Ph.D. Program - Course Requirements

Course Requirements

All doctoral students are required to take the following:

• 2 courses in Biomedical Science. Many students take one course in cell biology and one course in systems physiology to broaden the student’s biological background and emphasize the quantitative aspects of living systems. Courses should be chosen in consultation with the advisor.
• 3 course units in Bioengineering Fundamentals Bioengineering and Engineering courses devoted to analytical methods, modeling as well as experimental methods and data analysis. These courses should be chosen in consultation with the advisor, focusing on the concentration.
• 2 Research Discipline Specific Courses These courses should be chosen in consultation with the advisor.
• 2 course units in Mathematics. Suggested courses include:  ENM 510, 511, ENM 502, BE 510, BE 581
• Bioengineering  Research Rotation. A minimum of 1 is required. (BE 799)
• Bioengineering Seminar. A minimum of 2 semesters is required (BE 699) (.5 cu each), usually in the first year.
• Thesis Research, Balance of University Requirements  BE 999
• TOTAL * 9 courses, 1 rotation, and 2 seminars 

A list of Bioengineering and related courses of interest can be found here: :http://www.seas.upenn.edu/be/courses_pages/courses.html

General Plan of Study

The following table indicates a general sample plan of study. Students should discuss specific course selection with their advisor. Suggested course plans for training in specific areas of concentration such as neuroengineering, cell and tissue engineering, injury biomechanics, biofluid mechanics, orthopaedic biomechanics and biomaterials, and imaging are detailed on-line at: http://www.seas.upenn.edu/be/phd/areas.html

Ph.D. Timeline

The normal timeline for a Ph.D. student is outlined below:

• Most students will complete the required lab rotations and choose an advisor by Spring of their first year.
• Students will complete the Qualifications Evaluation over the summer of their first year and no later than November of the fall semester of the second year.
• Students will form a thesis committee together with their advisor during their second year of study.
• Students will complete the PhD Candidacy Exam, consisting of a thesis proposal during the fall of the third year of the program.
• Upon Advancement to Candidacy, each student has a Dissertation Committee. The committee should meet every six months and the student must prepare an Annual Dissertation Progress Report to be approved by the supervisor and submitted to the Graduate Group Chair to be documented for the student’s academic record.
• Most students will complete the program in 5 or 6 years

Course Planning Guide

It is recommended that each student bring a completed copy of the course planning guide to the Qualifications Evaluation, PhD Candidacy Exam and the Thesis Defense.  The Course Planning Guide is very helpful in determining whether or not you have met the requirements of the program. 

Course Selection Approval
No courses shall be taken without the prior approval of the student's advisor or the Graduate Group Chair. No advisor hold on registration will be removed without a completed and signed “Permit to Register Form”.

Independent Study – BE 899

Independent study allows the student to create a customized curriculum to study material beyond or outside the scope of our standard BE offerings. The student should identify the independent study topic, faculty mentor and scope of the independent study. Prior to the beginning of the semester in which the student contemplates taking the independent study, the student and his/her independent study faculty mentor should develop a brief document. The first paragraph of the document should describe the objectives, scope, and content of the independent study. The second paragraph should state how the independent study will be evaluated and how the student will be graded. The document should be signed by both the student and his/her independent study faculty mentor, and it should be submitted to the graduate group chair for approval before the beginning of the semester.

Independent studies are less structured than regular courses but are no less rigorous.   They must adhere to the following guidelines:

• An independent study course should require an effort comparable to that of a regular course, about 9 hours a week or a total of 126 hours per semester.
• The student should meet the faculty member administering the independent study (the advisor) on a regular basis, at least once a week. It is the student's responsibility to schedule these weekly meetings. Past experience indicates that failure to maintain regular contact with the student's advisor often has led to a less than satisfactory performance in the independent-study course. In the absence of regular contact, the student stands the risk of not being focused leading to an impression of dereliction. The key to a successful independent study is a steady effort throughout the semester. The student should not expect to be able to cram a semester's work into a few days of intensive work at the end of the semester.
• At the conclusion of the independent study, the student should prepare a brief report specifying what material was covered during the independent study, those objectives that were met and those that were not. In the event that objectives were not met, a clear explanation should be provided as to why such objectives were not met. This document should also be signed by the student and his/her independent study faculty mentor, and it will form a part of the student's file.
• It is the student's responsibility to make sure that these guidelines are followed. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in the student not receiving credit for the independent study.

Policy on Transfer Credits Earned in Other Institutions

A maximum of eight graduate-level course units taken at another university may be accepted provided that the grade received in each course was at least a B and did not count toward an undergraduate degree.  All transfer credits are subject to approval by the Graduate Group Chair and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The student who wishes such credit transfer must complete and submit a “Transfer of Credit Petition” found on-line at: www.seas.upenn.edu/forms. Attach a copy of the complete transcript to the transfer of credit petition.  Submit the petition and information to the Graduate Group Chair.  In order to obtain credit for courses taken at other institutions the following procedure must be followed:

• For each transfer course, obtain the course description and the title of the textbook prescribed for the course.
• Identify a professor who teaches a similar course at Penn. If a similar course is not offered at Penn, identify a professor whose areas of expertise are in the general area of the course to be transferred. The professor should certify that the course is of similar level to a graduate course offered at Penn or, if a similar course is not offered at Penn, that the course qualifies for Penn students to take if it were offered here.

*Please note that a student may not receive credit for a course taken at the undergraduate level if that course counted toward an undergraduate degree.

Department of Bioengineering
School of Engineering and Applied Science
University of Pennsylvania
210 S. 33rd Street
Room 240 Skirkanich Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone No.: (215) 898-8501
Fax No.: (215) 573-2071
beoffice@seas.upenn.edu

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