Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Biomedical Engineering

The curriculum will facilitate individual flexibility and depth of study through coursework selected by the student and thesis advisor.

All PhD programs must incorporate a standard set of Requirements for the Doctoral Degree.

The below table provides an overview of the BME curriculum by category and hours required.

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Integrative Core Series (select one):		3
BMED 7011	Integrative Core: Introduction to Modeling and Experimentation in Biomedical Engineering
BMED 7012	Integrative Core: Experimental Design-Measurements at the Right Spatial and Temporal Scales
BMED 7013	Integrative Core: Problem Solving with Computational Models
Bioscience/Engineering/Data Science Fundamentals		21
Advanced Graduate Seminar		3
Ethics, Teaching, and Professional Development Training Courses		3
ETHICS
JPE 600	Jones Program in Ethics (Emory Course)
JPE 610	Jones Program in Ethics (Emory Course)
BMED 7004	Teaching & Research Practicum I	1
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING
TATTO (Emory) or Georgia Tech TA Orientation
BMED 7001	Biomedical Engineering Seminar (4 semesters)	4
BMED 7004	Teaching & Research Practicum I	1
BMED 7005	Teaching & Research Practicum II	1
Teaching Assistantship
Seminar Attendance

BIOSCIENCE AND ENGINEERING TRAINING

Integrative Core Series (BMED 7011/BMED 7012/BMED 7013)
Integrative core courses introduce students to an open-ended, problem-solving environment central to their success in a PhD program. The courses may be co-taught (i.e., “engineer” and “bioscientist”) and focus on a particular topic area. Students will—in the context of that topic area—address fundamental technical issues, critically read and evaluate literature, pose well- developed research questions that can be addressed by either experimental or modeling approaches (or both), and understand the importance and limitations of these approaches. In the course, one hour will be dedicated to ethical issues in the topic area related to science and engineering in society. As a group, the three integrative core courses offered span research areas of our program and the organizational hierarchy from molecular to organismic. Each student will select the integrative core course that fits her/his interests, and he/she should complete the course in the first year in the program prior to taking the qualifying exam.

Bioscience/Engineering/Data Science Fundamentals (Course numbers vary)
Engineering/bioscience fundamental courses focus on fundamental knowledge in engineering, in bioscience, and at the intersection of the two. These courses may be offered by the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering or by other units at Georgia Tech and Emory. Students must complete 21 semester hours in this category, with a minimum of one bioscience, one data science, and one engineering course. The overall balance of bioscience, data science, and engineering courses is determined by the student and his/her advisor and should factor the student’s prior knowledge and research. Courses must be documented on the Program of Study form and must be approved by the Graduate Program Committee.

Advanced Graduate Seminar (Course numbers vary)
The Advanced Graduate Seminar course is designed to teach students how to develop breadth and depth of knowledge in a specific topic area. All Advanced Seminars achieve the following objectives: 1) Understanding of fundamental principles, approaches, and tools; 2) Identification of leading edge questions; 3) Identification of gaps in knowledge; and 4) Identification of technical challenges faced.

ETHICS TRAINING

Online Training
All students are required to complete online RCR training within the first 90 days of enrollment. This training is offered through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI).

Integrative Core and Advanced Seminar courses include 1.5 hours each of in-person RCR training in appropriate topic areas for a total of three additional hours of RCR training.  

Jones Program of Ethics (JPE 600, 610)
Emory’s Laney Graduate School requires that all BME students complete JPE 600 and 610. JPE 600 is a one-day session at Emory University prior to the start of each fall term. The course provides 6 hours of content covering a broad historical and philosophical overview of ethics, identifies key ethical issues students are likely to face throughout their careers, presents the role of ethics in research and professional practice, and through case studies helps students develop a process for evaluating ethical issues. Students must attend the entire course in their first year to receive credit. JPE 610 is a series of educational sessions.

Students must attend four sessions of JPE 610, and approved sessions may be offered at Georgia Tech or Emory. Confirmation of course completion of both courses is recorded on the student’s Emory transcript and is required for graduation.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING

TATTO (Emory)
All BME students must complete TATTO 600, a virtual non-synchronous course, before enrolling in BMED 7004. 

Program-Specific Courses (BMED 7001, BMED 7004, BMED 7005)
BME students are required to complete four terms of the BMED 7001 seminar course. When enrolled, students attend a minimum of five research seminars and two professional/career development seminars per term. Georgia Tech and Emory University host seminars that fulfill the attendance requirement. A Seminar Participation Form documenting the seminar titles, dates, and host institutions for seminars attended must be completed, signed, and submitted by the student, to the course management site in order for the students to receive a Satisfactory (S) grade in the BMED 7001 course. A student who fails to register for the course will not be able to apply attendance from one term to a future term’s registration. A student who registers but fails to submit the completed and approved Participation Form will receive an Unsatisfactory (U) grade for the course.

All BME students must register for BMED 7004 and BMED 7005 during their first and second terms as TA, respectively. This series of classes provides students with instructional and application- oriented teaching training, as well as provide information relevant to academic life. BME graduate students must complete the ethics training module in BMED 7004 Teaching and Research Practicum I, which includes eight hours of in-person training. Topics include authorship and publication, collaborative research, conflict of interest, data management, peer review, policies regarding the use of human subjects and vertebrate animals in research, research misconduct, and the responsibilities of mentors and mentees. In addition, BMED 7005 Teaching & Research Practicum II course contains topics relevant for academic life and career preparation (i.e., a professional development training module, which provides, training in the areas of mentorship, project management, career exploration, and communications).

Teaching Assistantship
Teaching is considered an integral part of the educational experience and is a requirement of the program. Doctoral students serve as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for two semesters. TA assignments are finalized during the semester prior to the start of the TA position. Students enroll in training courses, BMED 7004 and BMED 7005, concurrently with their TA position, typically the Fall and Spring semesters of the second year in the program.