IMPORTANT: Effective 22W, the concentrations have been replaced with tracks. For students admitted to the major (not the pre-major) 22W and forward, more info on the new track curriculum can be found here.

The Biomedical Systems concentration is for students interested primarily in medical system studies; the systems aspects of biomedical, surgical, or other biomedical engineering system devices–including MEMS or nanoscale system devices; as well as use of dynamic biosystem modeling for optimizing or developing new clinical diagnostic or therapeutic protocols. Example research problems include feedback biocontrol system model development for imaging-based medical diagnosis, and optimal control of therapeutic drug delivery.

Concentration Curriculum

1. BIOENGR 100: Bioengineering Fundamentals (4)

2. BIOENGR C102: Human Physiological Systems for Bioengineering I (4)  OR BIOENGR 110: Biotransport and Bioreaction Processes (4)

3. MATH 151A: Applied Numerical Methods (4) OR EC ENGR 133A: Applied Numerical Computing (4)

4. C&S BIO M186/BIOENGR CM186/COM SCI CM186/EE BIOL M178: Computational Systems Biology: Modeling and Simulation of Biological Systems (5)

5. Elective course chosen from list below: 

BIOENGR 110 Biotransport and Bioreaction Processes (4)
BIOENGR 120 Biomedical Transducers (4)
BIOENGR M248/M PHARM M248/PB MED M248 Introduction to Biological Imaging (4)
BIOENGR M260/NEURO M206/EC ENGR M255 Neuroengineering (4)
BIOENGR M263/NEURO M203 Anatomy of Central Nervous System (4)
MATH 134 Linear and Nonlinear Systems of Differential Equations (4)
MATH 136 Partial Differential Equations (4)
MATH 151A Applied Numerical Methods (4)
MATH 151B Applied Numerical Methods (4)
MATH 164 Optimization (4)
MATH 171 Stochastic Processes (4)
STATS 101B Introduction to Design and Analysis of Experiment (4)
STATS 101C Introduction to Statistical Models and Data Mining (4)
COM SCI 168 Computational Methods for Medical Imaging (4)
C&S BIO M175/CHEM M186 Stochastic Processes in Biochemical Systems (4)

Students in the Biomedical Systems concentration must also complete:

  • Mathematics 32A (For students who complete the LIFESCI 30 math series, C&S BIO M32 can fulfill this requirement)

Concentration Course Planning

When planning major coursework, students must be mindful of pre-requisites. Some courses for the Biomedical Systems concentration have additional pre-requisites that are not part of the CaSB major or pre-major curriculum. The flowcharts below are meant to help students plan out concentration coursework by depicting the requisites for each requirement. These flowcharts were last updated September 2021. Always check the Registrar’s Course Descriptions for updated requisites. Additionally, students must be mindful of when classes are offered (i.e., which quarters). Students should check the Schedule of Classes for updated course offerings.

It is recommended that students meet with their Departmental Counselor regularly to plan out major coursework.

Other Important Information

All major courses must be taken for a letter grade, C or better.
^CaSB made a temporary exception allowing pre-major courses taken between Spring 2020 and Summer 2021 to be taken for a Pass grade. More details on this exception can be found here.

Students must have a minimum 2.0 GPA in upper-division major coursework to graduate.

Students who receive a C- or below in a major course must either repeat the course or petition to have the lower grade count for the major. More information on petitioning can be found here.

Students are subject to any requirement changes in the major, including concentrations, until they are officially admitted to the major.