Biomedical Engineering

Prosthetics, robotic surgery, tissue engineering, medical imaging – these are only some of the areas that biomedical engineers in the 21st century are exploring.

As a Union College biomedical engineering major, you will be part of a forward-thinking, highly interdisciplinary program that bridges engineering and the life sciences. You will learn to apply engineering principles and analytical approaches to the study of biological systems as you seek to understand how engineering devices and materials are used in biomedical applications.

The BME degree is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

You will take foundation and core courses in biology, biomechanics, bioinstrumentation and biosignals, and choose from among a range of upper-level electives in these areas. Courses in biomechanics focus on approaches to understanding the structural properties and dynamics of biological cells, tissues and systems, and of engineered devices with biological and biomedical applications. Courses in bioinstrumentation and biosignals explore how sensors are engineered to obtain useful signals from cells or the human body, which can be used in biomedical applications. During your senior year, you will work on a capstone design project in a small team with a faculty advisor. Round out your academic experience with a set of courses in literature, writing, arts and humanities, languages and cultures, and social sciences.

All BME courses and laboratories are taught by Union College faculty members (not teaching assistants), and many classes have fewer than 20 students. You will work closely with your faculty advisor to formulate and implement a successful plan of study. Our focus on undergraduate education solely, along with small classes and close faculty-student interaction, are hallmarks of the BME curriculum at Union.

As part of a unique summer clinical immersion program, Union biomedical engineering students may work at Albany Medical College and its affiliated hospital over six weeks, shadowing doctors and residents in the thick of their clinical duties, from patient rounds to surgeries. They help identify the biomedical challenges associated with equipment and devices used in patient treatment—and then return to the Union campus to design solutions as part of their two-term senior capstone course.

The rigor and depth of a BME education combined with a broad study of the liberal arts provide an excellent background for careers in engineering as well as professions such as medicine, law, and business administration. Biomedical engineers are employed in universities, industry, hospitals, research facilities, government regulatory agencies and teaching institutions. Some have advanced training in other fields, as in the case of those who also earn an M.D. degree, thereby combining an understanding of advanced technology with direct patient care or clinical research.

What some of our graduates are doing:

Biomedical engineering courses and requirements