Graduate School in Biomedical Engineering at Ohio State

What Do Biomedical Engineers Do? Biomedical engineering (BME) combines engineering principles and methodology with physical, chemical, and mathematical sciences to solve problems in biology, medicine, behavior, and human health. Biomedical engineers are employed by pharmaceutical industries, government agencies, biomedical product companies, universities, medical center labs, and emerging high-tech industries. Due to their multidisciplinary backgrounds, biomedical engineers have diverse research and career interests, often acting as liaisons between technological and clinical communities. 

Where Do Graduate Biomedical Engineers Work? Our alumni are employed by biomedical product companies, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, medical center labs, academic departments, and emerging high-tech industries. Our alumni have gone on to pursue medical degrees or complete residencies in medicine at University of Pittsburgh or Harvard Medical School; conduct post-doctoral research at Johns Hopkins; hold faculty positions at the University of Puerto Rico; lead product development for companies like General Electric and Siemens; and supervise students at research institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Graduates of our programs hold titles ranging from orthopaedic or vascular surgeon to president and senior research scientist; chief information officer to anesthesiologist; or director of undergraduate programs to director of global technology. 

Graduate Degrees Offered: The Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program Handbook describes our research-based Master of Science (MS) and Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) degrees with over 90 faculty mentors to choose from within Colleges such as Dentistry, Engineering, Pharmacy, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine. Students also may pursue a course based non-thesis MS that offers breadth in the field, and a selective MD/PhD (MSTP) degree administered jointly through the College of Medicine and the Graduate School. Last, the combined BS/MS program as well as a more specialized Medical Product Design (MPD) MS degree program provides options for high-achieving Ohio State undergraduates.   

Community of Researchers & Resources: The Department of Biomedical Engineering is home to students from around the world. Our small but diverse community of about 100 graduate students and nearly as many affiliated faculty is a source of comfort within a large and bustling campus which is home to many state-of-the-art, collaborative facilities including the $150 million Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex and Mars G. Fontana Laboratories which opened in 2020, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center to name a few. The vast majority of students apply for the Autumn semester. In Autumn, more funding opportunities are available; large orientation and student activity fairs and welcome week events are held; and students can enroll together in introductory BME courses as a cohort. A strong sense of belonging starts the very first day; therefore, applicants are encouraged to apply for Autumn semester when possible.   

See deadlines below and Learn more about applying

 

Application Deadlines

Deadlines for Autumn Semester 2024 

Recommended for PhD* application & the majority of competitive PhD funding opportunities
DEC 1, 2023 - Deadline for DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL applicants
 

We are flexible whenever possible. PhD applications can be made after this date, but the majority of competitive PhD funding opportunities may be missed. We do the bulk of our reviewing between December and February and we hold files open in case unexpected funding comes available.  

Recommended for MS** applications (self-funded; MS applicants pay their own tuition and fees once admitted)
DEC 1, 2023 thru MAY 1, 2024 - Deadline for DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL applicants

 

Unless an applicant is being recruited specifically to start in Spring, we recommend applying for Autumn semester start, when more faculty are recruiting and more funding competitions are active. Spring start is an option reserved for special cases such as graduation delays, internal transfers, or unique OSU programs such as the MPD-MS or the BS/MS. For traditional MS and PhD students, Spring start is less common and less ideal in terms of being able to start with classmates in introductory courses offered in Autumn only, but there are cases that warrant it.     

Deadlines for Spring Semester 2024

Recommended for MS** or PhD* admission
OCT 1 - Deadline for DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL applicants 

We are flexible whenever possible. Applications made after this date may not leave time for international reviews, relocation, housing, etc.  

*Please note that PhD admission depends on finding a faculty member who is recruiting a student to their research lab and is able to provide funding. We do not admit applications to the PhD program unless we can provide GRA or Fellowship funding; therefore, contacting faculty directly to learn about their research and their ability to fund a new student is strongly encouraged.   

**MS programs are self-funded. We admit MS students expecting that they will provide their own graduate funding.