The UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences together with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The University of Memphis offers a joint graduate program leading to the PhD in Biomedical Engineering (BME). As a special field, BME applies engineering, physical sciences, and mathematical methods to problems involving health care; it demands close integration of many areas and forms of knowledge including the areas listed above, the life and health sciences, and current practice in clinical care. Usually in BME the student is admitted as a thesis-based MS degree student which is followed by a Ph.D. The minimum graduate school requirement for the Joint Program is 57 credits (plus 6 credits for the MS thesis and 24 credits for the Ph.D. dissertation). Students and their faculty committee agree on the actual number of credits; few take the exact number shown. Some courses can be chosen from lists; others are chosen with the consent of the faculty advisor and committee. The term "engineering choice" is understood to include applicable course work.
The program's primary faculty are divided between the two campuses and offer academic and research activities that focus on engineering aspects of four major sub-disciplines: (1) Biomechanics and Movement Science (2) Biomaterials and Regenerative Technology; (3) Biosensors and Electrophysiology and, (4) Cellular Biomechanical Responses. These sub-disciplines are bolstered by collaborations with secondary and adjunct faculty at the two universities and other affiliated institutions.


