About - Undergraduate Program

Undergrads.About the Program

Undergraduate Program

The Duke undergraduate major in biomedical engineering was the first accredited department (September 1972) by the Engineering Council for Profession Development (now the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012 - telephone: (410) 347-7700) and is consistently ranked as one of the top programs in the nation.

The Biomedical Engineering Department at Duke University provides a superior interdisciplinary research and education environment that profoundly impacts industry and medicine. Our mission is to prepare graduates to be leaders in the integration of engineering and biology for detection and treatment of human disease. A unique aspect of the program is the integration of research and education.

The objective of the Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Program at Duke University is to prepare students for a) professional employment in areas such as medical device industry, engineering consulting, biomechanics, and biotechnology, b) graduate work in biomedical engineering, or c) entrance into medical school. The program is flexible to match the student's interests. Students with special interests can choose a dual major option or take an elective course sequence that provides specific knowledge in biomedical imaging and instrumentation, biomechanics, electrobiology, or biomolecular and tissue engineering.

Academics

The program offers a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a major in Biomedical Engineering. Students can declare majors or change them at any time before the pre-registration period in the spring term of the sophomore year. To do them, students need to complete specific forms available in the Dean's Office. For students with talent and desire, it is possible to double major in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or any number of majors in Trinity College by taking specific courses in these areas.

Program Educational Objectives

The Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Program at Duke University prepares students to be leaders in biomedical engineering or related areas in academia, industry, and medicine. We provide a flexible curriculum that exposes students to the latest developments in the field, permits depth in an area of engineering, and nurtures critical thinking for solving problems at the interface between engineering and biomedical science. We promote an interdisciplinary learning environment to train our students to function effectively in positions that require intellectual growth, free and open inquiry, and critical thinking. We expect that our graduates will engage in life long learning and receive advanced degrees or training for professional advancement. Our graduates will be able to address complex biomedical engineering problems in academia and industry that require integration of mathematics, engineering, science, and design, and to evaluate social and ethical implications of their works.

Program Outcomes

The outcomes from the BME program at Duke University that we expect upon completion of the program are characterized by the following capabilities of our students:

Apply mathematics, science, and engineering to solve problems at the interface between engineering and biology.
Acquire, analyze, and interpret data from living systems.
Work in multidisciplinary teams to design and evaluate components, systems or processes in the characterization of biomedical phenomena.
Address ethical, professional, and societal problems associated with the interactions between biological and non-biological systems.
Engage in advanced study, life-long learning, and be aware of current issues in biomedical engineering.
Communicate effectively.

After Duke

The biomedical engineering curriculum leads to a good fundamental engineering degree and excellent training in quantitative thinking. Our students pursue many diverse careers. After graduation, about one-third of our students enter graduate schools in various engineering or basic science disciplines and one-third are accepted by medical or dental schools. (The rate of acceptance is significantly higher than the national average of all different undergraduate programs.) The rest go to law schools, business schools, industries, or consulting firms.

Undergrads in the News

June 19, 2008

Smart Home Gets Top Environmental Building Score

Residence hall/laboratory receives state's first platinum LEED rating DURHAM, NC -- The Home Depot Smart Home at Duke University, a 10-person student residence hall for green living and learning, has achieved a top-level platinum standard for its design from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system. The building becomes the first in North Carolina to achieve that standard. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The 6,000-square foot-residence, designed by students and advisers, earned 59 ...

May 19, 2008

Lee Pearson Commencement Speech 2008

Welcome mothers and happy Mother's Day, thank you for all that you do. Welcome fathers thanks for your part in making Mother's Day possible. Welcome Pratt Class of 2008. It has been a long road and we have reached the end of this journey in what seems like much less time than anticipated. Although our parents were certainly focused on getting to the destination on time and on budget, we were more focused on what interesting ...

May 8, 2008

Gift to Drive Better Understanding of Uncertainty Analysis

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering has received a gift of $5 million from an anonymous donor to establish a new undergraduate curriculum that will encourage students to think critically about problems that lack obvious solutions, like those they will encounter after graduation, President Richard H. Brodhead announced Wednesday. The planned curriculum will be open to undergraduates from all majors. “Duke’s strategic plan, ‘Making a Difference,’ calls for investments in programs that help students ...

April 2, 2008

Three Duke Students Awarded Goldwater Scholarships

DURHAM, N.C. -- Three Duke University students have been selected for Goldwater Scholarships in science, mathematics and engineering for the 2008-09 academic year.They were among 321 sophomores and juniors chosen on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,035 mathematics, science and engineering students nationwide. Three of Duke’s four nominees were selected. The award provides up to $7,500 toward annual tuition and expenses. Duke’s Goldwater Scholars are Mark Hallen, Nicholas Patrick and engineering student Daniel ...

March 25, 2008

Living on $2 a Day

When the severe drought in North Carolina precluded his scheduled monsoon rainwater project, Bob Malkin was forced to devise an alternative experience for his Design for the Developing World course. In an attempt to simulate on the personal level the experience of poverty, he asked his students to live on $2 a day, just as billions of people around the world do. While the costs of lodging, heat and other utilities were not included in the ...

January 22, 2008

Pratt Fellow Amoozegar Aims for Better Detection of Early Cancer

Cyrus Amoozegar, a Pratt Undergraduate Research Fellow in the laboratory of Biomedical Engineering Professor Adam Wax, is working to improve a new, light-based method of early cancer detection. The technology, known as “angle-resolved low coherence interferometry” (a/LCI), can distinguish between cancer and non-cancer by measuring features within the cells that cover the outer surfaces of organs, where most cancers get their start. "It's superior because it is completely non-invasive," Amoozegar said. "Now, doctors have to take ...

January 22, 2008

Pratt Fellow Yamanaka Aims for Gene Therapy in a Pill and Career in Global Health

Yvonne Yamanaka, a biomedical engineering major and Pratt Undergraduate Research Fellow, is developing a method for incorporating the genes encoding insulin into cells of the intestine, a promising new method for the treatment of diabetes. Unlike earlier approaches to gene therapy, which rely on viruses to insert new genes into cells, her research in the laboratory of Biomedical Engineering Professor Kam Leong aims to make gene therapies as easy as popping a pill. Such oral ...