Master of Biomedical Engineering (MC-BIOMENG) // Course structure

Course structure

The Master of Biomedical Engineering is a three year degree (full time) and requires the successful completion of 300 credit points.

To obtain the degree (standard option) students must complete:

• 175 credit points of compulsory subjects
• 37.5 credit points of selectives
• 87.5 points of electives including
  
  • 62.5 credit points of Bioengineering electives
  • 25 credit points of approved electives

To obtain the degree with a specialisation, students must instead complete:

• 175 credit points of compulsory subjects
• 25 credit points of selectives
• 50 points of core specialisation subjects
• 50 credit points of electives including
  
  • 25 credit points of Bioengineering electives
  • 25 credit points of approved electives

Note: Students entering the course with advanced standing who plan on completing a specialisation may need to enrol in core specialisation subjects in their commencing semester. Please check and follow the structure outlined for your intended specialisation and seek course planning advice.

Year 1:

• 75 credit points of Year 1 compulsory subjects
• 25 points of Year 1 selectives

Year 2:

• 75 credit points of Year 2 compulsory subjects
• 12.5 credit points of Year 2 selectives
• 12.5 credit points of Bioengineering electives OR 12.5 credit points of core specialisation subjects

Year 3:

• 25 credit points Year 3 compulsory subjects
• 50 credit points of subjects including
  
  • a minimum of 12.5 points of Bioengineering electives
  • 37.5 points of Bioengineering electives OR 37.5 credit points of core specialisation subjects
• 25 credit points of approved electives

Progression: The core subject lists are divided into specific year levels, reflecting the recommended order of completing the course. There is, however, some flexibility between Year 2 and 3 core subjects, depending on the requisites set between them. Check the individual Handbook entries of these subjects for more detail.

Year 1 compulsory subjects

Year 1 selectives

Students should complete the equivalent of all Year 1 selective subjects across both their undergraduate and graduate degrees to ensure they meet all the prerequisite requirements of their course subjects. 

Note: Students who have taken VCE Units 3/4 Biology or equivalent should take BIOL10009 Biology: Life’s Machinery, while students who have not should take BIOL10008 Introductory Biology: Life’s Machinery.

Year 2 compulsory subjects

Year 2 selectives

Year 3 compulsory subjects

Note: *Students may alternatively take BMEN90030 BioDesign Innovation (50 points) in place of BMEN90018 Biomedical Engineering Capstone Project and 25 points of Bioengineering Electives or Approved Electives. Permission to enrol in BMEN90030 must be granted by the subject coordinator.

As an alternative to BMEN90018 Biomedical Engineering Capstone Project, students may also take BMEN90031 Biomedical Engineering Capstone Project Part 1 and BMEN90032 Biomedical Engineering Capstone Project Part 2. These subjects must be taken in 2 consecutive semesters. Students commence BMEN90031 in Semester 2 and continue BMEN90032 in the consecutive semester (Semester 1 in the following year). Upon successful completion of this project, students will receive 25 points credit.

Bioengineering electives

Approved electives:

An approved elective is any postgraduate level subject. Third-year undergraduate subjects may be permitted on application to the course coordinator. The following subjects are recommended as approved electives:

Note:

• all students must meet any requisite prior to enrolling in a subject
• students may need written permission from other faculties to enrol in some subjects; please check with the subject coordinator

Core specialisation subjects

Please see the core specialisation subjects in the respective specialisations linked below.

Last updated: 30 March 2025