Current Students

Mandatory Trainings

During the summer prior to enrollment, incoming students will receive information regarding several mandatory trainings. These training include lab safety training modules (TANGO) and the Teaching Assistant training (TAPDP). A mandatory BME graduate student orientation will also be held during the first week of classes in the Fall quarter.

Lab Rotations

The majority of our incoming M.S. and Ph.D. students will participate in up to two lab rotations (during Fall and Winter quarters) before matching with their faculty research advisor before the start of Spring quarter.

We encourage incoming students to review the list of core and affiliate BME faculty and begin contacting faculty over the summer to discuss potential rotation projects. During the BME orientation, core and affiliate faculty will also give presentations on their current research projects and indicate how many new students they are able to match with.

For Ph.D. students, when securing a lab rotation, it is essential to discuss the advisor’s available funding. We do not recommend rotating with a faculty member who has limited or no funding to support you throughout the duration of the Ph.D. program.

First Year Coursework

Please consult the Plan of Study for your corresponding degree level and enroll in the required core coursework each quarter.

Elective courses must be graduate level courses. Electives taken outside the department will count for credit towards your degree, as long as the course is relevant to your intended research area. If you need assistance with enrolling in major restricted courses outside of the BME department, please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Course Substitutions/Waivers

If you have taken undergraduate coursework at UCI, which is equivalent to a required graduate core course or if you have taken graduate level courses at another University equivalent to a required graduate core course at UCI, please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator to discuss course substitution or waiver options. Requests such as these are handled on a case-by-case basis and subject to the approval of the Department and the Graduate Dean.

Milestones

• M.S. Milestones to Degree
• Ph.D. Milestones to Degree

Plans of Study

• M.S. Plan of Study
• Ph.D. Plan of Study

Preliminary Exam Eligibility

Every first year Ph.D. student is required to pass the preliminary examination in order to continue in the program. The exams are held yearly, during the third week of May (Spring quarter). To sit for the preliminary exam, a student must have received a passing grade (B or higher) in the Fall and Winter core courses:
BME 210
BME 220
BME 221
BME 230A
BME 230B

Purpose of the Preliminary Exam

This exam is designed to test

• critical thinking
• scientific reasoning
• experimental design
• core skills in context

Selecting an Exam Cluster

By the end of Winter quarter, each student will select an exam cluster, which is the research area that loosely aligns with their intended dissertation research.
The clusters are:

• Biomolecular/Genetics
• Biophotonics
• Cardiovascular
• Nano/Micro
• Neuro Engineering
• Tissue Engineering

Based on the selected cluster, the department will assign a three member faculty committee and the student will be assigned a scientific paper to analyze and present to the committee.

Format of the Exam

The exam consists of an oral presentation from the student, followed by questions from the committee members.
The format will be:

• Uninterrupted 20-minute presentation from the student (aided by PowerPoint slides)
• A 30-minute Q&A session from the committee members
• The exam duration is limited to no more than 1 hour

Exam Grading

The committee considers the following five categories when grading the exams:

Scholarship

• How well was the paper’s significance placed in the context of previous literature?
• How well was the main research problem and/or main hypothesis of the paper presented and discussed?
• How well were the paper’s key conclusions put in context with other literature and the goals of the field?

Analysis

• How well was the data of the paper presented?
• How well was the significance of the data described?
• How well were the links between data and key conclusions of the paper made?
• How well were key problems in the paper, if any, identified and described?

Question and Answer

• How well did the presenter answer questions about the paper?
• How well did the presenter answer questions on topics related to the paper?

Organization

• How logical and clear was the presentation?
• How well were the slides designed and organized?

Delivery

• How comfortable was the presenter in describing the paper?
• How clear and concise was the presentation?

Exam Results

The exam outcomes can be:

• Pass
• Fail

Committee comments and written feedback (positive and negative) will be sent to the student and their faculty advisor within two business days of their exam date, along with the official notification of their exam result.

Should the student fail the exam the first time, the committee will recommend either to re-take the exam (in the following year's exam cycle) or to fulfill certain conditions, which will then result in a passing grade (such as taking specific coursework). Only one re-take is allowed. Should the student fail the exam a second time, they cannot continue in the Ph.D. program, but have the option to change their degree level down to a master’s degree.

Preliminary Exam Information Session

A mandatory information session about the preliminary exam process is conducted yearly during Winter quarter. During this information session, students will be given exact dates and a firm timeline for completing all necessary steps leading up to the preliminary exam.

Preparing for the Qualifying Exam

The Qualifying Exam is your research proposal for your Ph.D. dissertation research. The exam will consist of an oral and written presentation of original work completed thus far, and a coherent plan for completing a body of original research. While there is no strict format for the written proposal, the department strongly suggests that it should follow the thesis/dissertation guidelines from the UCI Library. Templates can be found here.

The Qualifying Exam is usually taken at the end of the second year in the program. If you and your advisor agree that your exam should be postponed, please notify the graduate academic coordinator, Maggie Mulcare.

All core coursework, including the four required elective courses, must be completed prior to taking the Qualifying Exam.

Forming your Exam Committee

The committee must consist of five total members: four general members and one outside member. Of the four general members, at least three must be core or affiliate BME faculty.  The fourth general member is typically an affiliate within the School of Engineering. The fifth member must be an outside member (outside the School of Engineering), who does not have a joint appointment or affiliation with BME. All members of the committee should be tenure-track faculty with membership on the academic senate.

Exceptions for faculty who are not on the academic senate (such as, adjunct professors, certain clinical professors in the School of Medicine, or a faculty from another institution), can be made for a general member only. Exceptions cannot be requested for the outside member.

Please contact the graduate academic coordinator, Maggie Mulcare, to request an exception, at least three weeks prior to your exam date.

If a Conflict of Interest has been identified between you and your advisor, an oversight member will need to be selected by Graduate Division. Please contact the coordinator for instructions regarding this process.

The student is responsible for asking faculty members to serve on their committee and for scheduling an exam time that works for all committee members.

Format of the Exam

The written proposal should be sent to your committee members at least two weeks in advance of your exam date and you will then make an oral presentation, with some time allotted for questions. Your exam should be two hours (approximately 30 minutes to one hour for your oral presentation and the remaining time allotted for questions from your committee).

Unlike the preliminary exam, there are no restrictions on practicing your exam in front of your peers or your advisor and seeking their constructive criticism.

Required Paperwork

Before the Exam – It is strongly recommended that you email your intended committee to the graduate academic coordinator at least two weeks prior to your exam, to ensure your committee meets all requirements and is approved by Graduate Division.

If you are requesting an exception for a general member, or need an oversight member selected, you must submit the form and inform the graduate academic coordinator at least three weeks prior to your exam.

After the Exam – After passing your exam, the Ph.D. Form I must be completed and signed by all committee members. The Ph.D. Form I should be completed and submitted via DocuSign. Please complete the DocuSign Request Form after your exam to initiate the form in DocuSign on your behalf. The form will be automatically routed to all signees.

Conferring the M.S. Degree

Our program is a combined M.S./Ph.D. program for most students. Unless you have earned a master’s degree in biomedical engineering, biotechnology or similar discipline, prior to enrolling at UCI, you are expected to earn an M.S. degree “along the way” to your Ph.D.

You will earn the M.S. degree via the “Comprehensive Exam” option. In this case, the preliminary exam, which was taken at the end of year one, counts as the “Comprehensive Exam,” and the M.S. degree will be conferred on your transcript in the academic quarter after passing the Qualifying Exam. Degrees can only be conferred during a quarter in which you are enrolled in classes, so if you pass the Qualifying Exam in Spring, your M.S. degree will not be conferred until the following Fall quarter.

To confer the M.S. degree, the Graduate Academic Coordinator will initiate the conferral form in DocuSign on your behalf.

M.S. Advancement to Candidacy

All students must advance to candidacy one quarter prior to graduation. For students intending to complete their degree in two years, this means the advancement form must be completed in Winter quarter of the second year of enrollment.

The M.S. Advancement to Candidacy form must be initiated in DocuSign by the graduate academic coordinator, Maggie Mulcare (mmulcare@uci.edu). Please complete the DocuSign Request Form when you are ready for your form to be created.

M.S. Thesis Committee

On the M.S. Advancement to Candidacy form, you must elect your three Thesis Committee members. The committee should consist of a committee chair and two general members. Of the three members, there must be a BME majority, which means that at least two members (including your chair) must hold a primary or affiliate position within the BME department. The third member can be from outside the department. All members must be tenure-tract faculty with membership on the academic senate.

If you have changes to your committee membership after submitting your Advancement form, please notify the graduate academic coordinator as soon as possible.

Once your committee members have agreed to serve on your Thesis Committee, it is advised to give them a timeline of when you plan to submit your written thesis to them and when you would need their approval. We advise giving your committee members a minimum of two weeks to review your written thesis before giving their approval/asking them to sign the graduation paperwork.   

M.S. Thesis Signature Page

Once all three committee members have approved your thesis, the M.S. Thesis Signature Page and M.S. Graduation Checklist must be initiated via DocuSign. These are now combined into one form in DocuSign. The form should be requested here.

The final deadline to submit the M.S. Thesis Signature Page to Graduate Division is the last Friday of classes in the quarter you plan to graduate.

In addition to the form, students must attach proof that they have completed the exit survey and have submitted their final thesis to UCI Library through ProQuest. Please note that during peak graduation times, such as the last week of the quarter, it may take two to four business days for your thesis submission to be accepted by ProQuest. Do not wait until the last minute to submit your thesis.

Student Seminar

All doctoral students are required to give a short presentation (20 minutes) during the BME 298 seminar series course. After passing your qualifying exam, you are eligible to present. The department strongly recommends completing your presentation during year four.

The seminar series is managed by Khang Pham, khangvp@uci.edu. He will assist with all seminar coordination and scheduling.

At least one committee member, preferably your doctoral committee chair, must be present during the seminar to evaluate your presentation. An evaluation sheet must be submitted to the department to fulfill this requirement for graduation.

Defense Announcement

All students are required to advertise their defense publicly to BME students and faculty. Please provide a short abstract, the date, time, the location and/or Zoom details. Please send these details to Dilon Reynolds at least two weeks prior to your defense date.

Currently, defenses may be conducted in-person, hybrid style or fully virtual. 

Changes to Committee Members

Your Doctoral Committee members should have been indicated on your Ph.D. Form I after you passed your qualifying exam. If changes need to be made to your committee, please notify the graduate academic coordinator, Maggie Mulcare (mmulcare@uci.edu) prior to your defense so that the update can be made with Graduate Division.

Submitting Dissertation to ProQuest

Please consult UCI Library for formatting guidelines for the Ph.D. dissertation. Instructions on how to upload your dissertation to ProQuest are here.

Please note that during peak graduation times (the final week of classes, particularly in spring quarter), it may take two to three days for ProQuest to send the final confirmation email that must be submitted to the Graduate Division along with the Ph.D. Form II. Plan accordingly and do not wait until the last minute to submit your dissertation.

Ph.D. Form II via DocuSign

After passing your defense, please complete the DocuSign request form to initiate your Ph.D. Form II and Ph.D. dissertation checklist via DocuSign. These forms have now been combined into one form.

Please note that all checklist items must be attached to the DocuSign as PDFs before the student signs/submits the form. These items include the Ph.D. exit survey and the confirmation email from ProQuest. The confirmation email will be the second email received from ProQuest, which states that your dissertation has passed all required checks and been approved.

The deadline for the Ph.D. Form II during the normal academic year (fall-spring quarters) is the Friday of the last week of classes.

Filing Fee

Students may petition to go on filing fee status in the quarter in which they are graduating, only if they have completed all research/lab work. Students on filing fee status cannot use campus facilities, such as labs or the library, and cannot be actively employed as a graduate student researcher (GSR) or teaching assistant (TA) during the academic year. Students are permitted to be employed over the summer quarter while on filing fee.

During the academic year (fall-spring quarters), the filing fee petition must be completed and submitted prior to the third Friday of classes for that quarter. During the summer, the filing fee deadline is the same as the graduation paperwork deadline and therefore the form should be initiated and submitted at the same time as the Ph.D. form II.

The filing fee is currently $201 and can be paid online here. The receipt must be attached to the DocuSign form before submission.

Please email the graduate academic coordinator, Maggie Mulcare, to initiate the filing fee form via DocuSign.