Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical engineers create materials, devices and processes for better health outcomes.

Biomedical engineering bridges the gap between technology, medicine and biology. It integrates physical, chemical, mathematical and computational sciences and engineering principles with the ultimate aim of improving health care.

Biomedical engineers may be involved in the design, construction and development of health and monitoring devices and computers, implantable devices, diagnostic systems and therapeutic systems, cell and tissue engineering, and pharmaceuticals. You may also work with models of physiological function and prosthetics and implants.

Depending on your chosen specialisation, you may find employment with hospitals, biotechnology companies, medical equipment manufacturers, research institutes and government health departments.

Specialisations

To study this major, you'll have to choose an engineering specialisation first. The biomedical engineering major is available in the following specialisations:

Chemical engineering

Chemical engineers with a major in biomedical engineering look at how we can engineer materials, devices and processes to deliver therapeutics.

Applications range from nanoparticles for precise delivery of medicines, bioprinted patient-specific tissues and organs, devices to detect and treat illnesses before they impact our health, and the large scale manufacture of immune cells to fight cancer or cardiac cells to treat a broken heart.

This involves learning how to apply the critical and deep systems thinking intrinsic to chemical engineering design and processes to one of the most complicated and integrated biological systems we know – the human body.

See the chemical engineering specialisation

Electrical engineering

Electrical and biomedical engineers have revolutionised healthcare for entire populations by inventing devices and machines such as pacemakers and ultrasounds. Some may say that biomedical engineers are responsible for saving more lives than doctors.

Electrical engineering with a major in biomedical engineering connects technology and medicine. This major incorporates all electrical engineering subjects, with specialised coursework in the use of electronics in healthcare.

Your studies will include how to design, construct and maintain health-monitoring devices and diagnostic systems such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs).

You'll explore the fundamentals of medical signal processing, such as how to analyse electroencephalograms (EEGs), and explore how biomedical devices operate. You'll also learn how to interpret the electrical signals produced by these devices.

See the electrical engineering specialisation

Mechanical engineering

Highlights

2 in Australia for biomedical engineering

Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023

78 in the world for engineering and technology

QS World University Rankings 2024

Watch Careers in biomedical engineering: Hear from a UQ engineering graduate on YouTube.

Career possibilities

Our programs prepare you for your first job and beyond. Here are some of the careers you could be on your way to:

Biomedical engineer
Biomedical technician
Field service engineer
Chemical engineer
Electrical engineer
Mechanical engineer

$75K–$95K

seek.com.au

I chose my degree because I wanted to do something in medicine but I also knew I was interested in engineering, so electrical and biomedical seemed like the perfect mix. Since graduating, I now work as a biomedical engineer with a team of technicians, engineers, and contractors in hospital facilities to install and commission equipment.

Evan Burns

Graduate, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical and Biomedical)

Electrical and biomedical engineering improves human health by applying engineering principles and methods to medical problems. With this discipline, I can work on anything from developing sensors that identify cancer biomarkers in blood, to non-invasive ultrasound therapies to treat tumours.

Guneet Kaur

Current student, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical and Biomedical)