Should your department offer a course on how to be a scientist and a successful graduate student? We offer this course at George Mason University as a mandatory part of the graduate curriculum, but this is not common practice for graduate biomedical engineering programs. Graduate education in biomedical engineering is evolving rapidly, with an…

Authored by six current and former Biomedical Engineering (BME) Master's Program Directors, this article aims to summarize the types of BME master's programs that are offered in the U.S., delve into the value of BME master's programs, and reveal concerns of BME master's students and directors that are exacerbated among international and…

Hands-on laboratory courses seldom appear in biomedical engineering (BME) graduate programs, thus limiting graduate students' ability to acquire wet laboratory skills like cell culturing. At large, BME graduate programs rely on ad hoc training provided by senior graduate students; however, this method cannot be extended to new or non-BME…

In design-oriented biomedical engineering courses, some instructors teach need-driven methods for health technology innovation that use a "need statement" to reflect a student team's hypothesis about the most fruitful direction for their project. While need statements are of the utmost importance to the projects, we were not aware of any…

We have implemented a jigsaw framework in our biomedical engineering capstone design course by overlaying strategic consideration groups across our design teams. Collaboration in design courses is usually focused within a design team with some peer feedback, but opportunities to work across teams are often limited. The purpose of this teaching tip…

Biomedical engineering is a broad and interdisciplinary field that prepares graduates for a variety of careers across multiple career sectors. Given this breadth, undergraduate degree programs often have formal or informal opportunities for students to further specialize within the biomedical engineering major to develop skills in subdisciplines…

Biomedical engineering (BME) is a multidisciplinary, constantly advancing field; as such, undergraduate programs in BME must continually adapt. Elective courses provide opportunities for students to select topic areas relevant to their interests or future careers. Specifically, laboratory courses allow experiential learning in specialized topics…

There is a need for novel teaching approaches to train biomedical engineers that are conversant across disciplines and have the technical skills to address interdisciplinary scientific and technological challenges. Here, we describe a graduate-level miniaturized biomedical device engineering course that has been taught over the last decade in…

To broaden efforts for improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in biomedical engineering (BME) education--a key area of emphasis is the integration of inclusive teaching practices. While BME faculty generally support these efforts, translating support into action remains challenging. This project aimed to address this need through a…

As students gain more experience with design concepts, they should progress from novice to expert design thinkers. The purpose of this research was to identify the constructs of growth in design thinking (DT) over short- (one weekend) and long-term (10 weeks) design challenges. A DT mindset questionnaire was completed by students in a third-year…

Whether doctoral students are funded primarily by fellowships, research assistantships, or teaching assistantships impacts their degree completion, time to degree, learning outcomes, and short- and long-term career outcomes. Variations in funding patterns have been studied at the broad field level but not comparing engineering sub-disciplines. We…

Biomedical engineering (BME) spans a wide range of research fields and professional activities. Most BME departments use a seminar series to introduce graduate students to exciting research conducted outside their own university, learn about professional opportunities, and enhance their understanding of related topics (e.g., ethics in BME,…

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the already increasing challenge of establishing immersive, co-curricular activities for engineering students, particularly for biomedical-related activities. In the current work, we outline a strategy for co-curricular learning that leverages a private-public partnership in which methods for capacity-building…

Biomedical engineering capstone design courses provide a salient opportunity to discuss ethical considerations in engineering. As technology and society develop and change, new challenges constantly arise related to how society and technology inform each other. In this space, ethical training for engineering students is critically important for…

Biomedical engineering is critical in improving people's lives through innovative solutions to biological and medical challenges. In the face of today's rapidly evolving climate, the field of biomedical engineering encounters numerous pressures that demand up-to-date skills and competencies. The (re-)development of curricula aligning with industry…