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Program Overview

Currently accepting applications Apply now >> Next program starts: Autumn 2008 Program location: Bellevue, with lab sessions in Seattle Next information meeting: Thursday, July 24 (see details >>) Sign up to receive e-mail updates >> Contact a program representative >>   Program at a glance >>

The Puget Sound region hosts a major concentration of medical device, pharmaceutical and biotech companies that are key to the improvement of health care. The design and development of effective medical products involves many scientific disciplines and rapidly changing technologies that are at the heart of engineering education. However, the biological and medical sciences that are the fundamental basis of health care are often unfamiliar to engineers working in medical-related industries or seeking entry to them.

In response, the University of Washington's Department of Bioengineering has created an evening Medical Engineering Program consiting of four evening certificate programs:

• Basic Medical Sciences
• Medical Diagnostics
• Medical Devices and Commercialization
• Biosensors and Biomaterials (Online)

Unlike traditional Biomedical Engineering curricula that focus on engineering coursework, the UW Medical Engineering program encompasses a broad range of subjects that does not include core engineering coursework and instead focuses on subject matter which integrates professional engineering activities with a basic level of medical and biological knowledge of the human body and how it functions. The UW Medical Engineering program assumes an undergraduate education in engineering or other quantitative science, and then integrates this knowledge with basic medicine and applications in biomaterials, biosensors, medical imaging, diagnostic methods, and physiological assessment. In addition, students are introduced to the design, development and production of medical devices with coursework in human factors, intellectual property, and regulatory affairs.

The program curriculum, developed by an Advisory Board composed of local industry leaders and distinguished UW faculty, exposes students to the potential of the Medical Engineering discipline as the bridge between research & development, manufacturing, and sales & marketing in the medical device industry. An integrative approach to medical technology problem solving is introduced along with tools for translating research and development into product commercialization.

Program Audience

The Basic Medical Sciences Certificate Program is designed for people who have:

• An interest in the application of engineering to medicine or biotechnology
• Little or no background in biological and medical sciences
• Attained a bachelor's degree or higher level in engineering or materials science

• An introduction to biological sciences that are the basis of medicine, including cell biology, physiology and anatomy
• Exposure to bioengineers and physician practitioners of various medical technologies

Medical engineers are employed in the development and operation of medical devices, systems and processes that strive to improve quality of life. Because the medical technology industry requires employees who understand science and have professional experience in business, medical engineers have promising employment potential. The UW Medical Engineering program strives to provide participants with the tools to explore careers in the medical device industry. Medical engineers can be employed in various stimulating and exciting capacities to directly impact the care and treatment of patients through the use of technology in:

• companies working on the design, development and manufacture of medical devices
• hospitals working with clinicians to provide non-clinical healthcare solutions
• research facilities and not-for-profit organizations
• government regulatory agencies such as the FDA
• sales and marketing within companies fulfilling functions such as product management, technical writing, technical advising or consulting

Master of Medical Engineering Degree

For complete details on the Master of Medical Engineering Degree, see the degree program page.

How to Decide and Get Started

I'm sure I want a Master's in Medical Engineering, and I am ready to start now:

Apply for admission to the Master of Medical Engineering Program. Please review the Admissions Requirements for the Master's program.

I am interested in earning a Master's in Medical Engineering, but I'm not certain about it:

To get started without committing to a degree program, apply to the Basic Medical Sciences Certificate Program. It provides a fundamental understanding of human biology, disease and medicine. A student may take up to two certificates before applying to the degree program. During the certificate programs, students' abilities, determination, and other qualities become known to the medical engineering faculty, and these factors are often taken into account when the student later applies to the degree program. It is theoretically possible to begin with either Medical Devices and Commercialization or Biosensors and Biomaterials (Online), but this should be done only after consultation with an adviser.

I am interested in one or more of the topics covered in the Medical Engineering Program, but I don't want to earn the degree:

Apply to the relevant certificate program(s) or to the relevant individual course(s) (see Single-Course Enrollment). If you take more than three courses, apply for graduate nonmatriculated (GNM) status before taking the fourth course, so if you decide to apply for the degree, the credits will count toward the Graduate School requirements (see Applying for GNM Status). Note that single-course applicants have lower priority in admissions when applications exceed enrollment caps.

The UW Department of Bioengineering The term "bioengineering" (sometimes called biomedical engineering) describes a wide range of activities in which the discipline of engineering intersects with the field of biological and medical sciences. The Center for Bioengineering at the University of Washington was founded in 1967, and became a department in 1997. Faculty in the department have broad collaborations with other faculty at the UW, as well as at other universities, research centers and industrial firms. Research programs in the Department of Bioengineering include: Distributed diagnostics and home health care Molecular engineering and nanotechnology Engineered biomaterials Biomedical imaging and image-guided therapy Computational bioengineering  Paul Yager Acting Chair of Bioengineering, the department that grants the Master of Medical Engineering and approves courses which make up the Medical Engineering Certificate Programs. Dr. Yager's research interests include microfluidic devices for chemical and biochemical measurement, development of point-of-care diagnostic instruments, and the biophysics of self-organizing lipid systems. He is a member of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers College of Fellows. Recently, Dr. Yager was awarded a five-year, $15.4 million Grand Challenges grant which will be used to establish new standards of healthcare technology use in countries around the world. Dr. Yager is a professor of Bioengineering and is an adjunct faculty member in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at the UW. Dr. Yager received his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Oregon.  Kirk Beach Research Professor, Department of Surgery, Founder and Faculty Coordinator, Medical Engineering Programs Dr. Beach is an adjunct faculty member in the Departments of Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering. He is also director of the Ultrasound Reading Center in the D.E. Strandness Vascular Laboratory. Dr. Beach's research interests focus on noninvasive ultrasonic and optical methods for the assessment of vascular abnormalities and their application in epidemiology. The noninvasive instruments may be used in the study of artherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, cancer detection, and the evaluation of pregnancy. He is an inventor on eleven patents. He serves on the board of Directors of Verathon Inc. Dr. Beach received the UW Award for Lifelong Learning in 2003 for his work in the Medical Engineering Program. Beach holds a B.S.E.E. from the University of Washington; a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley; and an M.D. from the University of Washington. For more information, including descriptions of faculty research interests, see the Department of Bioengineering Web site.

Contact a Program Representative

If you have questions about this program, please call 206-685-8936 in the greater Seattle area, or 888-469-6499, or e-mail us.