Chemical and Biomedical Engineering – Department of Chemical Engineering

Overview

a researcher wearing gloves is filling vials with a liquid Chemical Engineering focuses on the design of processes capable of producing new materials, energy and clean water in a highly effective manner – processes in which the human body excels. Medicine and Biochemistry have been an integral part of the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University for more than 40 years. Pioneering work done on understanding the interactions between blood and the surfaces of implanted materials (such as stents), was done in our Department and that work has impacted the lives of thousands of patients receiving these implants. About one third of our faculty members work in bio related areas: some on medical applications, such as drug delivery and biomedical device design; others on bioprocessing, investigating how to produce therapeutic agents effectively.

The Department has a long tradition of hiring a large number of undergraduate students to work in faculty members’ labs during the summer. Each year, we hire about 65 students like you to experience the thrill of researching and pushing the boundaries of our respective fields.

Current Student Inquiries

Email:

ibiomed@mcmaster.ca

Phone:

+1 905.525.9140 x 27371

Office:

MDCL 3511

Important Information

Degree Type:

Undergraduate Degree

Length:

5 years

Academic Requirements:

Completion of IBEHS I

Degree Requirements:

Visit Calendar

Biomedical Engineering – Course Sequencing Information

This program layout applies to students registered in 2021-2022.
Where there are discrepancies in this document, the published Academic Calendar will always take precedence.
For a detailed breakdown of your course requirements, please refer to your Student Summary in Mosaic.

Level II: 37 units (as of 2022)

Term 1	Term 2
ChE 2D04 Chemical Engineering Principles I	Math 2ZZ3 Engineering Mathematics IV
ChE 2E04 Numerical Methods and Computing for Chemical Engineers	ChE 2F04 Chemical Engineering Principles II
Math 2Z03 Engineering Mathematics III	ChE 2O04 Fluid Mechanics
HTHSCI 2E03 Inquiry II: Biochemistry	IBEHS 2P03 Health Solutions Design Projects II: Introduction to Genetic Engineering
HTHSCI 2F03 Human Physiology & Anatomy I	HTHSCI 2FF3 Human Physiology & Anatomy II
	Chem 1AA3 Introductory Chemistry II

Level III: 39 units (as of 2022)

Term 1	Term 2
ChE 3A04 Heat Transfer	ChE 3G04 Chemical Process Synthesis and Simulation
ChE 3D04 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics	ChE 3K04 Introduction to Reactor Design
ChE 3M04 Mass Transfer and Stagewise Operations
HTHSCI 2G03 Statistics & Epidemiology 1	HTHSCI 3G03 Critical Appraisal of the Medical Literature
IBEHS 3A03 Biomedical Signals and Systems	IBEHS 3P04 Health Solutions Design Projects III: Analysis and Decision Making
3 units from: Chem 2E03 – Introductory Organic Chemistry Or Chem 20A3 – Organic Chemistry I	Complementary Studies (3 units)

Level IV: 36-37 units (as of 2022)

Term 1	Term 2
ChE 3I03 Data Acquisition and Analysis	ChE 3L03 Intermediate Laboratory Skills
Chem Bio 2A03 Introduction to Bio-Analytical Chemistry	ChE 3P04 Process Control
IBEHS 4B03 Biomechanics
IBEHS 4F04 Biomedical Instrumentation and Measurement	IBEHS 4C03 Statistical Methods in Biomedical Engineering
IBEHS 4P04 Health Solutions Design Projects IV: Economics and Project Management	IBEHS 4D04 Introduction to Medical Imaging
Approved IBEHS Technical Elective (3-4 units)
3 units from: ChE 3BK3 – Bio-Reaction Engineering (term 1 List B) Che 3BM3 – Bioseparations Engineering (term 2 List B) ChE 4A03 – Energy Systems Engineering (term 1) ChE 4B03 – Polymer Reaction Engineering (term 1) ChE 4H03 – Big Data Methods and Modeling in Chemical and Materials Engineering (term 2) ChE 4K03 – Reactor Design for Heterogeneous Systems (term 1) ChE 4M03 – Industrial Separation Processes (term 1) ChE 4T03 – Applications of Chemical Engineering in Medicine (term 2) ChE 4TA3 A/B – Engineering Practicum (term 1 & 2) ChE 4X03 – Polymer Processing (term 2) ChE 4Z03 – Interfacial Engineering (term 2 List B)

Level V: 37-39 units (as of 2022)

Term 1	Term 2
ChE 4N04 Engineering Economics and Problem Solving	Engineer 4A03 Ethics, Equity and Law in Engineering
ChE 4L03 Advanced Laboratory Skills
IBEHS 4QZ3 Modelling of Biological Systems
IBEHS 5P06 A/B Biomedical Capstone Design Project
9-10 units from: ChE 3BK3 – Bio-Reaction Engineering (term 1 List B) Che 3BM3 – Bioseparations Engineering (term 2 List B) ChE 4A03 – Energy Systems Engineering (term 1) ChE 4B03 – Polymer Reaction Engineering (term 1) ChE 4E03 – Digital Computer and Process Control (term 1) ChE 4H03 – Big Data Methods and Modeling in Chemical and Materials Engineering (term 2) ChE 4G03 – Optimization in Chemical Engineering (term 2) ChE 4K03 – Reactor Design for Heterogeneous Systems (term 1) ChE 4M03 – Industrial Separation Processes (term 1) ChE 4T03 – Applications of Chemical Engineering in Medicine (term 2) ChE 4TA3 A/B – Engineering Practicum (term 1 & 2) ChE 4X03 – Polymer Processing (term 2) ChE 4Y04 A/B – Senior Independent Project (term 1 & 2 List B) ChE 4Z03 – Interfacial Engineering (term 2 List B)
Approved IBEHS Technical Elective (3-4 units)
Complementary Studies Electives (6 units)

Biomedical Engineering – Co-op & Experiential Learning

Discover more about co-op

Students enrolled in either the BME or HESE stream at McMaster will have the opportunity to apply for co-op positions.

Co-op placements are flexible and can be taken up at any time.

Co-op is offered for both degree options
Students are able to add co-op at any time up to the end of their penultimate year of studies
A minimum of 12 months of relevant work experience is required to receive your co-op designation