Overview
The interdisciplinary MS program in Neural Engineering delivers a rigorous training and the necessary skills required to solve complex problems at the interface of engineering, medicine and neuroscience. Graduates are prepared for successful careers in the biomedical industries, academia, or government (FDA, US Patent Office), or for further study in doctoral or health-related programs. The interdisciplinary MS students will receive a graduate degree in Neural Engineering from the Department Biomedical Engineering.
The interdisciplinary nature of the departments and our strong ties with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine provides students with many opportunity to collaborate with clinicians and researchers at several world-renowned research and clinical centers, including the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, the Diabetes Research Institute, the University of Miami Ear Institute, the Biomedical Nanotechnology Institute (BioNIUM), the McKnight Brain Institute, the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Miami Veterans Administration Research Service. There are opportunities to develop collaboratively courses, training, and new foci that take advantage of our existing institutional strengths and will foster new avenues for collaborations across each of the departments listed above.
Neural engineers build tools, techniques, and methods to understand, interface with and manipulate the nervous system. They are trained to solve problems and provide rehabilitative solutions for various pathologies or disorders afflicting the nervous system. Graduates with neural engineering background often find positions in industry, research and development, regulatory affairs, and quality engineering. Many graduates complete advanced degrees and join academic ranks.
Admission Requirements
Students apply directly with the College of Engineering for the Graduate Program. Students must have undergraduate degree in Physics, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Chemistry, Biology or other fields of natural or health science and seek to diversify their career opportunities by acquiring an engineering degree. Or students must have undergraduate degrees in biomedical engineering and other engineering disciplines and seek advanced professional training or specialization in a particular area of neural engineering
Curriculum Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| BME 615 | Current Trends in Neural Engineering | 3 |
| Graduate Level Neuroscience Course chosen from the following: | 3 | |
| Neurophysiology for Engineers | ||
| Principles of Membrane Physiology and Biophysics I | ||
| Statistics Course Chosen from the Following: | 3 | |
| Advanced Biostatistics | ||
| Data Mining | ||
| Statistical Learning | ||
| Introduction to Probability Theory | ||
| Statistical Analysis | ||
| Principles of Membrane Physiology and Biophysics I | ||
| Introduction to Mathematical Statistics | ||
| Neural Engineering Interdisciplinary Electives | 15 | |
| To be selected from the following any graduate level courses for the neural engineering track (some courses may have pre-requisites that must be met prior to enrollment): | ||
| Developmental Neuroscience | ||
| Advanced Biomaterials | ||
| Auditory and Visual Neural Systems | ||
| Current Trends in Regenerative Medicine | ||
| Introduction to Medical Robotics | ||
| Microcomputer-Based Medical Instrumentation | ||
| Regulatory Control of Biomedical Devices | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Biomedical Data Science | ||
| Computational Neuroscience | ||
or BME 624 | Neuromotor Engineering | |
| Introduction to Artificial Intelligence | ||
| Introduction to Machine Learning with Applications | ||
| Neural Networks and Deep Learning | ||
| Introduction to Python Programming for Graduate Students | ||
| Machine Learning | ||
| Partial Differential Equations I | ||
| Pattern Recognition and Neural Networks | ||
| Principles of Artificial Intelligence | ||
| Numerical Methods in Differential Equations | ||
| Ordinary Differential Equations | ||
| Partial Differential Equations II | ||
| Neuroanatomy | ||
| Project | 3 | |
| BME 707 | Master’s Project I | 1 |
| BME 708 | Master’s Project II | 2 |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
The MS program in Neural Engineering provide competency in one of the four areas:
- Neuroprosthetics and neuromodulation
- Neurorehabilitation, robotics, and instrumentation
- Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and neural decoding
- Neural tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
MS Project
General description
All students enrolled in the MS in Neural Engineering program must complete a two-semester 3 credit Master's project (BME 707 and BME 708), under the supervision of a project mentor and Neural Engineering program director. The project must demonstrate the candidate’s ability to solve complex scientific or technical problems at the interface of engineering and medicine or biology.
The MS project can be a research or design project related to neural engineering. The project must include a significant research or design component contributed by the M.S. student, including, but not limited to, the design of an experiment or process; the development of a device, instrument, or system; the development of a computer program; the analysis of experimental data. Projects cannot be limited solely to the review of literature, the development of research or design proposals, or the collection of experimental data.
At the completion of their project, students must submit a written project report and complete a poster presentation of their project.
Project Mentor
Students must identify a project mentor and select a project before they register for their second semester of full-time study. The project mentor can be a primary faculty member of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, a faculty at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, The Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the Department of Computer Science, or another related academic unit. Alternatively, students can complete the project through an industry internship. In such a case, the student has to identify a project mentor/supervisor at the company who shall oversee the student’s progress and attest that the student completed the project. The role of the project mentor is to help the student identify a suitable project, to monitor the progress of the student, to provide guidance and training in the relevant topics, and to review the final report and presentation.
Students who complete their project under the supervision of a faculty member from another Department at the University of Miami, or a mentor from the local biomedical industry, must satisfy the following requirements:
- The student must receive the approval of the Department Chair and Neural Engineering Program Director.
- The student must identify a co-mentor who must be a primary faculty member of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The co-mentor must be familiar with the topic of the proposed project. The role of the co-mentor will be to monitor the student progress and ensure that the Master's project report and presentation satisfy all of the relevant requirements.
Project Coordinator
The project coordinator is a member of the primary faculty of the Department of Biomedical Engineering who is responsible for teaching the BME 707/BME 708 course. The role of the project coordinator is to:
- Help students identify a project and mentor.
- Ensure that the projects satisfy the program objectives.
- Provide general guidance and graduate scholarship training.
- Ensure that the students are making suitable progress towards the project goals.
Project Abstract
Neural Engineering MS students must submit a one-page project abstract to the Neural Engineering Program Director and to the MS Project Coordinator at the time when they register for BME 707/BME 708. The abstract must include the name of the project mentor (and co-mentor, if any), the title of the proposed project, and a brief description of the goals of the project and proposed methods. The abstract must be approved by the mentor, MS Project Coordinator, and Neural Engineering Program Director before the student can start work on the project. (Project Abstract Template)
Project Report
The MS students must submit a detailed report describing the work completed during the project. The report must describe the objectives and significance of the work, and summarize the activities completed by the student as part of the MS project. The report must demonstrate that the work performed by the student satisfies the general project criteria. The typical length of M.S. project reports is 20 to 30 pages. If the project resulted in the submission of a full-length peer-reviewed scientific article, the article can be submitted in lieu of a report, as long as the following conditions are satisfied:
- The student must be the first author of the article.
- The article must reflect the work performed by the student as part of the project.
- The article must be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or conference proceedings volume.
- A one-to-two-page introduction must be submitted to summarize the project goals and main outcomes.
The report must be reviewed and approved by the project mentor (and co-mentor, if any). Once the report is approved by the mentor(s), one printed copy and one electronic version in PDF format must be submitted to the Project Coordinator by the specified deadline. The final report must be approved and signed by the Project Mentor(s), Project Coordinator and Neural Engineering Program Director. (Signature Page Template)
Project Presentation
MS students must give an oral presentation of their project which will generally be in the form of a poster presentation. The presentation is generally scheduled during the final examination time of BME 707/BME 708 in the semester of graduation.
Project Grade
The final grade for the project is given by the Project Coordinator. The final grade is a combination of a grade submitted by the Project Mentor(s) assessing the overall performance of the student on the project, and a grade given by the Project Coordinator assessing the quality of the oral presentation and report.
Sample Plan of Study (2 Years)
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| BME 615 | Current Trends in Neural Engineering (core course) | 3 |
| BME 624 | Neuromotor Engineering | 3 |
| BME 603 | Neurophysiology for Engineers (core course or an approved neurophysiology course) | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Spring | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Statistics (core course) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| BME 707 | Master’s Project I | 1 |
| BME 708 | Master’s Project II | 2 |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
Sample Plan of Study (1 Year)
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| BME 615 | Current Trends in Neural Engineering (core course) | 3 |
| BME 624 | Neuromotor Engineering | 3 |
| BME 603 | Neurophysiology for Engineers (core course or an approved neurophysiology course) | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Spring | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Statistics (core course) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Summer | ||
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| BME 707 | Master’s Project I | 1 |
| BME 708 | Master’s Project II | 2 |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
The minimum residence requirement for the MS degree is two semesters in full-time study or the equivalent in part-time work. A total of 30 credits are required, comprising 27 course credits and 3 MS Project credits.
Mission
The mission of the BS/MS and MS programs in Neural Engineering is to:
• Provide high-quality graduate education in translational neuroscience and neural engineering that will
prepare graduates for professional careers and a lifetime of learning.
• Conduct high-quality research that will advance the current body of knowledge and engage in new discoveries to improve the quality of human life; and
• Serve the engineering profession and society through active involvement in professional organizations and contribution of professional expertise.
The program mission will be accomplished by providing an integrated and multidisciplinary scientific and technical education. Graduates will be involved in translating scientific discoveries to modern technologies and novel products that benefit human health. The graduates will be trained to address brain health, develop new technologies and tools to study, interface with and replace lost function of the nervous system, producing novel and superior materials, brain-machine interfaces, or therapies. They will be involved in the development and manufacture of products as well as research in the field of translational neuroscience.
Goals
The educational objectives of the Neural Engineering program are to produce graduates with:
- advanced technical knowledge in neuroscience and neural engineering
- advanced capability to apply scientific, technical and clinical knowledge to engineering problems
- potential to make significant contributions in neurostimulation, neurorehabilitation, regenerative medicine or computational neuroscience.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the discipline (mathematics, science, medicine, and engineering), including methodology relevant to a specialty area.
- Students will demonstrate an advanced ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems to carry out supervised research.
- Students will demonstrate an advanced ability to generate technical contributions and effectively communicate them to the scientific community.
