About Biomedical Engineering :
Human body is a sophisticated and complex system. Biomedical engineering involves application of principles and techniques from engineering to biology and medicine. By combining skills of applied sciences (engineering) and physical sciences, biomedical engineering aims to study and advance human health and health care treatment. It helps to develop and invent biological structures, diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
X-ray & MRI machines, EKG machines, prosthetic devices, nanotechnology, genome editing, artificial organs, artificial joints, heart valves and hearing implants are some of the inventions of biomedical engineering we experience or see in our day to day life which have positively impacted the lives of millions of people.
Duties of a Biomedical Engineer :
Biomedical engineers are typically involved in testing, implementing and developing new diagnostic tools and medical equipment such as imaging machines, artificial internal organs, replacements for body parts, and machines for diagnosing medical problems.
If you are working with government authorities, you may also be responsible for setting safety standards and policies for biomedical equipment.
Qualities of a good Biomedical engineer :
Just like all engineering professionals, biomedical engineers are expected to be analytical and process driven. Most importantly, you must have passion to make an impact by working on innovations or product development for betterment of human health and healthcare. As the healthcare field is innovating at a rapid pace, biomedical engineers should have keen interest in learning the latest trends, experimenting with new use cases, building prototypes and making innovations so that you are able to work with the best companies in the industry. This requires creative thinking and problem solving skills. Biomedical engineers are expected to be good at understanding and implementing theories from various fields of engineering such as mechanical, electrical, electronics, computing, etc. Also, a good understanding of core sciences such as biology, chemistry and physics is important especially if you are working in tissue and stem cell engineering companies.
You must also possess good communication skills as you will be involved in working with various other team members and departments.
Popular degree for Biomedical Engineering:
Bachelors
- Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical
- B.Eng Biomedical Technology
- Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering
- B.Tech Biomedical Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering with concentration in Biomedical Engineering
- Bachelor of Mechanical engineering ( specialization or minor in biomedical engineering)
- Bachelor of Electronics engineering ( specialization or minor in biomedical engineering)
- Bachelor of Computer engineering ( specialization or minor in biomedical engineering)
Masters
- Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering
- Master of Engineering in Biomedical
- M.Eng Biomedical Technology
- Master of Biomedical Engineering
- M.Tech Biomedical Engineering
- Master of Engineering with concentration in Biomedical Engineering
- Master of Mechanical engineering ( specialization or minor in biomedical engineering)
- Master of Electronics engineering ( specialization or minor in biomedical engineering)
- Master of Computer engineering ( specialization or minor in biomedical engineering)
Popular Master’s degree options after Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering :
You can continue to specialize in various sub disciplines of biomedical engineering at Masters or Postgraduate level. Some of the popular options are:
Biomechanics (the study of mechanical forces produced by biological systems for the orthopedic/rehabilitation engineering)
Cellular and tissue engineering (study of disease processes at the cellular level and prevent diseases by intervening through miniature devices that stimulate or inhibit cellular processes at target locations)
Imaging ( study of images that enables one to visualize physiological structures, measure biological functions and evaluate cellular and molecular events without requiring invasive procedures for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes
Medical Devices ( develop devices, instruments and implants ranging from the nano- to macro-scale that can be used in the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease)
Systems and synthetic biology ( study how complex and dynamic molecular systems control cellular behavior and apply engineering principles to better understand, design and build biological systems at the cellular level)
Medical Studies such as Doctor, Dental or Veterinary studies ( Biomedical engineering can serve as a strong foundation to pursue a full time career in medicine or related fields. In the USA, UK, Australia and Canada bachelors of biomedical engineering is considered to be meeting the requirements of Pre-Med qualification required to apply for graduate entry medical, dental or veterinary courses)
Technology & Management or MBA ( students aiming to apply their technical expertise to management studies with an aim to grow in a managerial role in biomedical related companies or start their own start up with innovative ideas).
Popular PhD or Doctorate degree options for Biomedical Engineering :
You can choose to specialise or research in several areas such as:
- Biomechanics
- Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering
- Cell and Molecular Engineering
- Imaging and Biophotonics
- Medical Devices and Instrumentation
- Neural Engineering
Duration of Biomedical Engineering degree :
Country | Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering | Masters in Biomedical Engineering | PhD in Biomedical Engineering |
USA / CANADA | 4 YEARS | 2 YEARS | 3 – 6 YEARS |
GERMANY / UK / AUSTRALIA | 3 – 3.5 YEARS | 1 – 2 YEARS | 3 – 6 YEARS |
OTHER COUNTRIES | 3 – 4 YEARS | 1 – 2 YEARS | 3 – 6 YEARS |
Several Universities offer internship or work experience integrated within the degree program thereby providing students real life relevant work experience in biomedical companies or departments even before they graduate from the University ( also known as Co-op program in Canada and Curricular Practical Training in USA). Such internships or work experience may increase the duration of the program by one or two semesters, but indeed they are worthwhile investing that extra time.
Career options after Masters Degree in Biomedical Engineering :
As a biomedical engineering graduate, you can either continue to work in academia and research to advance the biomedical engineering innovations that already exist or you may take up employment in government healthcare sector or private biomedical companies for a technical or managerial role.
Some of the popular jobs for biomedical engineer graduates are as below:
- Biomaterials Developer
- Manufacturing Engineer
- Biomedical Scientist/Researcher
- Rehabilitation Engineer
- Medical Technology Developer
Each of the above jobs give opportunities for graduates to focus on one area of biomedical engineering, based on their interests and major subjects taken during their University studies.
Average Salaries for Biomedical Engineering graduates :
Healthcare sector is booming worldwide, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Biomedical engineers are playing a vital role in advancement of diagnosis and treatment of such diseases. Hence, biomedical engineers are in high demand in developed countries and the salaries offered are higher than other traditional engineers. Below are average salaries in developed countries ( converted to USD for easier comparison). Salaries may vary depending on the expertise and experience of the candidate.
USA – 95,000 USD per year (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
( *Biomedical engineers in USA earn on an average 10,000 to 15,000 USD more per year than other engineers)
Canada – 88,778 USD per year (Source: Economic Research Institute, Canada)
UK – 45,671 USD per year (Source: Prospects, UK)
Germany – 49,350 USD per year (Source: Payscale )
Australia – 65,747 USD per year (Source: Talent, Australia)
Top 50 Universities in the world for BIOMEDICAL Engineering based on ranking (QS/THE/Other) :
Rank QS | Rank THE | Rank Shanghai | University Name | Country | Bachelor courses | Master courses |
1 | 4 | 3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | USA | Click here | Click here |
2 | 3 | 7 | Stanford University | USA | Click here | Click here |
3 | 6 | 32 | University of Cambridge | UK | Click here | Click here |
4 | 9 | 26 | ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology | SWITZERLAND | Click here | Click here |
4 | 15 | 35 | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) | SINGAPORE | Click here | Click here |
6 | 2 | University of Oxford | UK | Click here | Click here | |
7 | 5 | 42 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | USA | Click here | Click here |
8 | 14 | 18 | Imperial College London | UK | Click here | Click here |
9 | 12 | 6 | National University of Singapore (NUS) | SINGAPORE | Click here | Click here |
10 | 16 | 28 | Tsinghua University | CHINA | Click here | Click here |
11 | 1 | 1 | Harvard University | USA | Click here | Click here |
12 | 20 | EPFL | SWITZERLAND | Click here | Click here | |
13 | 12 | 16 | Georgia Institute of Technology | USA | Click here | Click here |
14 | 7 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | USA | Click here | Click here | |
15 | 21 | Delft University of Technology | NETHERLANDS | Click here | Click here | |
16 | 27 | KAIST – Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology | SOUTH KOREA | Click here | Click here | |
17 | 18 | Carnegie Mellon University | USA | Click here | Click here | |
18 | 28 | 27 | University of Toronto | CANADA | Click here | Click here |
19 | 11 | 31 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | USA | Click here | Click here |
20 | Politecnico di Milano | ITALY | Click here | Click here | ||
20 | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | HONGKONG SAR | Click here | Click here | ||
20 | 32 | The University of Tokyo | JAPAN | Click here | Click here | |
23 | 35 | 2 | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | CHINA | Click here | Click here |
24 | 9 | 8 | Peking University | CHINA | Click here | Click here |
25 | 22 | University of Texas at Austin | USA | Click here | Click here | |
26 | 23 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | USA | Click here | Click here | |
27 | 39 | 10 | Seoul National University | SOUTH KOREA | Click here | Click here |
27 | 34 | 9 | Zhejiang University | CHINA | Click here | Click here |
29 | 24 | Technical University of Munich | GERMANY | Click here | Click here | |
30 | 8 | Princeton University | USA | Click here | Click here | |
31 | KTH Royal Institute of Technology | SWEDEN | Click here | Click here | ||
32 | 45 | University of British Columbia | CANADA | Click here | Click here | |
33 | 19 | 11 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | USA | Click here | Click here |
34 | 33 | Purdue University | USA | Click here | Click here | |
34 | Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) | JAPAN | Click here | Click here | ||
36 | 25 | 47 | Cornell University | USA | Click here | Click here |
36 | 48 | The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) | AUSTRALIA | Click here | Click here | |
37 | University of Waterloo | CANADA | Click here | Click here | ||
37 | Politecnico di Torino | ITALY | Click here | Click here | ||
40 | McGill University | CANADA | Click here | Click here | ||
40 | National Taiwan University (NTU) | TAIWAN | Click here | Click here | ||
40 | 42 | The University of Hong Kong | HONGKONG SAR | Click here | Click here | |
43 | 4 | Fudan University | CHINA | Click here | Click here | |
43 | 30 | RWTH Aachen University | GERMANY | Click here | Click here | |
43 | The University of Manchester | UK | Click here | Click here | ||
43 | 17 | Yale University | USA | Click here | Click here | |
47 | 29 | 20 | Columbia University | USA | Click here | Click here |
48 | 25 | UCL | UK | Click here | Click here | |
49 | Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) | INDIA | Click here | Click here | ||
50 | Eindhoven University of Technology | NETHERLANDS | Click here | Click here | ||
26 | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | HONGKONG SAR | Click here | Click here | ||
31 | 29 | University of Science and Technology of China | CHINA | Click here | Click here | |
35 | University of California, Santa Barbara | USA | Click here | Click here | ||
37 | 37 | Northwestern University | USA | Click here | Click here | |
38 | 16 | University of Pennsylvania | USA | Click here | Click here | |
40 | 21 | University of California, San Diego | USA | Click here | Click here | |
41 | 12 | Johns Hopkins University | USA | Click here | Click here | |
44 | 43 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | USA | Click here | Click here | |
46 | 36 | Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) | SOUTH KOREA | Click here | Click here | |
49 | Duke University | USA | Click here | Click here | ||
50 | 39 | University of Washington | USA | Click here | Click here | |
51 | Ohio State University (Main campus) | USA | Click here | Click here | ||
52 | Rice University | USA | Click here | Click here | ||
5 | Soochow University (China) | CHINA | Click here | Click here | ||
13 | Sichuan University | CHINA | Click here | Click here | ||
14 | University of Pittsburgh | USA | Click here | Click here | ||
15 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | USA | Click here | Click here | ||
18 | Korea University | SOUTH KOREA | Click here | Click here | ||
22 | Utrecht University | NETHERLANDS | Click here | Click here | ||
23 | City University of Hong Kong | HONG KONG SAR | Click here | Click here | ||
24 | Sun Yat-sen University | CHINA | Click here | Click here | ||
30 | Emory University | USA | Click here | Click here | ||
33 | The Chinese University of Hong Kong | HONG KONG SAR | Click here | Click here | ||
34 | Tufts University | USA | Click here | Click here | ||
38 | University of Zurich | SWITZERLAND | Click here | Click here | ||
39 | Nanjing University | CHINA | Click here | Click here | ||
41 | Wuhan University | CHINA | Click here | Click here | ||
44 | Xi’an Jiaotong University | CHINA | Click here | Click here | ||
45 | Radboud University Nijmegen | NETHERLANDS | Click here | Click here | ||
46 | Air Force Medical University | CHINA | Click here | Click here | ||
48 | TU Dresden | GERMANY | Click here | Click here | ||
49 | Yonsei University | SOUTH KOREA | Click here | Click here | ||
50 | Huazhong University of Science and Technology | CHINA | Click here | Click here |
Top universities for Biomedical engineering in USA, CANADA, UK, GERMANY, AUSTRALIA :
Top universities for Biomedical engineering in United States of America
Rank QS | Rank THE | University Name | Bachelor courses | Master courses |
1 | 3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | Click here | Click here |
2 | 2 | Stanford University | Click here | Click here |
3 | 4 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | Click here | Click here |
4 | 1 | Harvard University | Click here | Click here |
5 | Georgia Institute of Technology | Click here | Click here | |
5 | California Institute of Technology | Click here |
Top universities for Biomedical engineering in Canada
Rank QS | Rank THE | University Name | Bachelor courses | Master courses |
1 | 1 | University of Toronto | Click here | Click here |
2 | 2 | University of British Columbia | Click here | Click here |
3 | 4 | University of Waterloo | Click here | Click here |
4 | 3 | McGill University | Click here | Click here |
5 | Université de Montréal | |||
5 | University of Alberta |
Top universities for Biomedical engineering in United Kingdom
Rank QS | Rank THE | University Name | Bachelor courses | Master courses |
1 | 2 | University of Cambridge | Click here | Click here |
2 | 1 | University of Oxford | Click here | Click here |
3 | 3 | Imperial College London | Click here | |
4 | The University of Manchester | Click here | Click here | |
5 | UCL | |||
5 | University of Sheffield | Click here | Click here | |
4 | University of Edinburgh | Click here | Click here |
Top universities for Biomedical engineering in Germany
Rank QS | Rank THE | University Name | Bachelor courses | Master courses |
1 | 1 | Technical University of Munich | ||
2 | 2 | RWTH Aachen University | Click here | |
3 | 3 | Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) | ||
4 | 4 | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) | Click here | Click here |
5 | TU Dresden | |||
5 | University of Erlangen-Nuremberg |
Top universities for Biomedical engineering in Australia
Rank QS | Rank THE | University Name | Bachelor courses | Master courses |
1 | 1 | The University of New South Wales | Click here | Click here |
2 | 4 | The University of Melbourne | ||
3 | 3 | Monash University | Click here | Click here |
4 | 2 | The University of Sydney | Click here | Click here |
5 | The Australian National University | Click here | Click here | |
5 | The University of Queensland | Click here | Click here |
FAQS :
What are the admission requirements for top ranked Biomedical Engineering Universities ?
Admission requirements for Bachelor’s or undergraduate admissions:
Academic Requirements:
- Atleast 2 science subjects along with mathematics in the final year of senior high school.
- Average of 85% and above during the last 2-3 years of senior high school, with atleast 90% in the science and mathematics subjects.
Standardized Tests:
- SAT score of 1400 and above may be desired by US based Universities
- Universities from USA may also require SAT Score of 1400 & above
- Proof of English language proficiency such as IELTS Academic (band of 6.5 and above) or TOEFL (band of 100 and above) or other similar recognized standardized tests. Native English speakers or students from specific high school curriculums such as American, Canadian, British or IB may not be required to provide any proof of English proficiency.
- Some Universities may require students to appear for University specific entrance examinations.
Admission requirements for Master’s or Postgraduate admissions:
Academic Requirements:
- And undergraduate degree in engineering preferably in biomedical, biotechnology, bioengineering, electronics, mechanical, robotics or computer science
- Depending on the nature of specialization of the Master’s degree, Universities may require applicants to have specific subjects or modules covered during their Bachelor’s degree.
- For research based degree programmers, applicants must have necessary research experience in the field of biomedical engineering.
- Atleast 3.0 out of 4.0 GPA or 75% or 8.0 out of 10.0 CGPA or A grade during the Bachelor’s degree is highly recommended
Standardized Tests:
- Atleast a good percentile (75th) GRE score is recommended. Higher the GRE score, better the chances of admission. GRE is now widely accepted not just by US Universities but also by German, Canadian, Netherlands, Ireland, Australian and several other Universities.
- Atleast a good percentile ( 75th) GMAT score is recommended for management and engineering combined programs.
- Proof of English language proficiency such as IELTS Academic (band of 6.5 and above) or TOEFL (band of 100 and above) or other similar recognized standardized tests. Native English speakers or those who have completed their undergraduate education in English language, may not be required to provide any proof of English proficiency.
- Some Universities may require students to appear for University specific admission entrance examinations.
Other generic requirements for Bachelors and Masters Admissions:
- Universities may also require students to submit essays, recommendation letters, extracurricular achievements, proof of work experience (if any), proof of community work, etc. to evaluate the candidate in a more holistic manner
- Most of the top Universities also conduct interviews or ask applicants to provide video responses to questionnaires. Due to the pandemic, now most of the interviews are conducted over video conferencing platforms.
What are the application deadlines for Top Biomedical Engineering Universities ?
- Application deadlines vary from University to University. Most of the top Universities close their applications atleast 9 to 12 months before the start date of the program. Example: If you are aiming to apply for a program that begins in Sep 2022, the application deadline may close by Oct 2021.
- Students must gather all necessary academic and non-academic documents prior to the application deadline.
Other recommended programs that may interest you:
- Biotechnology
- Bioengineering
- Biomaterials Science
- Biochemistry
- Genetics engineering
- Health Sciences ( Medicine or Dentistry)
- Radiology
Bachelors
Masters