Applying to the MD/PhD
Admission
For this joint degree program, you must be admitted to both the BME graduate (PhD) program and the Medical Scientist Program (MSP)
Please note that students admitted to BME, but not admitted to the MSP, may still consider enrollment in the BME PhD program exclusively.
Specific Requirements for Applying to the BME Graduate Program
These are separate from and in addition to the requirements of Med School and the MSP. All materials are due by January 15th, for competitive fellowship consideration.
- 3 (at least) letters of recommendation addressed to BME Graduate Studies Chair - at least one should directly recommend you for the PhD program in BME, the other 2 can be copies of those used for med school or the MSP.
- BME-specific Statement of Purpose (about 1 page) AND resume or CV.
- Abstract of masters or undergraduate thesis (or equivalent significant research project).
- Official general GRE scores (MCAT scores will not substitute).
- Official transcripts from all universities attended.
Send items 1-3 to BME Graduate Studies, 260B Bevis Hall, 1080 Carmack Rd., Columbus, OH 43210. Questions regarding these can be directed to Melanie Senitko, senitko.1@osu.edu, (614)-292-7152.
Other items go directly to Graduate Admissions Office, The Ohio State University, 1800 Cannon Dr., Columbus, OH 43210-1270.
Application status can be checked at http://appstatus.osu.edu.
Prerequisite undergraduate courses (in addition to those required for med school admission)
Math: Calculus (1 year), and Differential Equations
Engineering: Circuits with lab, Electronic and/or Controls, and Statics (Mechanics)
Recommended prerequisite courses
Electrical Engineering Systems (1 year), Dynamics, Strength of Materials, Transport Phenomena, Intro to Materials Science, and Thermodynamics
PhD Program of Study
The coursework is a mixture of BME and the life sciences.
45 credits toward your graduate degree come from the medical school courses as life science credit.
40 credits of graduate level engineering, math, statistics, and/or computer science classes remain to be completed.
50 credits of dissertation research are also required.
Specifically Required Courses
BME 600 - Survey of BME (3 credits) - offered in the fall
BME 771 - Bioinstrumentation (4 credits) - offered in the spring
BME 881 - Seminar series (2 credits) - must be taken for 6 quarters
A statistics course is required, either STAT 641 or STAT 645 - (5 credits each)
One major area must be chosen on an engineering area and must include 25 credit hours. Ideally this is in the same area as your dissertation.
One or two minor areas must be chosen, but this can be either an engineering area or a life science area, using credits from med school (i.e. physiology).
Individualized study courses (BME 793) can be taken with a faculty member for course credit on any topic not covered by an offered course in adequate depth.
Year-by-Year Schedule
Two options are available with regard to integrating medical school with the BME coursework and dissertation research. A Candidacy Exam is taken after all BME and medical school courses are completed. The PhD dissertation should be defended before returning to Med III.
| Year in program | Enrollment | Main Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grad | BME courses |
| 2 | Med I | Med courses |
| 3 | Med II | Med courses |
| 4 | Grad | Research & any remaining BME courses |
| 5 | Grad | Research |
| 6 | Grad | Research |
| 7 | Med III | Clinical Rotations |
| 8 | Med IV | BME courses |
| Year in program | Enrollment | Main Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grad | BME courses |
| 2 | Grad | Research & any remaining BME courses |
| 3 | Med I | Med courses |
| 4 | Med II | Med courses |
| 5 | Grad | Research |
| 6 | Grad | Research |
| 7 | Med III | Clinical Rotations |
| 8 | Med IV | BME courses |
Some Major Areas of BME Research at OSU
Biomaterials & Tissue Science & Engineering
Rita Alevriadou (Vasc.Biol)
Keith Gooch (Vascular and connective tissue biol. and TE)
Douglas Kniss (Biol & TE)
Alan Litsky (BioMat)
Nic Moldovan (Vasc. Biol)
Mark Ruegsegger (BioMat & Nano-Tech)
Biomedical Imaging Science & Engineering
Gunjan Agarwal (AFM)
Bradley Clymer (Image and Signal processing)
Jun Liu (Ultrasound)
Cynthia Roberts (Laser)
Robert Xu (MRI, Infrared)
Biomedical Micro- & Nano-Science & Engineering
Derek Hansford (Micro & Nano-Tech)
Stephen Lee (Nano-Tech)
