Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois, about 15 miles north of Chicago. The biomedical engineering department at the university's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the Chicago and Evanston campuses. It offers a Bachelor of Science, combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science (BS/MS), Master of Science only, and doctorate degree in biomedical engineering. The regular bachelor's degree program requires students to choose one of six tracks: biomechanics and rehabilitation, transport processes and tissue engineering, biological materials and molecular engineering, biomedical signals and images, computer engineering and electrical engineering. Students are able to complete alternate courses with approval of the department. The combined BS/MS program enables individuals to earn a bachelor's and master's degree while conducting significant research. Both the combined BS/MS program and MS-only program enable students to choose a thesis or non-thesis option. The Ph.D. program requires students to conduct extensive research and complete a thesis dissertation.
The Illinois Institute of Technology resides in Chicago and it offers a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in biomedical engineering. Both programs allow students to concentrate on one specific area: cell and tissue engineering, neural engineering or medical imaging. For the bachelor's degree, the cell and tissue engineering concentration requires 131 credits, while the neural engineering and medical imaging concentrations both require 132 credits. All tracks require mathematics, chemistry, biology, computer science, humanities and social science and physics courses. The doctorate degree program enables students to gain a deeper understanding of the field and requires 84 credits including courses in mathematics, life sciences, biomedical engineering and other engineering-related areas. It also requires a thesis dissertation.
The University of Illinois is based out of Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, with various campuses around the state. A bachelor's, master's and doctorate degree in biomedical engineering is offered at the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses. The BS program requires 132 credit hours and includes four components: mathematics and science, bioengineering technical core, track and general education and electives. Students are able to choose a biomechanics, biomolecular, imaging and sensing, cell and tissue engineering and computational and systems biology track. The MS program requires 32 credit hours, and students can choose a thesis or non-thesis option. The Ph.D. program requires 64 credit hours including electives, research and thesis dissertation.
Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, and its Department of Electrical Engineering offers a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with concentration on biomedical engineering. Two tracks are offered, one for individuals intending to work as biomedical engineers and one for individuals wanting to work in the medical field. Both tracks require a total of 135 credit hours, including science and mathematics courses, core engineering courses and electives.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It offers a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering and a Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering. Students are required to complete science foundation, biomedical engineering foundation and biomedical engineering concentration courses. Both programs require 42 credits and contain the same courses, except the MS program requires a thesis and the ME program does not. An elective course and research paper are required in place of the thesis.