Fifth-Year Combined BS/MS in Biomedical Engineering (with Thesis)

Criteria for Admission

Guidelines:

  • Open only to Purdue BME undergraduate students;
  • No particular grade point average automatically entitles a student to admission;
  • Student must be on pace to have conducted at least 7 credit hours of undergraduate research (BME 296, BME 498, or equivalent) with anticipated master's faculty advisor prior to the end of their senior (fourth) year;
  • Up to 12 credits of graduate-level coursework taken as an undergrad can be counted for your MS degree (including excess credit) as long as your degree requirements are being met and grades are B- or better; these courses should be taken after you are officially admitted into the program. 

Admission recommendations:

  • 3.2 grade point average or higher in undergraduate studies;

Important Dates

Current Weldon undergraduates will submit a pre-application to the BME Graduate Programs office by May 1 of their junior year to determine if admissions qualifications are met.

Students will be notified by the BME Graduate Office in June if they have been recommended to the program. If so, the student will be instructed to submit the Purdue University Graduate School application on or before August 1 of their senior year.

Pre-Application Requirements

Due Date: May 1, Junior Year

Submit the following materials to the BME Graduate Office at eprowen@purdue.edu:

  • One letter of recommendation from faculty advisor with whom student will continue for MS degree. If known, the letter may state if the faculty advisor will provide financial support of the student for the duration of the MS degree. If unknown, this can be decided later. Students may self-fund their master's degree program year if faculty funding is not available. The faculty advisor should contact the BME Graduate Office with any questions. Please direct the person writing your letter of recommendation to send the letter directly to eprowen@purdue.edu.
  • CV or resume;
  • Statement of Purpose;
  • Scope of Work--you will work with your faculty advisor to create a plan for your thesis project that can be completed in one full year of graduate study and potentially start early during your senior undergraduate year. Use this form: 5th Year Scope of Work Agreement
  • Unofficial Purdue University transcript;
  • Potential grad courses taken as an undergrad to use toward your Graduate Degree (Maximum of 12 credits either as dual counted, excess or a combination); Fifth Year Course Planning Worksheet
    • ​List of Undergrad Courses that Meet Grad Requirements
    • A maximum of 12 graduate-level credits with a B- or better taken as an undergrad (whether dual counted or in excess) will be allowed toward the MS degree requirements
    • NOTE: If you are planning to pursue the Regulatory Affairs graduate certificate, you will need to take the 3 courses required for that certificate as a graduate student (afer you graduate with your BS).

Students will be notified by the BME Graduate Office sometime in June if they have been accepted into the program. If so, the student will be instructed to submit the Purdue University Graduate School application on or before August 1 of their senior year. BS/MS students will have dual status as undergraduate and graduate students and therefore will be eligible for undergraduate financial aid until they have completed all of the BS degree requirements.

Purdue Graduate School Application

The following instructions are only for students who have been officially accepted into BME's combined BS/MS program after completion of the pre-application phase.

Application Deadline: August 1

  • Online application - choose Biomedical Engineering as ‘Major’ and the immediate upcoming fall semester for 'Term/Year.'
  • Campus: Purdue West Lafayette (PWL)
  • Location: Select your expected master's study campus location (where you will continue study after receiving your Bachelor's degree), either West Lafayette or Indianapolis
  • Degree Objective: MS in Biomedical Engineering (MSBME)
  • Research Area: Select from our five core research areas
  • CV or resume - upload to online application.
  • Statement of purpose - upload to online application
  • Application fee paid online via credit card, unless you qualify for a waiver, i.e., through participation in SURF. Mark application accordingly.
  • *Letters of recommendation - see below.
  • Official Purdue University Transcript - upload to online application

*Letters of recommendation are not required, but the online application system will require applicants to enter the names of three recommenders with email addresses. Since we don't actually want anyone to be notified by email to submit a letter, students should list the following as "ghost" recommenders: Sandy May (smmay@purdue.edu), Tammy Siemers (tsiemers@purdue.edu), Purdue Grad School (gradinfo@purdue.edu). Each person will know to disregard the request.