2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Introduction: Biomedical Engineering (BME) is a broad topic that has many subfields. The breadth in BME Undergraduate curricula indicates that BME graduates are well-prepared to interface with both engineering and clinical professionals. However, they often have less depth in specific engineering topics due to the constraints and variations on the BME curriculum [1]. As a result of ambiguity in their academic training, it has been reported that BME graduates can experience barriers to career attainment as compared to those majoring in other engineering disciplines [2,3].

Though BME master’s students have varying reasons for pursuing advanced degrees, a common motivation is to gain deeper knowledge into a specific sub-field of BME and learn new skills associated with this subfield [4]. This enhanced knowledge can help students attain their career goals, whether it is advancement in industry positions or pursuing advanced degrees such as the MD and PhD. However, there is a knowledge gap between the skills BME master’s graduates gain during graduate study and expectations of potential employers in both industry and academia. Alignment of BME master’s program curricula with expectations of those who hire BME master’s graduates will improve student outcomes, lead to satisfied master’s program stakeholders, and will distinguish the unique skill set of biomedical engineers.

Methods: To gather information on the opinions of industry and academic leaders regarding BME master’s programs, the authors held two workshops: 1) “Discussions on the value-added proposition for BME master’s programs and views from Industry” held at the BME Council of Chairs Education Summit in May 2024 and 2) “BME Master’s Programs: Aligning Programs with Student Career Goals” held at the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting in October, 2024. Though participants in the workshops were largely BME faculty members (~150 participants total), both workshops included discussion of two IRB approved surveys that assessed the perspectives of both senior industry professionals that hire BME graduates and established Ph.D. faculty advisors that select students to work in their lab. These surveys highlighted important professional skills hiring managers are looking for in employees, gaps in the BME curricula regarding professional skills, and the level of understanding of the BME degree as a whole. After receiving survey results, workshop participants discussed: (1) Actions BME master’s programs can take to better align with expectations of industry and academic stakeholders (2) Actions the BME community can take to provide a framework for aligning programs with stakeholder expectations (3) Assessment of BME Master’s programs.

Results: Desired skills that are not addressed by undergraduate BME curricula as listed by 28 experienced industry survey responders include manufacturing concepts, design controls, mechanical drawing, regulatory affairs, and quality. Desired skills listed by 18 senior faculty recruiting Ph.D. students include research skills and experience, curiosity, passion, initiative, mathematical skills and other technical skills. After discussion among workshop attendees, proposals of how to incorporate these skills into BME master’s programs include (1) allowing professional development activities to count towards program requirements (2) specialized programs should narrow focus by role or sector (3) programs should incorporate manufacturing into courses (4) advanced mathematical modeling and programming courses should be a requirement of BME programs.

Discussion and Conclusions: Throughout both workshops, participants identified many actions individual programs could implement to teach skills desired by those hiring BME graduates. However, one key discussion point echoed throughout the workshops was the need for the greater BME community to provide a framework that aids programs in aligning their curricula with the needs of industry and academia. This framework could include building an industry sector-specific skills list, inviting industry panels to speak at BME events and conferences, developing an industry or academic skills bootcamp, or a youtube channel to learn specific skills. Ultimately, we urge the BME community to build an assessment protocol for all types of master’s programs in order to analyze their effectiveness in a unified manner.

[1] Linsenmeier, R. A., & Saterbak, A. (2020). Fifty Years of Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Education. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 48(6), 1590-1615. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-020-02494-0

[2] Desing, R. M., Shermadou, A. S., Nocera, T. M., Delaine, D. A., Atiq, S. Z., Ortiz-Rosario, A., Childers, R. C., & Lewis, R. S. (2023). Identifying Supports and Barriers in Engineering Students’ Processes Toward Career Attainment. Biomedical Engineering Education, 4(1), 33-56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-023-00119-1

[3] Rivera, C. P., Haung-Saad, A., Jamison, C. S. E., & Wang, A. (2021, June 22, 2020). Preparing Early-career Biomedical Undergraduates Through Investigations of Stakeholder Needs: A Qualitative Analysis. 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, Virtual On-Line.

[4] Gray, M., Amos, J. R., Bailey, S., Grande-Allen, K. J., Kofron, C., & Stukes, S. (2024). BME Master's Programs: Who Are They for and What Can They Offer? Biomedical Engineering Education, 4(2), 175-183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-024-00141-x