Important Policies

Each student will be assigned an academic advisor who has a primary appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.  The academic advisor serves as the primary source of information regarding BME requirements and procedures.  In particular, students work with the academic advisor to plan a program of study (POS) that takes into account departmental and university requirements, as well as the student’s research needs and career goals.  

Each student will also have a research advisor with whom they plan and conduct their research project.  The research advisor is typically responsible for the financial support of Ph.D. students and some M.S. students.  The academic advisor may also serve as the research advisor, or a student may have a research advisor with a primary appointment outside the BME department.  All research advisors must have a Case appointment (regular, secondary, or adjunct).  

The primary day-to-day responsibility for monitoring and guiding each student is held by the academic and research advisors. The academic advisor is the primary contact for issues regarding departmental requirements, while the research advisor takes primary responsibility for the research aspects of the student’s training.  The student’s Guidance Committee provides feedback and advice on research and professional development aspects of the student’s program.  Students are expected to meet with the Guidance Committee each semester.  Overall oversight of student progress is performed by the BME Graduate Education Committee (GEC), which must approve programs of study and ensure completion of other degree requirements. Students who are failing to meet timelines or normal milestones will be contacted by the Chair of the BME Graduate Education Committee and required to communicate a plan that describes how and when milestones will get back on track.

Committee Composition

The Guidance Committee consists of three or more faculty members, all of whom must have Case appointments at a faculty level.  The student’s academic and research advisors are members of the examination committee.  The academic advisor must hold a primary faculty appointment in BME.  The research and academic advisor can be the same person.  

At least one member of the guidance committee must be BME primary faculty member.

Faculty with adjunct appointments at Case may serve as voting committee members.  Graduate Studies does permit additional individuals without a Case appointment to serve as Guidance Committee members, but these members cannot vote on the final defense.

Committee Changes

A student's Guidance Committee may be changed if a Committee member can no longer participate or if different faculty expertise is needed.  Any changes in the Guidance Committee should be requested by the student in a memo signed by the Academic Advisor and submitted to the MS Canvas page to be reviewed by the MS Program Director.  The memo should include a list of the current Committee membership, a list of the new Committee membership, and the reasons for the change. 

M.S. students should be familiar with requirements and guidelines of the university, the School of Graduate Studies, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering.  Many, but not all, of these requirements are described in this document.  There are several other useful documents and websites that describe the opportunities and requirements associated with graduate study at Case:

• The “General Bulletin” of the university provides a comprehensive description of university and Case School of Engineering requirements, currently found at http://bulletin.case.edu/schoolofengineering/.  

• Policies of the School of Graduate studies, along with links to other relevant sites can be found at http://bulletin.case.edu/schoolofgraduatestudies/.

• Links to a number of important forms can be found at https://case.edu/gradstudies/current-students/forms/. 

Students admitted to the BME graduate program will be obligated to fulfill the requirements described in the handbook dated at their matriculation into the program. Students in the BME graduate program when new rules are implemented will be given the option of continuing with the old requirements or adopting the new requirements, but they must adopt one of the two sets of rules in their entirety.