and Graduate students, under the guidance of a mentor, at a participating Navy Laboratory (list of participating universities is available). The stipend amounts for the program are $5,500 for undergraduate students and $6,500 for graduate students. U.S. citizenship required; Permanent residents accepted at certain labs.
Fellowships:
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, mathematics, and engineering in the United States and to reinforce its diversity. A competition is conducted for Graduate Research Fellowships, with additional awards offered for women in engineering and computer and information science. NSF Graduate Fellowships offer recognition and three years of support for advanced study to approximately 900 outstanding graduate students in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, and behavioral and social sciences, including the history of science and the philosophy of science, and to research-based PhD degrees in science education.
INTERNSHIP/JOB SEARCH WEBSITES:
- AAMI Career Center webpage
- AfterCollege
- Biomedical Alliance for Industrial Internships
- Non-profit organization dedicated to helping biomedical engineering programs and industry connect for internships, co-ops and jobs. Biospace: www.biospace.com
- MedDeviceJobs: https://www.meddevicejobs.com/
- CareerBuilder.com: www.careerbuilder.com
- Rochester Institute of Technology Bio/Biotech.
- Sciencejobs.com
- EuropaBio job plaza: www.europabio.org/jobs.htm
- Career Center: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/career
Study Abroad

Biomedical engineers increasingly function in a global marketplace, addressing issues of human health around the world and capitalizing on international biomedical engineering expertise and resources. Your vision for your own international career may range from working for a large multinational corporation to volunteering your biomedical skills in impoverished regions of the world. Whatever your vision, there are several things you can do to best position yourself for success. First and foremost, strive to excel in your core engineering studies. Solid engineering skills are essential to effective work in the international arena. In addition, take advantage of study abroad opportunities!
Learn more about study abroad for BME students.

Research for Credit

The combination of our established BME department and the immediate proximity of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center provides a tremendous wealth of opportunities for student involvement in research. Undergraduate research can enhance an engineering student's education and experiences outside the classroom. The School of Engineering highly recommends students actively seek out opportunities in various areas of interest in order to gain valuable skills and knowledge in research fields.

Research-active faculty members often allow undergraduate students to work in their labs as student workers, technicians, or assistants. Each lab could have very different requirements regarding academic performance or pre-requisite knowledge. Knowledge, skills, and abilities may vary significantly across departments and laboratories. Requisite knowledge will also vary greatly by project, by lab, by professor, and by department. Most faculty members will expect you to produce a periodic document and/or make a presentation to present your hypotheses, results, and conclusions.

If you are interested in a research position in a VU BME lab:

Read about various research areas and projects (a list of example labs is included below, but this list is not exhaustive) to determine which topics you are most passionate about. You may also search biomedical engineering faculty members and read about their research foci.
Once you have determined what topics or labs you are most interested in, contact the professor who runs the lab or their graduate students to see if there are any available undergraduate positions in their lab. Faculty members are usually interested in highly motivated students who actively seek employment.
If you have not heard back from a contact within a couple of weeks, you may send one follow up email. If there is no response after the follow up email, you may conclude that that particular lab does not have any undergraduate positions available at the time, and you may consider contacting other faculty members or graduate students.

Students may seek out research opportunities at any point in their undergraduate career beginning in the freshman year on a voluntary basis. However, this involvement can occur through elective courses only in their junior (generally spring) and senior year. Up to six credit hours (total) of Undergraduate Research, BME 3860/3861 (240A/B) may count as a BME elective; alternatively, up to six credit hours of BME 3860/3861 may be used as a Technical elective. Note that to receive BME credit, the research project must be a BME type research project.

List of BME Labs

Additionally, many BME students work in Vanderbilt University Medical Center Labs such as the following:

Bader Lab
Becker Lab
Ferguson Lab
Force Lab
Freiberg (V-CREATE)
Galindo Lab
Gumina Lab
Hatzopoulos Lab
Hill Lab
Hong Lab
Iverson Lab
Kalams Lab
Knapik Lab
Major Lab
Moslehi Lab
Nam Lab
Vickers Lab

Getting involved in a Medical Center works similarly to BME labs as students should find research that they are interested in and contact the lab to see if positions are available. The above list represents only a small sample of labs; students may explore various departments and centers associated with VUMC and VU to learn about additional research.

Research Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s	Don’ts
…contact professors working on research that you are genuinely interested in	…contact a professor researching biomaterials if you really just want to work in biophotonics
…behave professionally by letting professors know if you are in contact with multiple labs	…email every single lab in the above lists simultaneously
...use research as an opportunity to enhance your education and experiences outside of the classroom and gain valuable skills and knowledge in research fields	…get involved with research purely to boost your resume

Register for Research for Credit through YES

To submit a request to participate in 2024 Fall research/individual study:
1. On the student landing page in YES, click on 'Individual Study'.
2. The individual study form will open. Input the requested personal information.
3. Next, select your home school (associated with your primary major).
4. Select the course in which you hope to enroll and input all information requested, including credit hours listed, the term in which you hope to enroll, and whether or not you will be dropping a different course if approved to enroll in undergraduate research/individual study.
5. Input name of the faculty member with whom you will work for this undergraduate research/individual study. If you don't see your PI, put Dr. Baudenbacher in for the PI, and in the project description name your true PI. Dr. Baudenbacher is the instructor of record for the course.
6. Write a detailed description of the research in which you will participate. Note that this description is what departmental and school-level approvers will be basing their approval of this enrollment upon.
7. Submit the form; you will be automatically enrolled in the course upon all approvals (and dropped from the relevant course you input in #4, above).
Biomedical Engineering-Related Organizations
Student Organizations
- Biomedical Engineering Society BMES - interesting, enlightening, and pertinent information to all involved in the discipline of Biomedical Engineering. Vanderbilt Chapter.
- VaNTH ERC For Bioengineering Educational Technologies
- VaNTH BE/BME Educational Courseware dissemination site
- Center for Technology Guided Therapy at Vanderbilt University
- Engineering World Health (EWH)
Additional Biomedical Links
- Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS)
- The Whitaker Foundation - Supporting researching and education in biomedical engineering
- Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)
- Medical Device Careers
- IEEE website
- www.futurebiojobs.com
- Annals of Biomedical Engineering Home Page
- BMEnet Biomedical Engineering Resource
- Medscape (includes Medline)
- Needs - a digital library for engineering faculty and students
- Peterson's Guide to Graduate BME Programs
- Google BME jobs
- Yahoo's Biomedical Engineering Links
BME Honors Application

Apply for BME Honors. Complete the application.