Biomedical, Industrial, and Human Factors Engineering

Combined Bachelor of Science and Master of Science (B.S./M.S.)

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Why Choose the Combined B.S./M.S. Program?

The Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering (BIE) offers a combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science (B.S./M.S.) degree program, which allows you to earn both a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering (BME) or Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) and an M.S. in BME or IHE in five years. Up to nine semester credit hours of 6000-level courses may be double counted and applied toward both B.S. and M.S. degree requirements.

Biomedical Engineering Student Abigail Durst
Industrial and Systems Engineering student Shelby Holzapfel

Success Stories

Through the Wright State Biomedical Engineering 4+1 program I was able to attain the necessary classes for medical school and gain valuable research experience that facilitated my transition to Boonshoft School of Medicine.

“The 4+1 program allowed me to pursue my M.S. while an undergraduate student. I was able to work on both degrees simultaneously so that one year after graduating with my B.S. I was able to graduate with an M.S. The research and the additional coursework experience helped me secure a position at Honda immediately after graduation.”

Academics and Curriculum

Undergraduate Program Options

You can take up to 12 semester hours of graduate courses while in undergraduate status. The first nine semester hours of graduate work will be counted on both the undergraduate and graduate transcripts. An additional three semester hours of graduate work can be taken to count on the graduate transcript only. In other words, you can complete up to 40 percent of your M.S. degree while still in undergraduate status with a combination of dually counted and additional graduate coursework. Please be sure you understand how your selected graduate coursework will fulfill both B.S. and M.S. requirements when you apply to the program.

Graduate Program of Study Requirements

The graduate Program of Study submitted at the time of application to the B.S./M.S. program must meet the requirements of the relevant graduate degree program, either BME or IHE. Both programs require 30 semester hours total. Other requirements exist for discipline-specific coursework (6000- or 7000-level), BIE department coursework at the 7000-level, and approved coursework in mathematics, computations, or statistics. The graduate Program of Study should be turned in with the application and already signed by you and your graduate faculty advisor.

Suggestions for developing a graduate Program of Study:

  • Determine your preferred focus area(s) and meet with a faculty advisor for advice about which graduate courses would best suit your interests. The graduate advisor is required to sign the program of study that is submitted with the 4+1 application.
    • If you are a thesis option student, you should meet with an advisor in your selected research focus area.
    • If you are a BME course option student, you should meet with Ulas Sunar, Ph.D., for initial graduate advising.
    • If you are an ISE/IHE course option student, you should meet with  Subashini Ganapathy, Ph.D., for initial graduate advising.
  • Use the graduate advising worksheets on the forms page to help you select courses based on your focus area. The BIE department staff contact for the 4+1 program can answer any questions you have during this process.
  • The initial Program of Study is required for the B.S./M.S. application, but any changes can be resubmitted later as needed.

Grades and Transcripts

You will receive both undergraduate and graduate transcripts, from which two separate GPAs will be calculated. Credits that are dually counted will appear on both transcripts.

Admission

During the junior year, typically when between 60 and 30 hours are remaining for completion of the B.S. degree, a student interested in pursuing combined B.S./M.S. degrees should submit the Application to a Combined Degree Program (PDF) to the BIE Department. This application requires verification of eligibility by the department and approval of the department chair. Along with the application,you are required to submit a graduate Program of Study, signed by the your graduate faculty advisor and department chair.

Admission Requirements

In the junior year, typically when between 60 and 30 hours are remaining for completion of the B.S. degree, a student interested in pursuing combined B.S./M.S. degrees should submit the Application to a Combined Degree Program to the BIE department. This application requires verification of eligibility by the department and approval of the department chair. Along with the application, you are required to submit a graduate Program of Study, signed by your graduate faculty advisor and the department chair.

Application Deadlines

Applications are due two weeks prior to the end of the semester before you expect to begin the program (i.e. two weeks before the end of the fall semester for spring admission and two weeks before the end of the spring semester for fall admission).

Admission Status

Once the application is approved in the BIE department and the Graduate School, until completion of the undergraduate course requirements, you remain in undergraduate status; however, you will be permitted to register independently for their approved graduate level courses. Following completion of the B.S. degree, you will be transitioned to graduate status, provided your graduate GPA is 3.0 or higher.

Tuition and Financial Aid

If you are in the combined B.S./M.S. degree program, you will pay undergraduate tuition through completion of the B.S. degree. Upon transition to the Graduate School, you will pay tuition at the graduate level.

You are eligible for undergraduate financial aid until completion of the B.S. requirements. Upon transition to the graduate school, you become eligible for graduate forms of financial aid, including graduate tuition scholarships and graduate assistantships.

Program Withdrawal

A student admitted to the combined BS/MS program may withdraw from the combined program and continue as a traditional undergraduate student. However, if the student is awarded a BS degree and becomes a graduate student again at a later time, rather than moving directly from the undergraduate program into the graduate program, the graduate credits applied to the BS degree cannot also be applied to the MS degree. 

Program Dismissal

Failure to keep a minimum cumulative or discipline-specific undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or to complete the B.S. requirements within three years of admission to the combined degree program will result in dismissal from the combined B.S./M.S. program.

If your graduate GPA is below 3.0, you will be required to petition to be admitted conditionally to the Graduate School following the completion of the B.S. program.


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