The Biomedical Engineering Minor is open to undergraduate students who are interested in an exciting, multidisciplinary field that lies at the interface of medicine, biology and engineering. Students rostered outside of the College of Engineering and Applied Science may earn the minor as long as the meet the requirements below.
Biomedical engineers use engineering principles to analyze and solve problems in biology and medicine, providing an overall enhancement to healthcare. At the same time, biomedical engineers employ concepts learned from biology and medicine to generate new engineering designs.
Current research in biomedical engineering focuses on innovative areas such as biomechanics, biomaterials, medical devices and imaging.
- BMEN 2000 Biomedical Engineering Gateway (3 credit hours):
- This course cannot apply towards your major degree requirements
- Starting in Fall 2023, this course will require a pre or co-requisite course of Biology (CHEN 2810, EBIO 1210, or MCDB 1150) and Chemistry (CHEN 1201, CHEN 1211, CHEM 1113 or MCEN 1024).
- This course utilizes Matlab. Prior experience using Matlab is ideal. Students without Matlab experience may need to spend additional time learning Matlab to complete certain assignments. Resources will be made available.
- 15 elective credit hours (typically 5 courses)*
Requirements for the minor are met by completing the required gateway course and 15 elective credit hours identified below. Here are additional guidelines regarding the requirements:
- At least 12 credit hours must be upper-division (3000 or higher level)
- 6 credit hours must be taken in engineering courses (including Computer Science). Here is a link to submit enrollment requests for department restricted courses.
- Up to 9 credit hours can be taken outside of engineering (i.e. IPHY, MCDB, PHIL)
- Relevant Independent Study coursework can be petitioned
- 5000-level courses are allowed where undergraduate students are eligible to enroll
- Prior coursework may be transferred from other institutions with approval.
- At least 9 credit hours need to be taken on the CU-Boulder campus- at least 6 credit hours of which must be at the upper-division level.
Typical Timeline for Student Earning the Minor
| Semester | Task |
|---|---|
| Sophomore Fall | Admission to Biomedical Engineering Minor |
| Sophomore Spring | Biomedical Engineering Gateway Course |
| Junior-Senior years | Technical Elective Courses |
Selected admitted students are invited to participate in the minor. Otherwise, admission to the minor is by application. Students must have a minimum CU cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 to apply. Students can apply at any time and will be notified of their admission status on a rolling basis.
Grade Requirements
A grade point average (GPA) of 2.000 or better is required in the courses that are used to satisfy the requirements for this minor. Each individual course that is counted towards these degree requirements must be passed with a D- or better. Note, however, that a C- or better is required in all prerequisite courses to move on to a subsequent course.
Completing the Biomedical Engineering Minor
The College of Engineering and Applied Science requires confirmation of Biomedical Engineering Minor completion. Please email biomed-minor@colorado.edu for final approval.
Questions or Degree Audit Updates?
Please email biomed-minor@colorado.edu.
This list may evolve over time as new courses are developed/offered. Some of the courses below have course prerequisites which students in the minor will need to fulfill prior to enrollment—consult the online University Course Catalog for guidance.
ENGINEERING ELECTIVES:
Aerospace Engineering Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| ASEN 3036 | Intro to Human Spaceflight |
| ASEN 3046 | Intro to Humans in Aviation |
| ASEN 4128 | Human Factors in Engineering and Design |
| ASEN 4519/5519 | Medicine in Space and Surface Environments |
| ASEN 5016 | Space Life Sciences |
ATLAS Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| ATLS 4519/5519 | Biodesign |
| ATLS 4519/5519 | Human-Machine Interaction of the Future |
Biomedical Engineering Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| BMEN 2010 | Biomaterials |
| BMEN 3010 | Biotransport |
| BMEN 3030 | Bioinstrumentation |
| BMEN 4117/5117 | Anatomy & Physiology for Biomedical Engineering |
Chemical Engineering Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| CHEN 2810 | Biology for Engineers |
| CHEN 4801 | Pharmaceutical Biotechnology |
| CHEN 4802 | Tissue Engineering & Medical Devices |
| CHEN 4803 | Metabolic Engineering |
| CHEN 4804 | Protein and Enzyme Engineering |
| CHEN 4805 | Biomaterials |
| CHEN 4820 | Biochemical Separations |
| CHEN 4830 | Biokinetics |
| CHEN 4838 | Protein and Enzyme Engineering |
| CHEN 4838 | Immunoengineering |
Computer Science Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| CSCI 2270 | Data Structures |
| CSCI 3104 | Algorithms |
| CSCI 3352 | Biological Networks |
| CSCI 3702 | Cognitive Science |
| CSCI 4118 | Software Engineering for Scientists |
| CSCI 4314 | Dynamic Models in Biology |
Electrical Engineering Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| ECEN 2010 | Special Topics: Intro to Elect Eng in Biomed |
| ECEN 4003 | Special Topics: Engineering Genetic Circuits |
| ECEN 4011 | Design of Implantable Medical Devices |
| ECEN 4021 | Engineering Applications in Biomed |
| ECEN 4120 | Neural Network Design |
| ECEN 4005/5005 | Special Topics: Organic Electronic Devices |
| ECEN 5005 | Special Topics: Biophotonics |
| ECEN 5021 | Special Topics: Engineering Applications in Biomed |
| ECEN 5022 | Special Topics: Neuromodulation |
| ECEN 5341 | Bioelectromagnetics |
Mechanical Engineering Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| MCEN 4117/5117 | Anatomy & Physiology for Engineers |
| MCEN 4127/5127 | Biomedical Ultrasound |
| MCEN 4133/5133 | Intro to Tissue Biomechanics |
| MCEN 4137 | Anatomy & Physiology for Engineers 2 |
| MCEN 4154 | Biocolloids and Biomembranes |
| MCEN 4064/5064 | Soft Machines |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Design of Coffee |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Materials and Devices in Medicine |
| MCEN 4228 | Special Topics: MicroNanoBio |
| MCEN 4228 | Special Topics: Surface Forces in Biology |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Mechanics of Soft Matter |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Intro to Microfluidics |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Modeling of Human Movement |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Mechanics of Cancer |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Biofluids at the Macro Scale |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Food & Alcohol in the Ancient World |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Regenerative Bio/Tissue Repair |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Bioinspired Robotics |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Biofluids at the Macro Scale |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Regenerative Biology and Tissue Repair |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Thin Film Materials |
|
MCEN 4228/5228 |
Food Engineering |
| MCEN 4228 | Special Topics: Mechanical Devices in Medicine |
| MCEN 4228 | Special Topics: Bioinspired Design |
| MCEN 5228 | Special Topics: Medical Device Design |
| MCEN 5228 | Special Topics: Medical Robotics |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Computational Fluid Dynamics |
| MCEN 4228/5228 | Special Topics: Fluid Mechanics in the Human Body |
| MCEN 5147 | Mechanobiology |
*Most MCEN 4228 Special Topics that are approved for the Mechanical Engineering Biomed Option will count for this minor.
NON-ENGINEERING ELECTIVES:
Anthropology Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| ANTH 2070 | Bones, Bodies, and Disease |
| ANTH 3010 | The Human Animal |
| ANTH 4070 | Methods in Biological Anthropology |
| ANTH 4110 | Human Evolutionary Biology |
| ANTH 4120 | Advanced Biological Anthropology: History of Human Evolution |
Applied Math Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| APPM 3050 | Scientific Computing |
| APPM 4390 | Modeling in Math Biology |
| APPM 4720 | Mathematical Computational Biology |
| APPM 4370 | Computational Neuroscience |
| APPM 4380 | Modeling in Applied Mathematics |
Biochemistry Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| BCHM 4400 | Core Concepts in Physical Chemistry for Biochemists |
| BCHM 4611 | Principles of Biochemistry |
Engineering, Ethics and Society Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| ENES 3430 | Ethics of Genetic Engineering |
| ENES 3843 | Humanities and Medicine |
Integrative Physiology Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| IPHY 3410 | Intro to Human Anatomy |
| IPHY 3415 | Human Anatomy Lab |
| IPHY 3430 | Intro to Human Physiology |
| IPHY 3490 | Introduction to Epidemiology |
| IPHY 3800 | Forensic Biology |
| IPHY 4060 | Cell Physiology |
| IPHY 4300 | Pathophysiology of Disease |
| IPHY 4540 | Biomechanics |
| IPHY 4580 | Sleep Physiology |
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| MCDB 1150 | Intro to Cellular and Molecular Biology |
| MCDB 3000 | Synthetic Biology: Engineering Biomolecular Systems in the Laboratory |
| MCDB 3135 | Molecular Biology |
| MCDB 3145 | Cell Biology |
| MCDB 3150 | Biology of the Cancer Cell |
| MCDB 3160 | Infectious Disease |
| MCDB 3300 | Personalized Medicine - Recent Advances in Diagnostics and Therapeutics |
| MCDB 3333 | Biomed Innovations and Discoveries |
| MCDB 3350 | Fertility, Sterility and Early Mammalian Development |
| MCDB 3450 | Biological Data Science |
| MCDB 3501 | Structural Methods for Biological Macromolecules |
| MCDB 3650 | The Brain - From Molecules to Behavior |
| MCDB 3700 | Poisons in Cell Biology and Society |
| MCDB 4105 | Function of Cellular and Nuclear, Assemblies, and Machines |
| MCDB 4150 | Biology of Aging and Longevity |
| MCDB 4300 | Immunology |
| MCDB 4312 | Quantitative Optical Imaging |
| MCDB 4410 | Human Molecular Genetics |
| MCDB 4420 | Genetics of Brain and Behavior |
| MCDB 4422 | Molecular Biology of Free Radicals: Role(s) in Oxidative Stress, Signaling, Disease, Aging |
| MCDB 4425 | Topics in Membrane Biology: Cell Biology, Physiology and Disease |
| MCDB 4426 | Cell Signaling and Developmental Regulation |
| MCDB 4427 | Biology of the Visual System |
| MCDB 4444 | Cellular Basis of Disease |
| MCDB 4520 | Bioinformatics and Genomics |
| MCDB 4615 | Biology of Stem Cells |
Neuroscience Course
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| NRSC 4062 | The Neurobiology of Stress |
Philosophy Courses
| Course Number | Title |
|---|---|
| PHIL 1160 | Intro to Medical Ethics |
| PHIL 3160 | Bioethics |
Additional Course Information
In addition to the courses listed above, there may be special topics courses offered which are suitable for the requirements of this minor.
Please email biomed-minor@colorado.edu for information about whether a specific course can serve as a technical elective for the minor.
For more information
Email us at:
biomed-minor@colorado.edu