Master of Biomedical Engineering

Master degrees from the likes of Flinders University, the University of Melbourne and others provide the ability to gain exceptional understanding of subject matter. They take two years of full time study to complete, or up to four years part time. A great deal of options are available regarding course units, with some of these including:

• Innovation in medical devices
• Fluid mechanics
• Solid mechanics
• Standards, ethics and compliance
• Biomedical instrumentation
• Project management and innovation

There’s also a heavy research component to these programs, with students being required to write a thesis on a topic of their choosing. They are guided by a supervisor in doing so, who monitors their progress and offers advice where appropriate. Work experience is another component, which is invaluable when it comes to learning:

• What biomedical engineering as a career entails
• What’s required
• Whether or not it’s a career the student would enjoy

Employment options

The employment prospects specified here are all great ways of having a fulfilling career. Biomedical engineering allows for a diverse range of careers, from consulting to research and development. Companies like Chemtronics Biomedical are an exemplary employer, with the Biomedical College of Engineers Australia making for a great employment and networking resource.

Scholarships and funding

There are a number of scholarships available to students of biomedical engineering. These range in specificity, meaning some are available across disciplines and others are general engineering or biomedical engineering specific. The following are several examples of these; if any are currently closed, they tend to reopen annually.

• The FA Kernot Bequest is valued at $3,000. It’s designed for engineering students in their penultimate year. Applicants are evaluated upon academic merit and strength of personal statement.
• The CDU Foundation Engineering Scholarship is worth $2,500. It’s for Charles Darwin Universityengineering students who achieve highly.
• The UNSW Student Exchange Engineering Award provides $2,000 to UNSW engineering students, provided they display sufficient academic merit.

Some of the largest scholarships available are available across disciplines, such as:

• The Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships. These are worth a $69,000 pa and based on merit. Their availability makes them particularly competitive.
• General Sir John Monash Scholarships are similar, offering $65,000 pa to students planning to commence postgraduate study overseas. Successful applicants are the ones who effectively argue for why the overseas institution and program of their choice is one they ought to attend. Biomedical engineering students should have no issue arguing the merits of their course at an overseas institution, as universities all over the world are working on varying biomedical innovations.
• The Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship provides $120,000 to students directing their studies toward one of three areas:
  • Technology and innovation
  • Strengthening Australia-Asia ties
  • Enabling positive social change

The Master of Biomedical Engineering puts students firmly in the first area, although it’s both possible and plausible to argue for biomedical engineering enhancing the last two areas as well. It’s all a matter of how and where applicants are determined to use their skills.

Prerequisites and selection process

Applicants require a bachelor of biomedical engineering or degree in cognate discipline to enter. Failing this, it’s possible to enter via graduate certificate or diploma. This can reduce the time it takes to complete the master’s degree.

Some programs will require students to have attained at least a credit GPA (5/7, or 65%). This particular requirement can also be circumvented via completion of either graduate certificate or diploma.