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Research

Undergraduate

Research

The Academic Office has gone electronic for registering research.

Use this form to request a permit for research from a BME faculty or to receive depth elective credit for research conducted in a non-BME lab.

Undergraduate

Research Credit Overview

  • Engineering research can be used for BME depth or breadth elective credit, not both. Up to six hours research credit can be used for depth. A maximum of six credit hours of research may be registered in one semester.
  • For multiple semesters of research to count as depth elective credit, research must be conducted in the same lab. The research does not have to be consecutive semesters.
  • Volunteer research, where students do not register the research, does not count as one of the two semesters.
  • VIP research can be used for depth elective credit, however students must do at least six hours to be counted as depth.
  • Go to the Research tab on the BME website, look at the lab areas of focus and the BME primary or program faculty members.
  • Contact a few professors (primary investigators, PI), by email, be persistent and patient. 
  • Once the student and the PI or lab research advisor have come to an agreement, apply for a permit by using THIS FORM . Students will register for BMED 4699 once they receive the permit.Students will work with the PI or research advisor to determine the total credit hours for the semester. In most cases, every three hours per week of research in fall and spring semesters equals one credit. The ratio is 4:1 for summer.
  • **IMPORTANT**. Research credit defaults to one hour, students may need to manually change the number of credit hours after registering. Here is the process:

Updating Variable-Credit-Hour Course

  1. Add the research course to your schedule.
  2. Click on “Schedule and Options.”
  3. Courses with Variable-credit-hours should have the credit hours underlined in the “Hours” column.
  4. Click on the underlined number and update to appropriate credit hours.
  • A final report, typically 4-8 pages, is required. This provides a detailed description of the work completed by the student to verify that the work is consistent with that originally proposed. Submit to the PI or research advisor, with a copy to the student’s academic advisor, no later than the last day of classes.
  • Students register for research through the other department.
  • The non-BME form students fill out is to have the research assessed for possible BME depth elective credit.
  • Research in the ME or NRE departments must be requested via the on-line database. All ME and NRE research requests must be submitted by Thursday of the first week of school. Submissions after this time will not be processed.
  • VIP research can be used for depth elective credit, however students must do at least six hours in order for it to be counted as depth.
  • VIP research is better for students who might be interested in industry, or the entrepreneurial life. Students pursuing engineering graduate programs should do research in traditional labs.
  • Research through the Research Option can be anything, it does not have to be engineering. The Research Option satisfies the required 15 hours of BME breadth electives.
  • Students do at least nine hours of research for the RO, credit or pay, and also take two thesis writing courses, LMC 4701 and LMC 4702. Students completing the RO by doing less than the 15 hours required for breadth electives can use any elective credit hours to complete the 15.
  • Students cannot use research for both breadth elective and depth elective credit.

Need help finding a lab? Search the BME PairMe website for research lab openings.

Open to all undergraduate students, but it is tailor-made for a career in research and development after graduation.

Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Research Opportunities

Our students have an abundance of opportunities to work in their desired fields. Explore our faculty based on their respective research focus areas.