SBME Specializations Curriculum: For students who entered UBC in 2021W and After

Create your own path. Biomedical Engineering is constantly evolving to stay at the forefront of innovation. Biomedical Engineering degrees at SBME are customizable to reflect the interdisciplinary and interconnected nature of engineering, medicine and healthcare. Beginning in third year, you can specialize your technical electives, giving you an excellent background for a career in the ever-changing areas of industry, healthcare or research.

Your biomedical engineering degree is interdisciplinary, and your technical electives can reflect this based on what you choose. For example, you may want to take courses related to the five following areas:

  • Biomechanics
  • Cellular and Molecular Engineering
  • Biomedical Informatics
  • Biomaterials
  • Signals and Systems

Key Details

At the end of your degree, whichever direction you choose to go, you’re a Biomedical Engineer. Specializations are not listed on your transcript, but they will help guide you as you move forward into your career.

The undergraduate program is fully accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers. As such, technical electives must meet the minimum Accreditation Units (AU) assigned to each course. To see all technical electives and their AU’s, review the “Technical Electives” section below.



CORE COURSES

The below tables detail courses that all Biomedical Engineering Students take during their degree.

YEAR 2

CodeTitleCredits
BMEG 201Technical Communication for Biomedical Engineers
3
BMEG 210Thermodynamics in Biomedical Engineering
3
BMEG 220Circuits and Electromagnetics with Application to Biomedical Engineering
4
BMEG 230Biomechanics I
4
BMEG 245The Fundamental Units of Life: From Cells To Systems
4
BMEG 250Cellular Physiology and Biophysics
4
BMEG 257Biomedical Engineering Design I
4
CPEN 221B OR CPEN 223 1Principles of Software Construction OR Software Design for Engineers
4
MATH 253Multivariable Calculus
3
MATH 256Differential equations
3
MATH 2642Vector Calculus for Electrical Engineering
1
Total
37

1 CPEN 221 is recommended for those interested in Bioinformatics and/or Biomedical Systems & Signals
2 Delivered with BMEG 220


YEAR 3

CodeTitleCredits
BIOC 202Introductory Medical Biochemistry
3
BMEG 310Introduction to Bioinformatics
4
BMEG 321Biomedical Instrumentation
3
BMEG 350Human Structure/Function from Cells to Systems
4
BMEG 357Biomedical Engineering Design II
3
BMEG 371Transport Phenomena within Cells and Tissues
3
CHEM 233Organic Chemistry for the Biological Sciences
3
CHEM 235Organic Chemistry Laboratory
1
STAT 251Elementary Statistics
3
Technical Electives
6
Complementary Studies Electives
3
Total
36

YEAR 4

CodeTitleCredits
BMEG 401Economics of Heath Care Solutions
3
BMEG 455Professionalism and Ethics in Biomedical Engineering
3
BMEG 457Biomedical Engineering Design Project
6
STAT 300Intermediate Statistics for Applications
3
Technical Electives
15
Complementary Studies Electives
6
Total
36

SELECTING YOUR ELECTIVES

The Biomedical Engineering program offered by the UBC SBME is accredited following guidelines from the Accreditation Board of Engineers Canada (ABEC).

According to these guidelines, our program must meet a minimum of Engineering Science and Engineering Design content, quantified for each course as a single number called the Accreditation Unit (AU).

For your Technical Electives, you must choose at least 21 credits from the course list below:

  • Totaling no fewer than 180 AUs.
  • A maximum of 7-8 credits (2 courses) of 100 or 200 level courses.
  • A minimum of 9 credits of 400 level courses.

Important Notes:

  • For students considering Graduate school, additional 400 level courses may be necessary.
  • Not all courses will be available each year and the BMEG program cannot guarantee seats as many electives are non-BMEG courses.
  • The AUs are designed to capture engineering content, which varies with the topic, and is not a representation of the relevance or usefulness of the course material to your education and career.

CODE

COURSE NAME

CREDITS

ACCREDITATION UNITS


APSC 278
 

Engineering Materials 336.6

APSC 279 

Engineering Materials Laboratory 16.1

APSC 486 

New Venture Design 

72

BMEG 320 

Bioengineering Feedback Systems and Control 

42.7

BMEG 330 

Biomechanics II 

42.7

BMEG 372 

Biomedical Materials and Drug Delivery 

42.7

BMEG 373 

Microfluids 

36.6

BMEG 374 

Cellular Bioengineering Lab 

18.3

BMEG 400B 

Linear Optical Systems 

36.6

BMEG 400C 

Modern Biomedical Optical Imaging 

36.6

BMEG 400D 

Clinical Informatics 

32.94

BMEG 400E 

Genome Informatics 

32.94

BMEG 400F 

Bioionics and Robotics 

36.6

BMEG 400H 

Synthetic Biology Bootcamp

3

40

BMEG 420

Medical Imaging 

36.6

BMEG 470 

Cellular Responses to Forces and Biomaterials 

9.15

BMEG 474 

Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine 

36.6

BMEG 490A 

Introduction to Academic Research 

39.9

CHBE 251

Transport Phenomena I314.64

CHBE 481 

Bioprocess Engineering II 

32.025

CPEN 312 

Digital Systems and Microcomputers 

42.7

CPEN 321 

Software Engineering 

48.8

CPEN 421 

 Software Project Management 

32.208

CPEN 441 

Human Computer Interfaces in Engineering Design 

48.8

CPSC 121

Models of Computation 36.6

CPSC 221 
 
Basic Algorithms and Data Structures 436.6

CPSC 302

 
Numerical Computation for Algebraic Problems 318.3

CPSC 303
 

Numerical Approximation and Discretization 318.3

CPSC 304 

Introduction to relational databases 

42.7

CPSC 320 

Intermediate Algorithm Design and Analysis 

42.7

CPSC 322 

Introduction to Artificial intelligence 

27.45

CPSC 330 

Applied Machine Learning 

32.025

CPSC 340 

Machine Learning and Data Mining 

32.025

CPSC 344 

Introduction to Human Computer Interaction Methods 

48.8

CPSC 425 

Computer Vision 

27.45

CPSC 445
 
Algorithms in

Bioinformatics 

 318.3

ELEC 221
 

Signals and Systems 48.8

ELEC 321 

Stochastic Signals and Systems 

19.52

ELEC 331 

Computer Communications 

48.8

ELEC 421 

Digital Systems and Image Processing 

27.45

ELEC 422 

Biosignals and Systems 

36.6

ELEC 442 

Introduction to Robotics 

36.6

ELEC 462

Sensors and Actuators in Microsystems 

36.3

ELEC 463 

Micro/Nanofabrication and Instrumentation Laboratory 

42.7

ELEC 465 

Microsystems Design 

36.6

ELEC 473 

Biological Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems 

36.6
MECH 260

Introduction to Mechanics of Materials 342.7

MECH 360 

Solid Mechanics 

42.7

MECH 380 

Fluid Dynamics 

32.025

MECH 410D 

Engineering Dynamics 

27.45

MECH 433 

Biofluids 

42.7

MECH 436 

Fundamentals of Injury Biomechanics 

32.025

MECH 462 

Finite Element Analysis 

33.55

MECH 463 

Mechanical Vibrations 

48.8

MECH 464 

Industrial Robotics 

25.62

MECH 469 

Dynamic Systems Models 

36.6

MTRL 495 

Biomaterials 

26.352

BIOC 302

General Biochemistry30

CAPS 421

Advanced Cellular & Molecular Physiology30

CHEM 211

Introduction to Chemical Analysis40

MATH 220

Mathematical Proof30

MICB 202

Introductory Medical Microbiology and Immunology30

MICB 212

Introductory Immunology and Virology30

MICB 302

Immunology30

MICB 306

Molcular Virology30

STAT 406

Methods for Statistical Learning30

EXAMPLE SPECIALIZATION GUIDES

The course lists below are example pathways for each specialization. These pathways meet the accreditation requirements including necessary pre-requisite courses; however, you can adjust these lists to meet your interests and fit with your course schedule.

Biomaterials

CODE

COURSE NAME

CREDITS

ACCREDITATION UNITS

BMEG 372 

Biomedical Materials and Drug Delivery 

42.7

BMEG 373 

Microfluids 

36.6

BMEG 470 

Cellular Responses to Forces and Biomaterials 

9.15

CHBE 251

Transport Phenomena I314.64

MTRL 495 

Biomaterials326.352

APSC 278
 

Engineering Materials336.3

ELEC 463 

Micro/Nanofabrication and Instrumentation Laboratory342.7

Biomechanics

CODE

COURSE NAME

CREDITS

ACCREDITATION UNITS

MECH 260

Introduction to Mechanics of Materials 342.7

MECH 360 

Solid Mechanics 

42.7

CHBE 251

Transport Phenomena I314.64

MECH 410D 

Engineering Dynamics 

27.45

MECH 433 

Biofluids 

42.7

MECH 436 

Fundamentals of Injury Biomechanics 

42.7

BMEG 330 

Biomechanics II 

42.7

Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering

CODE

COURSE NAME

CREDITS

ACCREDITATION UNITS


BMEG 374 
Cellular Bioengineering Lab  318.3

BMEG 400H 
Synthetic Biology Bootcamp
Please note: This course is held in the Summer term, and has limited availability. Students will need to plan ahead if considering this course
340

BMEG 470
 

 
Cellular Responses to Forces and Biomaterials 39.15

BMEG 474 
 
Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine 336.6
BMEG 490A 

Introduction to Academic Research 339.9
CHBE 481 
Bioprocess Engineering II 332.025

CHBE 381
Bioprocess Engineering I329.89

Biomedical Informatics

CODE

COURSE NAME

CREDITS

ACCREDITATION UNITS


CPSC 121

Models of Computation 36.6

CPSC 221 
 
Basic Algorithms and Data Structures 436.6

CPSC 320 

Intermediate Algorithm Design and Analysis 

42.7

BMEG 400E 

Genome Informatics 

32.94

ELEC 422 

Biosignals and Systems 

36.6

CPSC 425 

Computer Vision 

27.45

CPSC 445
 
Algorithms in

Bioinformatics 

 318.3

Signals and Systems

CODE

COURSE NAME

CREDITS

ACCREDITATION UNITS


ELEC 221
 

Signals and Systems 48.8

ELEC 421 

Digital Systems and Image Processing 

27.45

CPSC 330 

Applied Machine Learning 

32.025

BMEG 420

Medical Imaging 

36.6

BMEG 400F 

Bioionics and Robotics 

36.6

ELEC 462

Sensors and Actuators in Microsystems 

36.3

ELEC 463 

Micro/Nanofabrication and Instrumentation Laboratory 

42.7

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