PhD Qualifying Exam
All PhD students must successfully pass the two-part qualifying exam prior to defend their PhD
proposals. PhD students with a prior MS degree need to pass the exam by the end of the 1st year. PhD
students with a prior BS degree need to pass the exam by the end of the 2nd year. The exam is offered
twice a year: one in January (prior to the beginning of the Spring semester), and the other one in August
(prior to the beginning of the Fall semester). The format of the exam is provided as follows:
Qualifying Exam: Part I
The part I of the qualifying exam will test students' knowledge in three basic areas: Life Science,
Modeling, and Statistics. Nine questions provided – three each in three areas. Students must
answer one question in each area.
Life Science
Professor: Brown
Subjects: Human physiology and clinical applications
Recommended Text
Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach by Silverthorn
Mathematics and Modeling
Professor: Tsoukias
Subjects: Calculus, differential equations, numerical methods, and deriving models for circuits,
fluid mechanics, and mass transport
Recommended Texts
Any Calculus text
Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations by Ross
Partial Differential Equations for Scientists and Engineers by Farlow
Statistics
Professors: McGoron
Subjects: Medical statistics, design of experiments
Recommended Texts
An Introduction to Medical Statistics by Bland
Fundamental Concepts in the Design of Experiments by Hicks and Turner (eds)
Qualifying Exam: Part II
In the Part II of the qualifying exam challenges the students' knowledge in biomedical
engineering. A total of 16 questions will be provided – four each in of four different biomedical
engineering research areas. The students must declare their major/minor area in writing prior
to exam (approved by their academic advisors). Each student shall answer four questions: two
questions in their chosen major area, and two questions from one minor area.
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Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Bionanotechnology
Professors: Christie and Li
Subjects: Cardiovascular fluid mechanics and biomaterials
Recommended Texts
Biomechanics: Circulation by Fung
Bioelectronics, Editors: Itamar, Willner and Eugenii Katz
Biomaterials Science: Introduction to Materials in Medicine by Ratner, Hoffman, Schoen, and
Lemans
Bio-instrumentation, devices and sensors
Professors: Barreto and Lin
Subjects: Biomedical signal processing and medical instrumentation
Recommended Texts
Biomedical Signal Processing and Modeling by Bruce
Medical Instrumentation: Application and Design by Webster (ed)
Cellular and Tissue Engineering
Professors: Ramaswamy and Huang
Subjects: Tissue engineering and cell culture methods, drug and biotransport phenomena
Recommended Texts
Biomaterials Science: Introduction to Materials in Medicine by Ratner, Hoffman, Schoen, and
Lemans
Culture of Animal Cells: A Manual of Basic Technique by Freshney
Transport Phenomena in Biological Systems by Truskey, Yuan, and Katz
Basic Transport Phenomena in Biomedical Engineering by Fournier
Bioimaging and Biosignal Processing
Professors: Adjouadi and Godavarty
Subjects: Digital image processing, medical imaging modalities, and tissue optics
Recommended Texts
Foundations of Medical Imaging by Cho, Jones, and Singh
Digital Image Processing by Gonzalez and Woods
Optics by E. Hecht
The exam will be graded by the professors assigned to the exam areas. The students must pass all
questions answered in order to pass the exam. All students failed one or more areas in their first
Qualifying Exam shall retake the exam when it is offered the next time. In the retake exam, students will
receive only one question in each area they failed in their first attempt. If a student fails one or more
questions from the core areas (i.e., Life Science, Mathematics and Modeling, and Statistics) in the retake
exam, he/she will be dropped from the program. If a student fails two or more questions from the BME
specialty areas (i.e., Day II of the Exam), he/she will be dropped from the program. If a student fails one
question from the BME specialty areas (i.e., Day II of the Exam), the graduate program committee in
consultation with faculty will determine if he/she should stay in the program.
Research Adviser Selection
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Incoming graduate students usually are paired with a faculty adviser according to their study plans. This
initial pairing is not permanent; students are encouraged to contact all faculty members and explore
different research areas before they select their PhD research areas. Nevertheless, the students are
required to declare their major professors before the end of the first year in the program. Once
selected, the students will be mentored and advised by their major advisers throughout their PhD
studies.
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