The Engineering family welcomed a new member with the incorporation of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Last Wednesday, the School of Engineering faculty voted to begin offering Master of Engineering and Doctoral degrees in biomedical engineering.
The incorporation of program into a full department comes two years after the biomedical engineering program was established. Undergraduate students previously could only take biomedical engineering as a second major and graduate students received a Masters of Science.
The creation of the graduate degree programs is the combination of faculty initiative coupled with increased student demand. The emergence of the new graduate degrees also "reflects this direction in science and engineering and clinical sciences at Tufts," said Professor David Kaplan, Biomedical Engineering Department chair.
The evolution of the biomedical program has been under discussion for the past year.
"[The incorporation] was not controversial," Chair of Engineering Curriculum Committee Alva Couch said..
In October 2002, the computer science and electrical engineering departments split and the biomedical engineering department was created. "This is a continued evolution of the engineering school," Kaplan said.
In its proposal, the then-program said that the growing interest in biomedical engineering makes it "appropriate to establish this new department and programs as a beacon at Tufts."
"As a school, we are trying to grow and strengthen our research activities and educational programs in many areas related to biotechnology and to strengthen our ties with the Medical School," Dean of the School of Engineering Linda Abriola said.
This evolution "represents renewed commitment to life science part of much broader move to focus on life sciences in engineering" Couch said.
"The degrees and the department also integrate research activities among the sciences, engineering and the clinical sciences at Tufts, strengths that we can build upon," Kaplan said.
"Our goal is to build our research infrastructure and opportunities for students at both graduate and undergraduate levels," Kaplan continued. "We are gradually building up our graduate student pool."
Abriola hopes the new graduate programs will enhance Tufts' ability to attract talented engineers and scientists who are interested in pursuing careers.
The program aims to attract students currently working in the field, seeking to attain a graduate degree, and current undergraduates. The courses will be on part-time, evening, and summer programs to accommodate the needs of perspective students.
The faculty's proposal noted that "activity and interest in biomedical engineering as a discipline is growing rapidly and is a vital part of the Boston infrastructure."
Kaplan anticipates the hiring two new faculty members. He said only a limited number of courses will be added, since most courses needed are already offered.
Currently Worchester Polytechnic Institute and Boston University are the only two academic institutions in the Boston area with a biomedical engineering department offering Ph.D. and master-level degrees.
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