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  Overview: The Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) is an academic department co-located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and NC State University and was established on December 1, 2003, linking the School of Medicine at UNC-CH to the College of Engineering at NC State. At NC State, we currently offer a BS in Biomedical Engineering and a graduate minor. At UNC-CH, we offer the BME concentration in the Applied Sciences undergraduate degree program. On both campuses, we offer joint MS and PhD degrees in Biomedical Engineering. The department has administrative offices on both campuses (NCSU: 2147 Burlington Labs; UNC-CH: MacNider 152).  
Historical Milestones:
    • 1968: UNC-CH Graduate program established
    • 1992: UNC-CH BME Department formed
    • 1994: NCSU UG BME concentration began
    • 1999: UNC UG Applied Sci BME started
    • 2001: NCSU BS-BME approved
    • 1/2003: NCSU BME Department formed
    • 8/2003: Joint graduate program launched
    • 12/2003: Joint BME Department integrated
    • 7/2005: BS-BME at NCSU Accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012, telephone: (410) 347-7700
  
Program: 
The Joint Department stresses the application of science and engineering, mathematical analysis, and computer techniques to biomedical problems.
  
Mission:  In service to the people of North Carolina , their health and their welfare, the mission of the department is to provide the leadership through exceptional educational programs and experiences that prepare engineers and scientists to meet the challenges of biomedical discovery and applications of engineering to medicine. The research and entrepreneurship of the faculty, students, and staff aim to accumulate, generate, and disseminate biomedical engineering knowledge to improve health care for the benefit of the people of North Carolina, the nation, and the world.  
Vision:  Our vision is to
  • be an internationally recognized joint biomedical engineering department which capitalizes on the strengths of our universities;
  • respond to the biomedical engineering needs of the citizens and industry of North Carolina;
  • advance the art of biomedical engineering;
  • provide an internationally recognized biomedical engineering graduate degree program;
  • provide a nationally recognized, ABET-accredited undergraduate biomedical engineering degree program;
  • provide excellence in education for undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows;
  • recognize, encourage, and cultivate diversity in students, staff, and faculty;
  • foster an academic environment that guides and motivates faculty, staff, and students to contribute to the continuing advancement of biomedical engineering knowledge.
  • attract top students, faculty, and staff from around the world, and
  • produce thoughtful graduates who are prepared to be "lifelong learners" and who are sensitive to the ethical issues pertinent to the biomedical engineering profession.
We will accomplish this vision by
  • creating a faculty development and mentoring program for improvement of research and teaching skills, subject knowledge, and engineering practice;
  • providing educational opportunity that is rigorous, dynamic, and adaptable;
  • assuring the acquisition by our students of complementary knowledge and skills in the areas of engineering, math, statistics, computer science and biology;
  • offering opportunities for building deep appreciation of the social sciences and humanities;
  • directing appropriate resources to teaching and research;
  • maintaining an administrative structure that supports faculty, staff, and student creativity and accomplishment; and
  • continuously assessing and improving our programs, including systematically obtaining input from students, faculty, alumni, industry, and other constituencies.