Information for undergraduate students
Biomedical Engineering is a new undergraduate degree, being introduced within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Glasgow. It is the first undergraduate biomedical engineering degree to be offered by a university in Scotland and its development is based on the University’s extensive expertise in biomedical engineering developed over many years.
This degree is interdisciplinary and lectures and laboratories will be provided by staff from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Electronics & Electrical Engineering, the Faculty of Biomedical & Life Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine. All groups have extremely high rankings in the UK Teaching League Tables and their staff are committed to delivering undergraduate scholarship and training, at the highest level.
Biomedical Engineering involves the application of engineering principles to the biomedical field and includes:
- biomechanics
- biomaterials
- bio-fluid mechanics
- medical electronics
- medical imaging and diagnostics
- biological control systems
- tissue engineering
- regenerative medicine
- and rehabilitation engineering
The field has broad applications within biotechnology, medicine and dentistry.
Course structure
This Biomedical Engineering degree will allow you to develop a fundamental understanding of engineering principles by studying engineering sciences and mathematics and applying these principles throughout Biomedical Engineering. The programme provides the strong academic engineering education required to equip graduates with the broad range of skills that a biomedical engineer needs in order to meet the challenges of a diverse range of careers, both at home and abroad.
Design of state-of-the-art and high-tech industrial components will provide a focus for the integration of all the engineering disciplines throughout this degree programme. Team projects, individual assessments, computing, presentation skills, design work and team building courses are all fundamental components that underpin the degree programme, and add to the transferable nature of the skills to be learnt.
The degree ends with a significant research project in the final year, which for the MEng students can be done in a biomedical laboratory, here in Glasgow, or within a company or university elsewhere in the UK or worldwide. As this programme is an Engineering degree any chemistry, biology or biomedical knowledge required will be taught within the framework of the course.
What can I expect in first year?
The engineering and biomedical subjects in first year are:
- Applied mathematics
- Applied mechanics
- Cells and tissues in health and disease
- Electronic engineering Engineering skills
- Fluid dynamics
- Introduction to biomedical engineering
- Physical principles of biological processes
In first year, cohort activities take place including an outward-bound course lasting several days at a local activity centre, to help develop team and communication skills.
What can I expect in second year?
In the second year you will study further engineering and biomedical subjects including:
- Applied mathematics
- Applied mechanics
- Biomaterials
- Computing for biomedical engineering
- Electronic engineering
- Materials
- Human form and function
- Human physiology
- Neuroscience
What can I expect in third year?
In the third year you will study more advanced engineering and biomedical subjects including:
- Biomedical engineering
- Design and manufacture
- Electronic circuit design
- Electronic design
- Fluid mechanics
- Medical electronics
- Medical implants
- and a choice from selected courses in the biomedical sciences
What happens next?
Selection for the four year BEng Honours final year or transfer to the further two years of the five year MEng programme (with the option of overseas projects) will be made at the end of the third year. The specific subjects that you take and the amount of time you spend on project work will depend on whether you opt for the BEng or the MEng programmes.
In the BEng programme, in addition to your final year project, which takes up one third of the year, you will continue to take courses from Faculties of Engineering, Biomedical & Life Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine as well as speciality courses designed specifically for this degree programme, including: biomechanics; blood flow; rehabilitationengineering; medical imaging and diagnostics.
For those students opting for the MEng degree the course options chosen in the fourth year will be similar to those taken by the fourth year BEng students described above. You will, however, wait until Year 5 before taking your project (enabling you to choose for more course options in Year 4, thus increasing your breadth of your knowledge in biomedical engineering). In Year 5 (for MEng Students only) you will spend six months working on a detailed research based project.
As stated, this project can be undertaken within the University or elsewhere, in industry or another university in the UK or overseas. On your return to Glasgow the remainder of the year will be spent allowing you to increase the depth of your knowledge and understanding of biomedical engineering.
Can I study abroad?
In addition to the option of taking your Year 5 project abroad, you will be encouraged to take advantage of both the University’s exchange programme, ERASMUS, and the British Council’s IAESTE programme for travelling and work abroad.
What are my career prospects?
Biomedical engineering is one of the most rapidly expanding industries, with the development of technologies to meet the demands of Healthcare in the 21 st century (including the diagnosis of new infectious diseases and caring for an ageing population, worldwide).
Engineering lies at the very heart of many of these challenges, in developing advanced instrumentation, developing prostheses and implant materials, in new diagnostic sensors and new imaging techniques, to diagnose and treat chronic diseases. Some graduates will see this as an excellent preliminary degree for graduate entry into medicine.
We believe the degree will also provide graduates with strong transferable skills, enabling them to pursue other careers in finance, law and medicine, as well as other engineering disciplines, should they wish.
At Glasgow our graduates are always in demand. They are well represented in manufacturing companies and a wide range of industries in this country and abroad. In addition, the skills our graduates will acquire are readily transferable to other spheres of activity. Some of our graduates are found in the service industries and other areas of the business community.
Skills for Work Engineering, organised by the University of Glasgow Careers Service, is an annual networking event which offers interested students the opportunity to meet with key Engineering employers. All of the organisations attending the event have job, placement or training opportunities to offer.
Our major national and international joint research programmes with industry are key providers of student projects and placements. Many Engineering employers are involved in the University’s prestigious Club 21 work experience programme which offers well-paid summer placements and in some cases sponsorship.