About

Vision

To be the nation’s premier biomedical engineering program at the Bachelor’s and Master’s level.

Mission

The mission of the Biomedical Engineering Program is to educate our students for careers of service, leadership, and distinction in engineering or other fields by using a participatory, learn by doing, “hands-on” laboratory, projects and design centered approach.

History

The Biomedical Engineering Program formally began in 2005 and evolved from a previous specialization in Biomedical Engineering in the General Engineering Program which had operated for about 15 years. The logical transition from a specialization occurred when compelling interest from our industrial partners, the increased job opportunities, and student demand combined with the needs of the CSU to develop new multidisciplinary programs to increase growth.

The philosophy of the BMED major is to provide an undergraduate degree that is largely a general approach to biomedical engineering, emphasizing hands-on learning experiences and core competencies that can serve a wide variety of industries.

Biomedical Engineering is an interdisciplinary field in which engineering principles and tools are applied to solve biomedical problems. By its very nature, Biomedical Engineering is broad and requires a depth of understanding in engineering as well as in physiology and other biological sciences.  Engineering plays an increasingly important role in medicine and in projects that range from basic research in physiology to advances in biotechnology and the improvement of health care delivery.

Biomedical Engineering graduates are able to synthesize engineering expertise and medical needs to innovatively solve complex problems in biology and medicine for the enhancement of health care and betterment of society. The BS degree program in Biomedical Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Bioengineering and Biomedical and Similarly Named Engineering Programs Program Criteria.

This program is also an excellent choice for those individuals considering careers in medicine, as the state of the art in medical science continues to advance.

We expect our graduates to demonstrate that they have attained the following outcomes:

An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.

An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.

An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.

An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.

An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objective.

An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.

An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Furthermore, our program prepares graduates with experience in:

Applying principles of engineering, biology, human physiology, chemistry, calculus-based physics, mathematics (through differential equations) and statistics.

Solving bio/biomedical engineering problems, including those associated with the interaction between living and non-living systems.

Analyzing, modeling, designing, and realizing bio/biomedical engineering devices, systems, components, or processes.

Making measurements on and interpreting data from living systems.

Graduates from the Cal Poly Biomedical Engineering program will:

Utilize a knowledge base with a core foundation in engineering, physical and biological sciences, which will enable them to apply their skills to a variety of challenges in their chosen field. Our graduates will demonstrate innovation, creativity, adaptability, and critical thinking to solve problems in disciplines related to biomedical engineering that are relevant to industry, academia, or medicine and health related fields

Demonstrate leadership in their chosen fields, and make decisions that are socially and ethically responsible. Our graduates will function effectively in multidisciplinary team environments and communicate effectively to a variety of audiences.

Build and expand upon their undergraduate foundations by engaging in learning opportunities throughout their careers.