Online Biomedical Engineering Masters from Case Western Reserve

The Biomedical Engineering Masters at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a joint venture between the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine. This multidisciplinary approach opens the door to various research, discoveries, applications, and industry.

Dominique Durand, Program Director at Case School of Engineering.

Dominique Durand, Program Director at Case School of Engineering, explains that this connection has given the department the ability to keep track with the ever changing biomedical landscape.

CWRU’s Biomedical Engineering Masters has strong ties to the industry thanks to collaborations with hospitals, research centers, and corporations. For example, two of the four hospitals with ties to the program including the Case Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic.

“The department is associated with more than 20 research centers and more than $41.7 million in current grants,” announced Durand. “Our research and education programs are strongly integrated with industry through job opportunities for graduates, sponsored research and industrial training activities. CWRU campus has a thriving biotech industry ranking on the top ten in the country for attracting venture capital.”

He added, “The CWRU Online Master degree in Biomedical Engineering is a graduate degree program that targets anyone with a bachelor’s degree in science or engineering (or equivalent) who is interested in the fast growing field of biomedical engineering. This online program has been designed to span the needs of students and professionals with a depth and breadth in biomedical engineering as well as the skills required to excel in the field of heath care technology.”

CWRU’s Biomedical Masters Curriculum

For almost 50 years, the on-campus Biomedical Engineering program at CWRU has been operational. In that time, they have successfully tailored their program for research and education. This has contributed to the program’s positive image in the industry. Recently, the Department of Biomedical Engineering decided to bring this established program to an online audience.

“The curriculum is designed to provide students with a few core biomedical engineering courses for depth and several specialty courses for breadth,” said Durand. “In addition the students will learn what it takes to develop new biotech products utilizing known concepts in bio-design and leading into commercial translation.”

The same faculty members that teach the on-campus program will instruct the online version of the Biomedical Engineering Masters. Online students will therefore have access to the same content, training, and degree as their on-campus counterparts.

Both on-campus Doctoral and Masters students will have the option to take the courses online if they prefer the convenience of learning online. In fact, the two versions are so closely tied that online and on-campus students will be able to work together for group projects.

However, as the program is taking its first steps online, students should expect to see some growing pains in the transition. Yet, the recent transition hasn’t stopped the program from offering some level of customization with respect to electives and research.

Though the asynchronous nature of learning online is more convenient, the Biomedical Engineering Masters is quite rigorous. Each course runs for 14 weeks. During that time, students will need to set aside about 12-15 hours/week per course. Also, students should be prepared to perform their own research. Durand explained that, “Students should be ready to look up fundamental material that will be required for graduate courses.”

Biomedical Engineering Labs and Research

Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to online education with respect to hands-on experiences and problem solving. In other words, it is hard to mimic the hands on nature of labs and research studies while learning online.

Fortunately, CWRU is working to address the issue of a hands-on online education. “We have been experiencing and are in the process of developing simulations that accurately simulate the laboratory,” said Durand. As such, it might be interesting to be at the forefront of these lab and research simulations.

This move to bring hands-on learning online is important to the program as research has an integral part of the on-campus Biomedical Engineering Masters. Currently however, some students may be limited in their research options if they choose to take the program online. This difficulty of remote research has led to the online Masters to become a practice-oriented program with research being an option.

“However, should the student choose, there is flexibility in the program of study for a project that could involve research,” explained Durand. “Several areas of research such as bio-imaging or computational neuroscience lend themselves well to remote access.”

Are You a Good Fit for CWRU’s Online Biomedical Master’s Program?

CWRU has designed the online version of their Biomedical Engineering Masters for the working professional and entrepreneurs interested in the fast growing field. Students will focus on leadership skills, career advancement, and the latest technology in the field. Additionally, the school’s strong ties to industry, research and hospitals gives students a lot of opportunity for future employment or entrepreneurial start-ups.

As the content is available online in an asynchronous nature, students will be able to assimilate the content at their own convenience. This content is available through a web browser learning management system that offers technical support 24/7. This should ease any concerns during a submission deadline crunch.

“We also want to export our brand of biomedical engineering to a broader audience than the CWRU campus,” said Durand. The online nature of the program allows CWRU to support this expansion.

Students will be able to gain a Biomedical Engineering Master’s degree from CWRU from anywhere around the world. They will no longer have to move to Cleveland to get the degree, they can continue in their career, family, and social life while studying for their degree. Sounds like a winning combination.

Case School of Engineering has sponsored promotion of their Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering on ENGINEERING.com. They have no editorial input to this post - all opinions are mine.  Shawn Wasserman