Get a Master's in Biomedical Engineering

From advances in chemotherapy to innovative prosthetics, medical technology continues to advance, giving patients new options for living healthier, longer lives. Thousands of technological breakthroughs are the result of biomedical engineers rising to meet the needs of medical professionals and the communities they serve. Students interested in this exciting career can find advanced knowledge and experience through one of Florida Tech’s biomedical engineering graduate programs. Whether you want a career in medicine or in the rapidly growing biotechnology industry, an advanced degree from Florida Tech ensures academic choices, entrepreneurship options, and practicing partnerships.

A Focus on Field Study

Providing new opportunities to blend science and engineering to solve complex medical challenges, Florida Tech’s biomedical engineering graduate programs keep students on the leading edge of what is happening in the medical community. The university is located in a rapidly growing healthcare region that includes hospitals, health centers, research laboratories, and institutes, providing countless opportunities for advanced laboratory research and mentorship with medical professionals. Students work hands-on with physicians and technicians at several locations, including:

• Health First Hospitals
• Cancer Care Center of Brevard
• The Eye Institute
• The Back Center
• Medical City—Orlando (UCF College of Medicine, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, MD Anderson Cancer Research Institute, and more)

As one of the top biomedical engineering schools, Florida Tech’s individualized academic choices allows students to customize their learning in a way that best suits their careers goals. Graduate students experience one-on-one guidance from professors and industry experts from interdisciplinary backgrounds to create a comprehensive and engaging learning environment.

Experienced, World-Class Faculty

The biomedical engineering graduate programs at Florida Tech are comprised of professors who teach and conduct research with students and other faculty, both from the university and around the world. Many faculty members are involved in research related to biomedical engineering, and are experts in mechanical and aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and computer science.

Joining these professors are medical doctors who guide students during their research, while completing research of their own. Medical doctors give students valuable industry experience and combining the benefits of both traditional academic faculty and industry professionals. This mix of traditional academic faculty and industry professionals ensures that students receive the most up-to-date industry research and developments.

High-Tech Laboratories and Research Facilities

A wide variety of research facilities needed for the biomedical engineering graduate programs are available on campus at Florida Tech. This includes instrumentation, clinical research, bioactive materials, devices, photonics and lasers, microscopy, and advanced imaging. Read more about our facilities below.

Students spend many hours of their academic program in advanced laboratories doing research. The individualized nature of the program creates a MS or PhD program that best fits student career goals and could include activities such as working alongside a professor in research, collaborating in multidisciplinary partnerships with practicing clinicians, or even developing entrepreneurship skills with engineering and business faculty nurturing new technologies or products for the marketplace.

Build Professional Relationships

Beyond the classroom, students participate in academic organizations like Tau Beta Pi (the engineering honor society), the Premed Club (campus chapter of the American Medical Student Association), athletics, and over 100 other campus-wide student organizations.

An Ideal Location for a Biomedical Engineering School

Florida Tech is located in the heart of Florida’s Space Coast, which puts the 130-acre campus in the middle of the nation’s fifth-largest high-tech workforce and over 5,000 high-tech companies, providing valuable internships and employment opportunities. The area boasts year-round beautiful weather, 72 miles of Atlantic Coast beaches, the Indian River Lagoon (the most diverse estuary in North America), and close proximity to NASA Kennedy Space Center and Orlando attractions.

Biomedical engineering internships with Florida Tech take place at medical centers and hospitals around Brevard County. Coupled with advanced engineering principles, students work side-by-side with doctors and medical professionals to stay on the leading edge of industry advancements. While completing biomedical engineering internships, graduate and PhD students discover potential career paths and develop professional relationships that could lead to employment.

Advanced Research Topics

In addition to biomedical engineering internships, students earning a graduate degree from Florida Tech also experience a wide range of research study. Students tailor their research hours in a variety of advanced laboratory experiences ranging from cardiovascular research facilities to patient specific diagnosis and therapy analysis, human cell-based screening for toxicology, pharmaceutical and biomaterials screening, and cancer detection and therapeutics. Through lab work and interactions with medical professionals, students apply their understanding of biomedical engineering outside the classroom and develop actionable solutions for medical professionals and their clients.

Florida Tech’s faculty research opportunities include topics such as techniques and devices for detection and therapy of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and tumor tissues; developing bioactive materials for load-bearing orthopedic devices; and implanting micro-stimulators in nerves for restoring function.

Advanced Research Facilities

The many resources and facilities on campus include:

• Biomedical Instrumentation Laboratory—Used for both teaching and research exposing students to various biomedical-related measurement techniques, collection, and processing of the measured data
• Cardiovascular Research Laboratory—Clinical ultrasound systems, blood volume and pressure sensors and computer capabilities dedicated to diagnostic and therapeutic modeling of the cardiovascular system
• Center for Medical Materials and Biophotonics—Provides research in:
  • Third-generation bioactive materials, including bioactive materials for regenerative medicine, load-bearing orthopedic and dental devices, intelligent wound care systems, and materials for sports medicine repair and reconstruction
  • Medical photonics, including laser and bio-Raman based cancer detection and therapeutics, human cell-based screening for toxicology, pharmaceutical and biomaterials screening, and patient-specific diagnosis and therapy analysis
• Laser, Optics, and Instrumentation Laboratory—A variety of advanced lasers and high-speed detectors for medical imaging and therapy of cancer and tumors
• Biomaterials Laboratory—Compression and tension test devices used to test samples under repeated cycles of stress
• High-Resolution Microscopy and Advanced Imaging Center—Supporting several scanning microscopes and X-ray analysis of natural and artificial materials

In addition, we have an on-campus machine shop, electronic shop, structural testing laboratory, and applied perception laboratory.

Demand for biomedical engineers will likely continue to grow as rapid advances in technology change the healthcare landscape, with new areas for biomedical engineers to find work and opportunity. Biomedical engineering careers include a wide range of jobs in healthcare, research, engineering, mechanics, electronics, product development, instrumentation, medical information systems, and more.

Florida Tech prepares graduates for these careers, giving them a college experience that immerses them in clinical experience and exposes them to engineers and health professionals who mentor them to be ready for employment. Many students interested in a medical career can choose Florida Tech because the course curriculum satisfies the entrance requirements of most medical schools.

Career Outlook

Biomedical engineering careers are centered among the systems, products, and instrumentation of the medical industry. While graduates of this program gain expertise in engineering and biology to seek these careers, they also often design computer software to run complicated instruments, use their knowledge of chemistry, biology, mathematics, and statistics to understand systems of the body and learn how using technology can improve its function or extend life.

For those interested in pursuing careers in biomedical engineering, the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides detailed information about specific jobs including median annual pay, working conditions and job outlook, among other things. According to the bureau, employment of biomedical engineers is projected to grow by 27% through 2022, due mostly to an aging baby-boomer population with a demand for medical devices and procedures to maintain healthy, active lifestyles.

Another excellent source of information about employment choices is available from the Biomedical Engineering Career Alliance. The alliance is a nonprofit organization that seeks to facilitate interactions between biomedical engineering/bioengineering programs and industry, connecting biomedical engineering students with prospective employers.

Biomedical Engineering Careers

Because the field continues to grow and change, biomedical engineering careers are very diverse:

• Biomedical engineer
• Design engineer
• Product engineer (prostheses, devices)
• Plant engineer
• Medical scientist
• Physician and surgeon
• Clinical engineer
• Medical imaging specialist
• Medical researcher
• Systems physiologist
• Biomechanical engineer
• Medical equipment designer
• Pharmaceutical and medicine researcher

Doctoral Program

On average, graduates with a PhD have higher salaries and employment rates than those with an undergraduate or master’s degree, especially after more field research, hands-on experience, and advanced study. One reason graduate students choose Florida Tech to pursue their PhD in biomedical engineering is the flexible program the university offers. The degree is awarded based on creative accomplishment and the ability to independently investigate problems faced by today’s medical community.