Biomedical Engineering Degree

What is Biomedical Engineering?

If you have an interest in healthcare but love knowing how things work, a degree in biomedical engineering from South Dakota Mines is the perfect fit for you. Biomedical engineers apply engineering principles to the fields of healthcare and biology to design life-saving medical products. We offer one of the only such programs in the region.

What does a Biomedical Engineer do?

As a biomedical engineer, you will be on the cutting edge of medicine and engineering with plenty of opportunities to design and develop new life-changing technologies.

The types of work you do will depend on your area of study. Some biomedical engineers design and create medical equipment and devices, such as artificial internal organs and prosthetics. You might design computer systems and software or machines for making medical diagnoses. Maybe you’ll maintain, repair, and provide technical support for such devices. Some biomedical engineers work in injury prevention, tissue engineering, or even drug delivery systems.

Courses for this Degree

• Biomedical Engineering Fluid Mechanics
• Biomedical Technologies
• Biomedical Physiology
• Properties of Biomaterials
• Biomedical Engineering Transport Phenomena
• Biomedical Engineering Thermodynamics
• Computational Biomedical Engineering
• Cell Biomechanics
• Biomedical Signal and Imaging
• Cell and Tissue Engineering

Course Curriculum

Catalog Links: Biomedical Engineering

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Internships and Co-ops

On average, 73% of South Dakota Mines students have applicable work experience when they graduate thanks to internships and co-ops. For these co-ops and internships, students receive an average salary of $22.62/hour. Our biomedical engineering majors intern in such places as medical laboratories.

Career Outlook

Nationally, the 2021 median pay for biomedical engineers was $97,410 per year. A biomedical engineering degree from South Dakota Mines is a basis for countless career paths and graduate programs, including medical school. Jobs in the field are projected to grow 6% from 2020-2030, which is faster than the average for all occupations. The job placement rate for 2022 biomedical engineering graduates was 100% with an average starting salary of $61,000.

Careers

Biomedical engineers are in high demand now more than ever, especially in a time when new lifesaving technologies are evolving quickly, and the Baby Boomer population is in need of equipment that will allow them to live actively longer.

Forbes calls biomedical engineering the “high-paying, low-stress STEM job you probably haven’t considered.” CNN Money named it one of the best jobs in America.

There are lots of career avenues in the field of biomedicine, including:

• Developing bioinstrumentation used in the diagnosis and treatment of medical problems
• Biomaterials development, which can be either natural living tissue or artificial materials. For instance, this field might include tissue engineering, biomedical implant development, drug delivery, or nano-implants
• Physician
• Rehabilitation engineering, which uses engineering and computer science to develop devices that assist individuals recovering from or adapting to physical and cognitive impairments
• Biomedical scientist or researcher
• Develop hardware and software for medical devices as a medical technology developer

Employers

Graduates of the South Dakota Mines master’s in biomedical engineering program are employed at places like:

• Amazon
• Amgen
• Miromatrix Medical Inc.
• Freserius Medical Group
• Kinetic Concepts
• Qualcomm
• VRL Laboratories
• Blue Origin
• Others have gone on to medical and dental school

Biomedical Engineering Research

At South Dakota Mines, you don’t have to wait until grad school to do research as a biomedical engineering student. As an undergraduate, you will have the opportunity to join ongoing research in areas such as cartilage repair for arthritis sufferers, biomaterial development, medical device fabrication, and drug delivery system development.

Program Offerings

• Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, BS
• Accelerated Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, MS
(earn your bachelor’s and master’s in BME in five years)
• Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, MS
• Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering, PHD