PhD Program

Take on the Big Challenges

Earning a PhD takes courage. There will be obstacles, uncertainty and ambiguity. But it’s the vision of better patient care that sustains you, drives you. That’s what drives us, too.

Degree Details

The Duke Difference

High-Impact Research

Field-defining work in imaging, genetic medicine, biomaterials, light-based technologies and more.

Mentoring, from Day One

Be surrounded by a team invested in your success.

Uniquely Interdisciplinary

Duke BME’s superpower. Experience our innovative learning and research ecosystems.

Comprehensive Mentorship & Support

Mentoring, really, even before Day One. During the Duke BME admission process we’ll begin an immersive discussion about your interests. Based on those discussions, once accepted you’ll be admitted directly to a lab. Your Advising Team will including your program director, a team of faculty members and senior PhD students as well as dedicated resources available through the Graduate School at Duke.

Additional High-Value Resources

  • Conference and travel support
  • Grant supported traineeship programs
  • Graduate certificate programs in tissue engineering, nanoscience and photonics
More about advising
Centered on collaboration with Duke Medicine clinicians, Duke BME’s re-imagined design course challenges students to design solutions to real patients’ problems. Story at https://pratt.duke.edu/about/news/year-real-world-design Matt Brown shows engineering students Lizbeth Leapo and Ashish Vankara how the dials make it more comfortable to hold and operate an endoscope.

Entrepreneurship: Duke Design Health

Discover. Design. Deploy.

When you join a Duke Design Health team you identify needs that impact human health, and then create effective, equitable solutions.

Learn more

Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering

  • 30 Credits of Coursework

    • Life Science course—3 credits
    • Advanced Mathematics course—3 credits
    • Additional courses—24 credits

    2 Seminars

    2 Semesters of Teaching Assistantship (TA)

    Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

    • Orientation
    • 4 RCR forums

    Thesis and Defense

  • Milestone Year of Study
    Preliminary Exam Years 2–3
    Fourth-Year Progress Report Meeting Year 4
    Thesis Defense Years 5-6

  • The minimum required amount of coursework is 30 units.

    The program of coursework, including the applicability of any transfer credits, is determined by the student, their advisor and their committee.

    Each committee meeting should include an update on progress towards coursework requirements. The student’s committee retains the power to approve the coursework or request that the student take additional courses.

    The advanced math (3 units required) and life science (3 units required) courses, and up to one (1) independent study class may be used toward the 30-credit requirement. See a list of potential life science and advanced math courses. Students are not limited to the courses listed.

    Important Notes

    • Ungraded seminars do not count toward the 30-unit requirement. Students are encouraged to discuss class selection with their advisor upon matriculation and frequently throughout their course of study
    • Students seeking a master’s degree en route to a PhD must satisfy the degree requirements for the master’s degree. These are not necessarily aligned with the PhD coursework requirements, and so special consideration should be taken

  • Two semesters of BME Seminar are required. New matriculants take BME 702’s (Fall only).

    Second-year students take BME 701’s (Spring only).

  • Two (2) semesters aare required. Duke BME PhD students typically fulfill their teaching assistant (TA) assignments in years 2 to 5.

    Students must:

    • Complete a TA training session
    • And sign up for a Teaching Assistantship Seminar during the semesters in which they TA

  • RCR training at Duke challenges students to engage in ethical decision-making through active learning—by using realistic scenarios and current issues.

    One (1) orientation session and 4 forums are required.

    More about RCR at Duke.

PhD Contacts