Biomedical engineering (BME)

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Milwaukee School of Engineering

Program Overview

MSOE’s B.S. in Biomedical Engineering combines electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering with biology, chemistry and anatomy to prepare students to develop technologies that improve healthcare, from medical devices and imaging systems to artificial joints and other biomedical applications. It is a strong fit for students who enjoy mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry and want to solve healthcare problems through engineering and technology rather than direct patient care.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: Students build the mathematical, scientific and engineering foundation needed for biomedical engineering while being introduced to the discipline through Intro to Biomedical Engineering. Supporting study in areas such as cell biology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, mathematics and engineering design establishes the knowledge needed to understand how engineering can be applied to biological and healthcare problems.

Year 2: The program becomes more distinctly biomedical as students move into subjects such as Embedded Systems for BME, Introduction to Biomechanics and Human Body Systems for Radiology. These courses connect engineering systems with the human body, giving students a stronger foundation in electronic systems, mechanical behavior and medical applications.

Year 3: Students develop deeper technical expertise through subjects including Biotransport Phenomena, Biomaterials and Biomedical Instrumentation I. The curriculum increasingly focuses on how biological materials, physiological processes and instrumentation can be modeled, measured and engineered for healthcare applications.

Year 4: Advanced study brings together engineering knowledge through subjects such as Biomedical Instrumentation II, Medical Imaging Systems, Control Systems for BME and BME Senior Design I. Students can also undertake a Clinical Eng Internship, BME Research Internship or independent study, while senior design provides an opportunity to develop and document a substantial engineering solution.

Focus areas (in a string): Biomedical instrumentation, medical imaging, biomechanics, biomaterials, biotransport, embedded systems, control systems, healthcare technology and biomedical design.

Learning outcomes (in a string): Apply engineering principles to biomedical and healthcare problems, integrate engineering with biology and anatomy, design and evaluate biomedical systems and devices, use quantitative and experimental methods, work effectively on engineering projects, and communicate technical solutions professionally.

Professional alignment (accreditation): The B.S. in Biomedical Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET under the General Criteria and the Program Criteria for Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering. This provides an important quality benchmark for an engineering degree and supports preparation for professional engineering practice and further study.

Reputation (employability rankings): MSOE reports a 100% career outcomes rate for its 2024–25 Biomedical Engineering graduates, with graduates fully employed, enrolled in graduate school or enlisted in a branch of the military after graduation. Across the university, MSOE reports a 96% career outcomes rate for the Class of 2024–25, while U.S. News & World Report ranked MSOE #9 nationally for undergraduate engineering programs in 2026.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

MSOE places a strong emphasis on learning by doing, and Biomedical Engineering students have access to dedicated spaces where they can combine biological experimentation, instrumentation and engineering design. The university's BioMolecular Engineering Laboratory Suite includes a wet biotechnology laboratory, senior design laboratory, dry instrumentation laboratory and BSL-II cell culture facility, while the BME curriculum also includes internships, independent study and senior design opportunities.

Students can build professional experience alongside their coursework: MSOE reports that typically 80–85% of students have one or more internships, and its Career Connections Center supports students with job searches, resumes, interviews, networking and career fairs.

Specific opportunities include:

Biomedical engineering laboratories: The BioMolecular Engineering Laboratory Suite provides a wet biotechnology lab, senior design lab, dry instrumentation lab and BSL-II cell culture facility.
Senior design: BME Senior Design I gives students a structured opportunity to work on substantial biomedical engineering projects; MSOE's senior projects generally involve defining a problem, evaluating alternative solutions, developing a project plan, producing documentation and presenting the final work.
Clinical experience: The current course schedule includes Clinical Eng Internship, providing a program-specific route into clinical engineering experience.
Research experience: Students can take BME Research Internship or BME Independent Study, allowing them to develop research experience beyond standard coursework.
Biomedical instrumentation: Coursework progresses into Biomedical Instrumentation I and Biomedical Instrumentation II, supported by MSOE's dry instrumentation laboratory.
Medical imaging and AI: Current BME offerings include Medical Imaging Systems, Medical Imaging AI and AI Applications in Biomechanics, giving students exposure to emerging computational approaches in biomedical engineering.
Embedded technology: Embedded Systems for BME provides a direct connection between biomedical applications and embedded engineering systems.
Research and student projects: MSOE faculty research has involved student senior projects in areas such as drug delivery, 3D-printed tissue engineering and artificial red blood cells, demonstrating the program's connection to active biomedical research.
Industry exposure: MSOE's internship model allows students to apply classroom and laboratory learning to real industry problems while developing professional networks and workplace experience.

Progression & Future Opportunities

MSOE's B.S. in Biomedical Engineering is designed for students who want to enter the medical-device and healthcare industries or continue into graduate and professional education. The university specifically identifies immediate employment, graduate study in engineering and related fields, and professional studies such as medical and law school as possible directions, while its Biomedical Engineering program reported a 100% 2024–25 graduate career-outcomes rate.

Typical career directions include Biomedical Engineer, Medical Device Engineer, Clinical Engineer, Biomedical Research Engineer.

Students can build toward these outcomes through:

Career support: MSOE's Career Connections Center helps students with job searches, resumes, interview preparation, networking, career fairs and evaluating job offers.
Employment outcomes: MSOE reports that 100% of 2024–25 Biomedical Engineering graduates were fully employed, enrolled in graduate school or enlisted in a branch of the military. The university does not publish a Biomedical Engineering-specific salary figure on the official program page, so no salary figure is inserted here.
Industry connections: MSOE maintains corporate relationships that support student development; for example, its Johnson Controls partnership includes mentoring, professional-engineer connections and a talent-pipeline relationship, and a Biomedical Engineering student is specifically featured among the Johnson Controls Scholars.
Industry-relevant experience: Internships typically involve applying classroom and laboratory knowledge to real industry problems and can lead to additional internships or full-time employment.
Accreditation value: The program's ABET accreditation provides an established professional quality framework for biomedical engineering education and is particularly valuable for students planning engineering careers or further technical study.
Graduate outcomes: MSOE's 100% program-level outcome figure indicates that the latest graduating cohort had an outcome of employment, graduate study or military service.

Further Academic Progression: After completing the B.S., students can continue into graduate study in engineering and related fields, while MSOE also identifies professional pathways such as medical school and law school. The undergraduate curriculum's research internships, independent study and senior design can provide a useful foundation for students who want to pursue advanced biomedical engineering research or another professional qualification.