Korea University School of Biomedical Engineering

Course completion requirements

Courses in the Department of Biomedical Engineering are divided into core (basic common) courses and major courses, and all graduate students must meet the following requirements to obtain their degree.

Among the core courses, excluding Medical Rotation, Common Engineering Lab, and Biomedical Engineering Colloquium I–IV, students must complete a required number of courses.(Master’s: 1 course, PhD: 2 courses, Integrated MS-PhD: 2 courses)
Courses taken from other departments may be recognized as major courses with approval from the academic advisor and department chair.
If a student has completed core courses during the master’s program and then enters the PhD program, those courses are recognized as completed. In addition, the student must complete at least 18 credits offered by this department toward the degree requirements.

Credit requirements

Graduate students in Biomedical Engineering must complete a required number of credits from courses offered within the department, depending on their program.
However, courses taken in related programs (e.g., Biomedical Convergence Science, Health Science, Bio-Microsystems Technology, IT Convergence, Global Health, Precision Health Science) may be recognized as core or major courses in Biomedical Engineering with the approval of the academic advisor.
The total credits required for the degree and the minimum number of credits to be taken within the department are as follows:

Master's program: At least 14 out of 24 credits must be completed within the department
phD program: At least 18 out of 30 credits must be completed within the department
Integrated MS-PhD program: At least 27 out of 48 credits must be completed within the department

Degree requirements

Master's program: In principle, at least one publication in a domestic or international academic journal or one conference presentation (first author only) is required.
PhD and integrated MS-PhD programs: At least two SCI(E)-indexed papers must be published as first author (including papers accepted for publication).

Advisor-Designated Courses

After admission, new students must meet with their academic advisor before the semester begins to select undergraduate or graduate courses (for PhD students), obtain approval from both the advisor and the department chair, and must complete the courses designated by the advisor.

Graduate Comprehensive Examination

Students take the comprehensive exam based on subjects designated by the advisor and approved by the department chair, as follows:

Master's program: 2 subjects from core and major courses (must include 1 core course)
PhD and integrated MS-PhD programs: 4 subjects from core and major courses (must include 1 core course)
Students who fail may retake the failed subjects in the following semester.
Courses recognized from other departments cannot be used for the comprehensive exam.
However, Medical Rotation, Common Engineering Lab, and Biomedical Engineering Colloquium I–IV are excluded from the comprehensive exam.

Foreign Language Examination

The foreign language exam, required for thesis submission eligibility, can be taken starting from the first semester of each degree program.
- - The exam may be replaced by completing a language course offered by the university’s language institute for graduate foreign language certification.
A minimum required score is needed to pass (for the language course option, a grade of B or higher is required).
- - Korean language requirement: Students must either achieve a grade of B or higher in a Korean language course (Level 2 or above) offered by the university’s language institute or Sejong International Exchange Center, or obtain a score of Level 4 or higher on the S-TOPIK exam.
Exemption criteria for the foreign language exam
- - Students who have obtained one of the following scores within the past two years are eligible for exemption: TOEFL iBT 80, PBT 550, TEPS 660 (NEW TEPS 361), IELTS 6.0, or TOEIC 800 or higher.
Students seeking exemption must submit an exemption application form and official score report to the graduate school administration office according to the prescribed procedures.