Joint Med/EE Track

Joint Medical and Electrical Engineering Track at Caltech

It is with excitement that the Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering at Caltech announce the establishment of a joint track in both departments. The track is named Medical and Electrical Engineering. The single degree to be shown on the diploma is "Ph.D. in Medical and Electrical Engineering".

Requirements for the Med-EE Track Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

a.) Admission to candidacy. To be recommended for candidacy for the Med-EE Ph.D. program, each student must do the following.

• Complete a minimum of 156 units of courses. The MedE requirement of 21 units of MedE courses plus the EE requirement of 135 units must be met. Cross-listed MedE/EE courses can be double counted

MedE course requirements

• Complete the three-term seminar sequence, MedE 100abc (1 unit), with a passing grade.
• Complete MedE 101 (9 units) with a passing grade. Introduction to Clinical Physiology and Pathophysiology for Engineers.
• Complete a 9-unit MedE course. Biomechanics/fluidics: MedE/BE/Ae 243 (9 units), ChE/BE/MedE 112 (9 units) or ChE103b (9 units). Medical Imaging: MedE/EE 268 (9 units). Biomedical Optics: MedE/EE 168abc (9 units each). Design and Construction of Biodevices: BE/EE/MedE 189ab (12 and 9 units).
• All required courses must be taken for grades and passed with a grade no lower than C, except for those courses offered only for pass/fail.

EE course requirements

• Complete 135 units total with no more than 30 units of pass/fail.
• Complete 54 units of letter-graded EE courses numbered 100 or above towards the 135-unit requirement
• Complete 27 units of mathematics courses, with letter grade no lower than C.Many math-related courses can count towards the requirement after confirming with your advisor and option representative.
• Complete 18 units of research in his or her field of interest directed by your advisor.

Pass the oral qualifying and oral candidacy exams of the MedE department for students having chosen MedE as the home department. Please refer to the EE Section for the reciprocal requirement.

b.) Thesis and Final Examination. The Med-EE Ph.D. thesis must be related to both options. The final thesis defense exam is conducted by a committee that is set up by the student and approved by the option representative of the home department. The committee must be composed of 2 members from each option. The committee must include the advisor, but another member of the committee must be selected as chair. The committee chair must be a Caltech Professorial faculty member. This final examination will be given no less than two weeks after the doctoral thesis has been presented in final form, and before approval. This examination must be taken at least four weeks before the commencement at which the degree is to be granted. This thesis examination will be a defense of the doctoral thesis and a test of the candidate's knowledge in his or her specialized doctoral research area.