BME/CSE Masters Degree Program | Graduate Program | CSE Department at the OSU

BME/CSE Masters Degree Program

Under this program, students in either the BME Department or the CSE Department may obtain two Master's degrees, one from each department, by completing a program of study as follows:

BME: At least 45 hours, comprised of at least 13 hours of life sciences (Physiology 601, 602, and additional course(s)), at least 18 hours of engineering (BME 600, BME 771, and additional courses with a concentration of at least 9 hours in one of the following:

CSE: At least 45 hours (Thesis option) or 48 hours (non-Thesis option), comprised of the basic core program (CIS 725, 755, 760, 775, 780, 885, and 889) plus 20 additional hours subject to CSE Department approval, including at least one mathematics or statistics course.
Dual Credit: At most 15 credit hours of course work can be used for dual credit. These courses may be selected from any area subject to approval by both BME and CSE Departments.
Examination: Normally students will complete a separate Master's Examination for each degree program. Subject to the Graduate School Rule 8-14-3, a student pursuing two thesis option master's degree program may be required to complete only one Master's Examination and one thesis.

Students in the CSE Department who wish to pursue the dual degree program should consult with the BME Department regarding their prerequisite courses and admission requirements.

Students in the BME Department who wish to pursue the dual degree program should proceed as follows:

While enrolled in BME, they should declare their intention to participate in the dual degree program to the BME Department Coordinator for the dual degree program, Professor Alan S. Litsky, who will counsel students on the BME aspects of the program. Students should also meet with the CSE Department Coordinator for the dual degree program, Professor DeLiang Wang, who will advise students on the CSE prerequisite courses and on the requirements for admission into the CSE portion of the program. The CSE Department currently requires the equivalents of CIS 221, 222, 360, 560, 625, 660 and 675 as undergraduate prerequisites to the CSE portion of the program. Any necessary prerequisite course work should be done as early as possible in the student's graduate career and in parallel with the BME portion of the program. No credit toward the two MS degrees will be given for any prerequisite course work which may be necessary. It is also strongly recommended that students contemplating to participate in the dual program talk to the Chair of the CSE Graduate Admissions Committee at this juncture, since formal admission to the CSE Department will be required (see step below).
When the prerequisite course work is completed, students must apply for formal admission to the CSE Department. For this purpose a formal request should be made to the BME Department Coordinator, who will forward copies of students files to the CSE Department for admission evaluation. Admission is not automatic or routine. Students will be subject to the same admission requirements as other CSE graduate students. In particular, a lackluster record in the prerequisite courses or a mediocre performance on the GRE's will probably result in a denial of admission. If admission is approved, students should complete the 45 or 48 hours of CSE graduate course work (see the diagram on page 3).
After admission to the CSE Department is approved, students must complete the "Program Plan for Dual Degree Students" form (available from the Graduate School), and submit it to the Graduate School within one quarter.

Even though the program can be completed with 75 hours of graduate work, students will typically take more than this minimum number of hours because of the difficulty of selecting and scheduling courses which are acceptable to both degree programs. The CSE Department will, for instance, accept only certain kinds of BME courses for a Master's, and vice versa. In any event, students should consult with both departments regarding their schedules if they wish to avoid taking too many extra units beyond the minimum 75 hours.

In addition, before students may begin taking graduate courses, they must have all required prerequisite undergraduate course work. These courses will not count toward either Master's degree, but, in the case of the above CSE courses, they must be taken for credit, since most of them are lab courses and since they will be used as one criterion for determining whether a student will be admitted to the CSE Department.

The CSE Department curriculum has undergone major revisions over the past several years and will probably continue to be modified in the future. If you are already in the program, but have not completed your studies, and are uncertain as to how to proceed under the current curriculum, you should check with the CSE Department for advice.

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