Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Handbook

Forms

• Change Advisor
• Engineering Doctoral
• Graduate Seminar
• Study Plan

Biomedical Engineering Faculty and Staff

Departmental Assessment Plan

At the end of the Biomedical Engineering PhD program, students will be able to:

Biomedical Engineering Doctoral Admission Process

Applications must be received by the admissions deadline to receive support from the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) PhD program:

• Fall semester admission: PhD application deadline is January 15.
• Spring semester admission: PhD application deadline is July 1. However, most applicants are awarded support for the fall semester, very few applicants are awarded support for the spring semester.

Applications submitted after the deadline will be considered on a rolling basis. For full consideration of support, applications should be submitted by the deadline.

Support letters will be sent to applicants prior to the start of the semester.

Admission Requirements

Applicants that meet the required criteria are not guaranteed acceptance into the program.

• GPA of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale

• To convert your GPA to the 4.0 scale, please use this link: GPA Calculator

• GRE: Recommended scores of 85% (Michigan Tech students are exempt)
  • 165 Quantitative
  • 153 Verbal
  • 3.0 Analytical
• TOEFL: Recommended Score of 110 iBT (International Students)
• IELTS: Recommended Overall Band Score of 8.0 (International Students)

The graduate committee will review applications approximately biweekly and reject any applications that do not meet the basic requirements.

The applications that were not rejected will be sent to department faculty. Faculty will review applications and identify applicants with mutual research interests. Applicants whose statement of purpose poses a mutual research interest will be approved for acceptance into the program (this final approval does not indicate funding will be received). The applicant will be temporarily paired with the faculty member for advising.

Choosing an Advisor

PhD students are assigned a temporary advisor upon their acceptance into the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program. Students must choose an advisor prior to the end of the first semester and submit the Advisor and Committee Recommendation Form to the department and Graduate School.

Choosing a Committee

Complete Advisor and Committee Recommendation Form and submit to the Graduate Program Assistant prior to the end of the 2nd semester (post MS) or prior to the end of the 4th semester (post BS). A doctoral student committee must consist of at least four faculty members listed as graduate faculty by the graduate school. One of the committee members must be outside the Biomedical Engineering Department (hereafter referred to as an external member) and the (primary) students' advisor must have at least 50% of a full-time-equivalent appointment with the Biomedical Engineering Department. If the student has a co-advisor outside the BME department, the co-advisor cannot be listed as an external member to meet the graduate school requirements.

Keys, Desk, Computers, and Research Space Assignments

See office staff at front desk in H-Stem Complex 339 for office assignment, computer and swipe access (or keys). See your advisor for appropriate lab training and workspace.

Mail Service, Photocopier, Supplies, and Printers

Students will receive announcements and information via the departmental graduate student Google group (begrad-l@mtu.edu).

Copy machine, printers, and campus mail boxes are located in H-STEM Complex 332 pantry/copier room.

International Students

Please refer to the International Programs and Services website for helpful information.

University Student Policies

The following links from the Graduate School website explain University Student Policies:

• Academic Standards
• Appeals of Suspension or Dismissal
• Attendance Policy
• Exam Policies
• Good Academic Standing and Dismissal
• Scholastic Standards

Course and Credit Policies

• Adding and Dropping a Course
• Bills, Due Dates, Refunds, and Payment Plans
• Credit Hours and Expectations
• Enrollment Policies and Full-Time Status
• Full-Time Course Listing
• Medical (Voluntary and Involuntary) and University Withdrawal
• Entering Candidacy (also see department guidelines)
• Reusing Credits
• Transfer, MIGS, and Senior Rule Credits

Degree Completion Requirements

• Degree Requirements (also see department guidelines)
• Dissertations, Theses, and Reports (also see department guidelines)
• Holds FAQ
• Graduation, Certification, and Commencement
• Tracking and Status Forms

Financial Policies

• Assistantships
• CGS Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants
• Federal Financial Aid
• Fellowships
• Financial Aid Policies
• Minimum Stipend Rates

Professional Conduct

• Academic Integrity
• Conduct Policies
• Consensual Relationships (link not provided)

Student Support and Health Insurance

• Disability Services and Policies
• Grievances: Dean of Students | Graduate School
• Health Insurance Policy and Information
• Medical Withdrawal: Voluntary | Involuntary
• Parental Accommodation

Biomedical Engineering Requirements and Deadlines

Each PhD student enrolled in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) PhD program is required to adhere to the following requirements and deadlines. Students requiring additional coursework will be notified of any required prerequisites as determined by the student’s advisor and/or BME graduate program director.

Newly accepted student responsibilities upon arrival on campus and prior to 1st day of class

• Obtain Husky Card
• International students report to International Programs and Services (IPS)
• Attend Graduate School Orientation
  • Complete Basic Responsible Conduct of Research Training:
    • Provided during Graduate School Orientation Or
    • Basic RCR Training
• Complete on MyMichiganTech the Patent, Research, and Proprietary Rights Agreement Form
• Submit official proof of previous degrees earned to the Graduate School
• Attend BME Department Graduate Student Orientation Meeting.
• Meet with your temporary assigned advisor to discuss which courses to enroll in.

BME PhD Coursework Requirements

Coursework Requirements:

A total of 60 credit hours (post bachelors) or 30 credit hours (post masters) of coursework, research credits, and at least 1 semester of teaching are required prior to graduation. All PhD students must take a minimum of 12 BME departmental credits.

• 24 credits of coursework (including a minimum of 12 BME credits) are required for students entering the PhD program with an accredited (or equivalent) bachelor’s degree.
• 18 credits of coursework (including a minimum of 12 BME credits) are required for students with a non-MTU BME master’s degree. Course waivers (up to 6 credits) can be granted upon approval of the advising committee and graduate director.
• 24 post-bachelor MTU course credits (including a minimum of 12 BME credits) are required for students with an MTU BME master’s degree.

Student’s coursework must be approved by their advisor, BME graduate program director, and/or BME department chair using the Plan of Study Form. Coursework requirements will vary by individual student based on his or her background.

One 3000 level course (3 credits) can be counted toward graduate coursework requirements with the following criteria:

• outside the department,
• a prerequisite of an advanced graduate course that is essential in the student’s plan of study
• with prior approvals from the advisor and graduate director.

Graduate students who wish to take 4000 level courses (9 maximum) must get special approval from their advisor.

Required Core Courses

The following courses are required core courses, all students must take and pass with a minimum of a “B” grade. Students will be required to re-take the course with grades less than “B”:

• MA5701 Statistical Methods I - offered Fall, Spring, and Summer
• BE5200 Cellular and Molecular Biology II - offered Spring OR KIP 5500 Systems Physiology offered Fall

There is potential for a waiver of the core courses if students from universities other than MTU have taken graduate level courses and received a satisfactory GPA. Waivers will be granted at the discretion of the advisor.

Up to 6 credits of SCV/BC/C grades are allowed as long as they (1) aren’t one of the required core courses and (2) are approved by the advisor and graduate program director.

Requirements for Students with Non-Engineering Degrees

In addition to students with BS or MS engineering degrees, the BME department also accepts qualified students from non-engineering programs. To ensure success of these students in the program, students with non-engineering degrees will need to demonstrate proficiencies in mathematics and engineering knowledge. Deficiencies in engineering topics will be determined by their advisor and BME graduate program director. The requirement to fulfill these deficiencies can be accomplished with the following options:

• Courses: Students need to take specific courses to fulfill the engineering requirement. The exact courses will depend on the student’s deficiencies. The number of credits and courses will be determined by the student’s advisor (and advisory committee, if applicable), and approved by the BME graduate program director. These extra credits cannot be counted towards the credit requirement for the degree.
• Independent Projects: If a student does not have the proper engineering background in a certain area, he/she can enroll in an independent study/project advised by a faculty with the appropriate expertise and approved by the BME graduate program director. The independent project can be counted towards the credit requirement for the degree. See BE6900 Biomedical Engineering Doctoral Topics

Research Proposal Exam and Qualifying Exam

The student needs to pass the research proposal exam and the qualifying exam to become a PhD candidate and enter candidacy. All coursework requirements must be completed, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25. A minimum of 12 credits must be from the BME department.

• The exam must be scheduled before the beginning of the 3rd year (5th semester) of the PhD program.
• The exam should be scheduled 3 weeks prior to the exam date.
• Students must contact the Graduate Program Assistant for instructions for the defense process.
• Provide the date, time, building/room number and proposal title to the departmental coordinator. H-STEM Complex 339 staff can reserve a room.
• The advisory committee needs to select a chairperson to oversee the exam. The chairperson must be a primary BME faculty member. The advisor shall only serve as an observer during the exam process.
• If a student fails a portion of the exam, he or she must retake the failed portion of the exam within a year. A student that fails either portion of the exam 2 times will be dismissed from the program.

Research Proposal Exam and Qualifying Exam

This is a public presentation of the student’s research proposal to the advisory committee covering the background, hypotheses, aims, goals, preliminary data, and experimental methods of the proposed research for their defense dissertation (this constitutes the research proposal exam). After the presentation the student’s advisory committee meets with the student alone to ask the student questions (this constitutes the qualifying exam section). Both exams will also serve to test the student’s basic knowledge of the research topic. The research proposal exam and qualifying exam are typically performed on the same day, one immediately following the other.

• The student must provide each committee member the abstract and scope of the research proposal no later than 3 weeks prior to their exam. The written research proposal must follow the full research proposal guidelines of a federal funding agency (NIH, NSF, DoD, etc.). The final proposal must be submitted to each committee member 2 weeks before the exams.
• The proposal presentation is open to the public. The student will give a presentation (45-minute maximum) to the audience covering the background, hypotheses, aims, goals, preliminary data, and experimental methods of the proposed research. The general audience and committee members will question the student on the proposal.
• Based on the feedback from the entire audience, the committee will evaluate the student’s ability to present and defend a reasonable and technically sound research plan using the Biomedical Engineering PhD Evaluation Rubric and record the results on the Biomedical Engineering Evaluation of PhD Graduate Student Outcomes – Research Proposal and Biomedical Engineering Evaluation of PhD Graduate Student Outcomes – Qualifying Exam.
• Approval of the research proposal exam and qualifying exam may come upon successful completion of the proposal presentation and question session or may require additional meetings with the committee and the approval of another separate oral qualifying exam covering basic research topics discussed with the advisory committee. Approval must be made within a year of the proposal presentation or the student will be dismissed from the program.

Petition to Enter Candidacy

A student is eligible for Candidacy after successfully completing all required coursework and passing the qualifying exam and research proposal exam. The Candidacy Petition, with the Degree Schedule if not previously submitted, must be submitted to the Graduate School 1 week prior to the 1st day of the next semester or 1 week prior to the end of the previous semester, whichever is earlier.

Graduate Teaching Assistant Requirement

GTA GUIDELINES:

• GTA positions are usually only offered to students who have at least 12 MTU credits. All PhD students are required to be a GTA for at least 1 semester.
• All international doctoral students are required to take GLAS assessment (Graduate Language Assessment and Support) in the first semester. If a student should fail to meet the GLAS-3 designation, the student must work with his/her advisor to establish a plan of improvement to ensure the student would pass at least GLAS-3 before or in his/her 3rd year or before their TA appointment. The improvement plan should be submitted to the graduate committee and followed up as a part of his/her semester-based performance assessment. GLAS assessment is scheduled through the testing center.
• Required Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Graduate Teaching Assistant Training must be completed at least 2 weeks prior to the start of a GTA appointment. The Graduate Teaching Assistant Training is 7 weeks (20hrs) of content badge course along with assessments at the end of each module and a final project. The training begins in early August. Department staff will arrange this for you.
• TA positions will be assigned 6 weeks prior to the semester.
• 1 week prior 1st day of class:
  • Instructor will provide and review the GTA teaching requirements.
• At the end of TA assignment:
  • Instructor will provide the TA with results using an evaluation rubric.
• GTA must pass teaching assignment with an overall assessment of “satisfactory”.
• If GTA teaching performance is not satisfactory the graduate student’s committee will meet and recommend a remedy for the poor performance. Possibilities include, but are not limited to:
  • Taking another MTU course and receiving a determined grade
  • TA another course
  • Loss of future funding

Graduate Language Assessment and Support (GLAS) Language Assessment Bandwidth Rubric

For more information on how to apply GLAS Language Assessment scores to Graduate Assistant roles, see the “GLAS Placement Guidelines” document.

For more information on the GLAS program, visit GLAS program or contact Sarah Isaacson, GLAS Program Director (sisaacso@mtu.edu).

Graduate Language Assessment and Support (GLAS) Placement Guidelines

For more information on the interpretation of GLAS Language Assessment scores, see the “GLAS Language Assessment Bandwidth Rubric” document.

For more information on the GLAS program, visit GLAS program or contact Sarah Isaacson, GLAS Program Director (sisaacso@mtu.edu).

Dissertation and Dissertation Defense

A dissertation is the culmination of a research project. Students must prepare their document using the guide found on the Graduate School website.

Students must contact the Graduate Program Assistant for instructions for the defense process.

The final oral dissertation defense may be scheduled in the Current Students tab on MyMichiganTech. See the Graduate School website for more information. This form requires a date, time and building/room number for the defense. Students must provide this information along with the title of the defense to the department coordinator before or at the same time the defense is scheduled. Staff in H-STEM Complex 339 can reserve a room for the defense.

All defenses must be scheduled two weeks in advance of the desired date. Students must submit the complete defense draft of their dissertation to the Graduate School and also to their advisor and committee two weeks before their defense. The deadline to submit a committee approved post-defense dissertation, thesis or report is 4:00 p.m. on the Monday of week 14.

There is a grace period from Tuesday of week 14 to Wednesday 4:00 p.m. of the week before classes begin for the next semester. Students who submit their dissertation, thesis, or report will qualify to enroll in UN5951 in the upcoming semester. These students will pay the resubmission fee (25% of one-credit of tuition) when their documents are accepted.

The dissertation defense is open to the public. The student will give a presentation to the audience. The general audience will first question the student on the proposal. Upon dismissal of the general audience, the dissertation committee members will continue to question the student. The committee will evaluate the student’s ability to present and defend the dissertation based on the Biomedical Engineering PhD Evaluation Rubric and record the results on the Biomedical Engineering Evaluation of PhD Graduate Student Outcomes – Dissertation and Defense. If the student does not pass the defense, he/she can retake the defense a second time. Failure in the second defense will result in the student’s dismissal from the PhD program.

Upon completion of the oral dissertation defense, students should make any technical corrections requested by their advisor and committee and also any formatting corrections from the Graduate School. Print the Approval of Dissertation, Thesis or Report Form from the Graduate School website and obtain signatures from advisor and all committee members. The completed form must be submitted to the Graduate School. Within one week and prior to the deadline, submit the final dissertation to the Graduate School Within one week and prior to the deadline, submit the final dissertation to the Graduate School, submission instructions can be found on their website. The deadline to submit a final dissertation is Monday of week 14 of the semester.

Biomedical Engineering Academic Timeline

Beginning of 1st semester:

• Complete EverFi training
• Complete Advisor and Committee Recommendation Form and submit to the Department Coordinator. This process is to confirm who the advisor will be. Students may choose to change their assigned advisor at this time.

2nd semester:

• Complete Advisor and Committee Recommendation Form and submit to the Department Coordinator prior to the end of the semester. (Post Master’s students only) This process is to choose an advisory committee. The committee will consist of the student’s advisor, and at least 3 additional full-time faculty members. Two members must have a primary appointment in the BME department. There must be at least one member who does not have a primary appointment in the BME department.
• Proposed coursework: Biomedical Engineering Plan of Study Form. The proposed coursework will include the classes taken during the first semester. This must be signed by the advisor. This form is for department files only.

2nd – 3rd semester:

• Complete Advanced Responsible Conduct of Research Training
  • Students are recommended to take these courses fall or spring semester

3rd - 6th semester: (completion of coursework)

• One semester of GTA
• Proposal Defense
  • Provide date, time, building/room number and proposal title to departmental coordinator.
• Submit Qualifying Exam and Research Proposal Exam to the department. Staff enters into BANNER.
• Submit Evaluation Rubrics to the department. (These will be provided to you at the appropriate time)
• Submit Petition to Enter Candidacy to the Graduate School
• Submit Degree Schedule to the Department Coordinator
• All PhD students will be required sometime during their study (prior to their defense) to present a seminar to BME faculty and other BME graduate students. Two students will be selected per semester. Discussions with selected students will occur early in the semester to allow presenting students time to prepare their seminar.

4th semester:

• Complete Advisor and Committee Recommendation Form and submit to the Department Coordinator prior to the end of the semester. (Post Bachelors students only.) This process is to choose an advisory committee. The committee will consist of the student’s advisor, and at least 3 additional full-time faculty members. Two members must have a primary appointment in the BME department. There must be at least one member who does not have a primary appointment in the BME department.

Every semester:

• Must attend a minimum of 6 BME graduate seminars each semester. Attendance of other department seminars is required if there are not enough BME seminars offered.
• Must attend 1 WRITE-D workshop per month. Students will receive information from department facilitator.

At the end of every semester:

• Submit Graduate Student Evaluation and IDP to advisor at the end of each semester/prior to the beginning of the next semester. (This form will be sent to student by office staff).
• Arrange meeting with advisor to review the Evaluation and IDP
• The purpose of the Evaluation and IDP is to keep the advisor abreast of progress and garner their feedback. The advisor may determine if more frequent meetings are required. This also provides graduate students with a review of their performance and expectations for the coming semester. Negative reviews will reflect in the graduate student’s grade.

Semester of planned degree completion:

Students need to monitor their MyMichiganTech account for required Graduate School forms and deadlines

6th - 10th Semester:

• Submit Degree Completion Form to the Graduate School

Defense of research proposal presentation (dissertation defense):

2 weeks prior to defense:

• Provide date, time, building/room number and defense title to departmental coordinator. H-STEM Complex 339 staff can reserve a room for the defense.
• Schedule the defense in the Current Students tab on MyMichiganTech and submit the Defense Draft to the Graduate School and your advisory committee. Committee members may request to have the defense draft turned in sooner.

On the day of the defense:

• Bring a copy of the Report on Final Oral Examination Form and Evaluation Rubrics (provided by office staff) to the defense
• The dissertation defense is open to the public. The student will give a presentation to the audience. The general audience will first question the student on the proposal. Upon dismissal of the general audience, the committee members will continue to question the student. The committee will evaluate the student’s ability to present and defend the dissertation. If the student does not pass the defense, he/she can retake the defense a second time. Failure in the second defense will result in the student’s dismissal from the PhD program.

Please refer to the Graduate School guidelines for remaining procedures at:

• Theses dissertation policies and procedures or MyMichiganTech

Staff at the front desk will send you a departmental Exit Interview to complete before you leave the university.

Grad School/BME Doctoral Timeline

Instructions for changing your advisor

This process is for when you wish to change your advisor after the Advisor and Committee Recommendation Form was already submitted to the Graduate School.

Before initiating the process to change your graduate advisor, please consider all the options listed on the Graduate School’s website for how to address difficulties in the student-advisor relationship:

Once you have decided to change your graduate advisor, you must follow the steps listed below.

1. Meet with your graduate program director to initiate the process to change advisor. If meeting with the graduate program director is not feasible or appropriate, meet with the Chair or School Dean of the department or school. If you are in a non-departmental program, you may meet with the Chair or School Dean of your administrative home department or school.

2. Discuss the following with the graduate program director (or Chair/School Dean) and, if appropriate, the current advisor:

• Whether additional resources within or outside the department (such as the Ombuds office) could help resolve the situation.
• The impact of the change of advisor on your time to complete the degree. Coursework, qualifying exam(s), and the research proposal examination are all factors that could be impacted with a change in advisor.
• Your current and future funding.
• Research already conducted. Whether this will be incorporated into the dissertation, thesis, or report, and if so, how.
• Impact on immigration status (if any). Consult International Programs and Services (IPS), if necessary.
• Complete the BME Change of Advisor form and record the agreement from the discussions in writing, including indications of agreement from all affected faculty advisors, and provide copies to the student, the graduate program director, and all affected faculty advisors. File an updated Advisor and Committee Recommendation Form for approval by the Graduate School.

3. If the student and the graduate program director are unable to reach agreement on the advisor change, contact the assistant dean of the Graduate School to determine additional steps to resolve the situation.

Graduate Seminar Series

Attendance of all Biomedical Engineering Graduate Seminars is required.

PhD students are required to present a seminar to BME faculty and BME graduate students.

Faculty attending the PhD student’s seminar will use the Biomedical Engineering PhD Evaluation Rubric and record the results on the Biomedical Engineering Evaluation of PhD Graduate Student Outcomes – Seminar.

The department staff will email notifications about the date, time, and location for seminars that will occur (a seminar will not be held every week so please watch your email closely).

Seminars and defenses held during the summer are not to be counted toward the spring or fall seminar requirements.

Requirements:

• All graduate students MUST attend all Biomedical Engineering seminars.
  • There will be a sign-in sheet at the seminar to ensure attendance.
• Graduate students must attend 6 seminars per semester (emails are sent from the department staff announcing other departmental seminars as well). If the BME department does not hold 6 seminars per semester, students must attend seminars from other departments.
  • BME PhD proposal defense, dissertation defense and MS Thesis/Report defense are considered to be part of the seminar series.
• Graduate students must write up a brief summary of each seminar attended. They must have their advisor approve and sign the summary and then turn it in to staff at the front desk.
• Failure to attend the appropriate number of seminars will result negatively on student’s evaluations that occur each semester and will negatively impact their research grade.

Events that are not acceptable for seminar assessments:

• Seminars that are not a scientific or technical research topic
• Webinars
• Graduate School workshops or training sessions
• PhD proposal defense, dissertation defense and MS Thesis/Report defense outside of the BME department
• Conferences
• Tech Talk Series

Classes

Required 

These courses are offered spring semester by the department. If your faculty advisor has recommended you take courses that are 4000 level, you must see the staff in H-STEM Complex 339 for a waiver to take these courses.