BS/MS in Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology

Admission Requirements

Interested and qualified undergraduate students will generally apply for the accelerated program at the beginning of the second semester of their junior year (sixth semester of the BS program). The program is competitive and admission is based on overall academic performance, letters of recommendation, and statement of purpose.

Eligibility and admission criteria

• Currently enrolled in the BS BNG program at UMassD and have not yet received an undergraduate BS BNG degree.
• Completed at least 60 credit hours in the BS BNG major.
• Transfer students: completed a minimum of two semesters as a full-time student at UMassD, a minimum of 30 credit hours.
• Minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.20 and a major GPA of at least 3.20 at the time of application.
• Completed all lower-division BNG course requirements and at least 9 credits of 300-level coursework in the major.

Application Process

Interested students first complete a BNG-BMEBT BS-MS Pre-Application Form and submit to the BMEBT MS Program Committee in the BNG department. Once pre-approved, complete application packages should be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies here: http://www.umassd.edu/graduate/graduateapplication/. Applications must include a completed graduate application form, a brief statement of purpose explaining motivation for graduate study, curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation including at least two from bioengineering faculty, and an approved program of study. No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or TOEFL exam scores are required. Presently, application fees are waived if students meet eligibility requirements.

Applications will be reviewed by the BMEBT MS Program Committee in the BNG department. Acceptance into the BS/MS program is conditional upon admission to the UMass Dartmouth Graduate program.

Students provisionally admitted to the BS/MS program will be assigned a graduate academic advisor. Applicants must consult with their academic advisor during the second semester of the junior year or earlier, and complete a combined BS/MS Program of Study listing all courses to be taken from the senior year through the end of the Master’s program. The program of study (POS) must be approved by the faculty adviser and the BMEBT graduate program director.

Students may also be admitted to the BS/MS program via a nomination process. A faculty member may nominate a student with a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or above. A memorandum of nomination must be submitted that includes a justification for considering the candidate. The candidate must complete the normally required application process.

Degree Requirements

The requirements for BS-BNG degree and PhD-BMEBT degree stay the same for students pursuing the degrees separately. All students must complete a total of 31 credit hours as described in the MS program. Requirements for the MS degree are based on the core curriculum for the intercampus BMEBT program excluding BMB 530 Instrumentation and Laboratory Experience which is covered in undergraduate laboratory courses. Both a thesis and non-thesis/capstone project option are offered. All students will complete a capstone project (3 credits) supplemented by either a technical elective (3 credits) or Master’s thesis (3 credits) depending on their degree option. The BS degree must be awarded before the student can be considered a graduate student.

Students can double count up to nine (9) credit hours (three 500‐level or higher graduate courses) from the list of approved BMEBT graduate courses, including specialization courses in the combined BS/MS program. A grade of ‘B’ or better is required in any graduate course to be double counted toward both degrees.

BS/MS option details are available at https://www.umassd.edu/engineering/bs-ms-programs/bioengineering/.