Academic Year:
Biomechanics and Movement Science
Telephone: (302) 831-1543
http://www.bmsc.udel.edu
Faculty Listing: http://www.bmsc.udel.edu/Faculty.htm
email: ud-bioms@udel.edu
Program Overview
The Biomechanics and Movement Science (BIOMS) program offers programs leading to master's and doctoral degrees. It is an interdisciplinary program that combines faculty and physical resources from several different units including the Department of Biological Sciences, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Physical Therapy, the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Delaware Rehabilitation Institute, and the Center for Biomedical Engineering Research. By implementing an interdisciplinary approach, the availability of faculty members with backgrounds in sport biomechanics, physical therapy, applied physiology, engineering, and computer science, affords students a much more diverse educational environment. In addition, the collective research laboratories of the participating units provide exposure to outstanding facilities. The laboratories of the Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, the Department of Physical Therapy, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Center for Biomedical Engineering Research and others present an array of equipment for the study of human movement and exercise as well as the biomechanical and physiological alterations observed as a consequence of injury, disease, and various intrvention strategies. Laboratories in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Mechanical Engineering provide equipment for the study of tissue and molecular biomechanics as well as rehabilitation.
Requirements for Admission
Applicants to the BIOMS program should meet the minimum recommended GRE requirements of 300 (1050 old GREs) on combined quantitative and verbal scores, and an undergraduate grade point index of 3.0. Applicants are expected to have course experience in the areas of math (through calculus), anatomy/physiology, physics (2 semesters), and chemistry (2 semesters). See Graduate Admissions for additional information.
Admission is selective and competitive based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the limits of available faculty, funding and facilities. Those applicants who meet the stated minimum academic requirements for admission are not guaranteed admission, nor are those applicants who fail to meet those minimum requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.
Applicants are required to identify a faculty member with appropriate expertise who will serve as their advisor throughout the degree program. Once a potential faculty member has agreed to be the applicant advisor, formal consideration for admission to the BIOMS program will proceed, provided that they 1) meet all admission requirements of the Office of Graduate and Professional Education and the BIOMS program, and 2) are successful in securing a faculty advisor, and 3) are approved by the BIOMS Executive Committee.
Financial Aid
Financial assistance for students in the BIOMS program is obtained from a variety of external sources and will therefore vary in form and availability. Assistance will be awarded on a competitive basis to applicants best fitting the needs of the granting agencies and sponsoring faculty. Students receiving full stipends will be expected to work up to 20 hours per week on faculty projects, and are expected to maintain full-time status. Please refer to Graduate Fellowships and Assistantships for more information.
Requirements for the Degrees
Individualized plans of study in one of the five approved Areas of Study: Applied Anatomy and Biomechanics, Applied Physiology, Motor Control and Behavior, Rehabilitation Engineering, and Tissue and Molecular Biomechanics, are created to serve the interests of both the student and sponsoring faculty member. Core courses for all areas of study include 2 (MS) or 3 (PhD) semesters of BIOMS seminar, an experimental design/statistics course, a course in computing, laboratory instrumentation or engineering applications, and two courses outside the principal area of study.
The master's degree program requires 24 credit hours of coursework (including BMSC 865 and BMSC 868) plus 6 credit hours of thesis. The student is expected to submit a plan of study by the end of the first semester, created with their primary advisor. This program of study must be reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee of the BIOMS Program. The thesis committee must consist of at least three BIOMS faculty members, and at least one of the committee members must be from a different department than that of the advisor. Prior to conducting the thesis research, the student must successfully defend the thesis proposal before the BIOMS faculty. The final thesis defense must then be approved by the thesis committee.
The PhD program requires 33 credit hours of coursework (including BMSC 865 and BMSC 868) beyond the master's degree plus 9 credit hours of dissertation. Students with bachelor's degrees who wish to earn a PhD need to complete a master's degree before their status is changed to a PhD student. Students with a bachelor's degree and a professional doctorate enter the PhD program. As with the master's degree, the student's plan of study should be created by the student and his/her advisor by the end of the first semester. This program of study must then be reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee of the BIOMS program. The dissertation committee must consist of at least three BIOMS faculty membersm one of whom must be from a department different than that of the advisor, and one committee member from outside the BIOMS program. Please refer to the program policy statement for more specific details regarding dissertation committee membership. Prior to conducting the dissertation, the student must successfully defend the dissertation proposal. The defense of the dissertation proposal constitutes the qualifying examination for candidacy into the PhD degree program. Candidacy is completed when the student successfully defends the dissertation.
Although every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information in the Catalog,
students and others who use the Catalog should note that the policies, rules, regulations,
requirements for graduation, course offerings, and other materials reproduced in the Catalog change
from time-to-time and that these changes may alter the information contained in this Catalog.
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