Biomedical Engineering Bachelor of Engineering (with Honours) - BEng (Hon)

Biomedical engineering is about finding engineering solutions to medical problems. As a rapidly expanding industry, biomedical engineering meets the demands of healthcare through the development of technology.

You will take part in practical activities including visits to local hospitals. You will benefit from our strong industry and NHS links and from overseas placement opportunities. You will also benefit from a final year course in Entrepreneurship in Biomedical Engineering, which will equip you with the skills and knowledge to launch your own venture, and from the programme’s emphasis on Medical Device Regulation.

Programme structure

You will study the same courses in the first three years whether on the BEng or MEng degree programme.

Year 1

In your first year, you will take courses in biomedical engineering, mathematics, dynamics, electronics, materials, statics, thermodynamics and engineering skills. These courses are supported by individual and group project work and laboratory work. This interdisciplinary approach, favoured by industry, also makes it easy to switch to most other engineering disciplines at the end of year 1 should you wish to do so.

Years 2 and 3

In year 2 you will study further engineering and biomedical subjects including engineering mathematics, mechanics, biomaterials, biomedical engineering skills, electronic engineering, engineering design and engineering in biological systems from the cell to the whole body.

Year 3 consists of more advanced engineering and biomedical subjects including biological fluid mechanics, biomechanics, modelling, instrumentation & control, statistics, medical imaging and human biological sciences.

Years 4 and 5

In year 4 of the BEng programme you will complete a project which takes up one third of the year. Year 4 MEng students undertake a multidisciplinary design project. All year 4 students continue to take courses in engineering, biomedical & life sciences and medicine, as well as a range of options including cell and tissue engineering, ultrasound technology, control, materials and mechanics.

Year 5 MEng students will work on a detailed research-based project in industry, at a hospital or at another university. Thereafter, you will choose courses in subjects such as energy in biological systems, advanced imaging and therapy, scaffolds and tissues, computational modelling, dynamics and materials.

Partnership and industry links

We have strong links with industry and the NHS, with engineers and clinicians contributing to lectures, projects and case studies, as well as offering work placements. Examples include medical device experts from the NHS Medical Device Unit, medical imaging clinicians from the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, and clinicians from the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit.

Our international links

You will be able to apply to spend the third year of your studies abroad at an accredited partner university. We also have extensive links to international academic, industrial and clinical partners, which allow our MEng students to undertake their six-month project overseas.

Career prospects

Our graduates are well represented in manufacturing companies and the NHS and in a wide range of industries in this country and abroad, for example as Clinical Engineers in the NHS, as R&D engineers at Pneumowave, at Terumo Aortic, or as product engineers at Cambridge Consultants. Biomedical Engineering can be an excellent preliminary degree for graduate entry into Medicine. The degree also provides graduates with strong transferable skills in engineering, medicine and biology.

Accreditation

The BEng Biomedical Engineering is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng).