The Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University S chool of B iomedical E ngineering & S ciences (SBES) is a unique multidisciplinary program which couples the biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering, and real-world applications to enhance the quality of life. Our world-class faculty and students innovate and discover across a continuum of systems, from natural to engineered to medical.
SBES is a fully joint graduate program formed in 2003 that brings together three prestigious academic units: the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, the Wake Forest School of Medicine, and the VA-MD College of Veterinary Medicine. Each of these separate entities contributes unique strengths to the combined enterprise so that students are offered a wide spectrum of first-class educational and research opportunities in a beautiful part of the country.
The SBES program is available to students at two campus locations. Blacksburg, Virginia is home to the VT College of Engineering and the VA-MD Veterinary College, both of which provide faculty to the program. Winston-Salem, NC is the home of the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center consisting of Wake Forest University Health Sciences and North Carolina Baptist Hospital. Contributors to SBES include the clinical departments and the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
SBES is a graduate level only program offering the following degree programs:
- M.S. in Biomedical Engineering
- Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
- DVM/PhD offered through the Veterinary School in Blacksburg
- MD/Ph.D. offered through the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
- Accelerated undergraduate/graduate option (currently only at Virginia Tech)
The SBES curriculum currently consists of courses and research focused in 9 broad areas of concentration which include:
- Automotive Safety
- Biomaterials
- Biomechanics
- Biomedical Imaging
- Cardiovascular Engineering
- Nanomedicine & Nanobioengineering
- Neuroengineering
- Tissue Engineering
- Translational Cancer Research
SBES encourages innovative thinking and novel approaches to problem-solving and seeks to tailor students' academic programs to their individual goals and research ambitions. Please refer to the SBES handbook for further details regarding concentrations. One campus is chosen as the “home campus” but students have the opportunity to experience both environments and the faculty of each through courses taught by video broadcast and by inter-campus visits. Many research projects are collaborative efforts between faculty and students across the two locations. All PhD students experience a required Clinical Rotation course much of which is given at the Medical Center in Winston-Salem.
Students successfully completing a graduate program in SBES will receive a joint degree from Virginia Tech and Wake Forest University. The diploma displays the names and seals of both institutions.
