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 chosen advisor prior to the end of their senior (fourth) year.
  • Up to 12 credits of graduate-level coursework can be dual counted for both your BS and MS degree as long as both degree requirements are being met and grades are a B- or better.

Admission recommendations:

  • 3.6 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

Current Weldon undergraduates will apply to the BME Graduate Program by May 1 of their junior year to determine if admissions qualifications are met. 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
  • Official Purdue University transcript (online request from Registrar to eprowen@purdue.edu);
  • Plan of Study (POS) outlining the fourth and fifth year, approved by the chosen faculty advisor. Use this form: Fifth Year Plan of Study Worksheet

Students will be notified by the BME Graduate Office in early 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

  • Online application - choose Biomedical Engineering as ‘Major’ and the immediate upcoming fall semester for 'Term/Year.'
  • 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.
  • The BME Graduate Office will upload to online application your Purdue University transcript that was submitted with the pre-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.