Apply to BME | University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science (2025)

- Research culture that is heavily focused on the training, development, and positive outcomes of graduate students

- Educational programs and paths that are tailored to the needs and aspirations of individual students

- Sense of community that goes beyond an individual laboratory or research field

- Widespread drive to collaborate and help others succeed

- Accessibility of faculty and other senior mentors/advocates

- Availability of cutting-edge research resources in the UVA School of Medicine

- Leading public university with a vibrant and talented pool of Biomedical Engineering majors in the UVA School of Engineering

- Youthful and energetic leadership of a department with a 50+ year-old history in Biomedical Engineering

- Innovative educational components that recognize the various paths of modern graduate students

- Ambitious research programs with impact far beyond a subdiscipline of Biomedical Engineering

- Strong thematic cohesion within and among department research strengths

- Increasingly diverse student body: twice the percentage of Black and LatinX students as the national average

- Deans from three UVA Schools (Engineering, Medicine and Data Science) are appointed in BME

- 65+ biotechnology companies in the City of Charlottesville

Below is a list of BME faculty who were willing and able to indicate a general level of enthusiasm for recruitment in the current application cycle. Note that not all our faculty are listed below. Some preferred not to disclose, and some are still uncertain about their recruiting needs, such that they could not with accuracy indicate a general level of enthusiasm. Applicants are encouraged to contact faculty directly for more specific or up-to-date information about laboratory openings.

The following key indicates faculty research areas.

• BI = Biomedical Imaging
• DGD = Drug & Gene Delivery
• TEB = Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials
• SBDS = Systems Biology & Biomedical Data Science
• BMMB = Biomechanics and Mechanobiology

Actively recruiting:

Silvia Blemker (SBDS, BI, BMMB)

Liheng Cai (TEB, BMMB, DGD)

Sepideh Dolatshahi (SBDS)

Chris Highley (TEB)

Kimberly Kelly (SBDS, DGD)

Matthew Lazzara (SBDS)

Hui Li (SBDS, DGD)

Recruiting:

Sameer Bajikar (SBDS, DGD)

Tom Barker (DGD)

George Christ (TEB, BMMB)

Fred Epstein (BI)

Brent French (BI, TEB, DGD)

Andreas Gahlmann (BI, TEB)

Kelsey Kubelick (BI, DGD)

Kristen Naegle (SBDS)

Edward Nieh (SBDS, BI)

Rich Price (BI, DGD)

Gustavo Rohde (BI, SBDS)

Possibly recruiting:

Steven Caliari (TEB)

Mohammad Fallahi-Sichani (SBDS)

Kevin Janes (SBDS)

Kyle Lampe (TEB)

Craig Meyer (BI)

Cameron Mura & Phil Bourne (SBDS)

Jason Papin (SBDS)

Shayn Peirce-Cottler (SBDS, TEB)

John Platig (SBDS)

Rebecca Pompano (TEB)

Jeff Saucerman (SBDS)

Natasha Sheybani (SBDS, BI, DGD)

Not recruiting:

Dan Abebayehu

Timothy Allen

Shannon Barker

Bryan Berger

Don Griffin

Will Guilford

Brian Helmke

Evan Scott

Aidong Zhang

Eli Zunder

Note: Applicants interested in UVA's Center for Applied Biomechanicsare encouraged to apply for graduate study through theDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

The Biomedical Engineering graduate program offers three degrees that serve different objectives and intermediate- to long-term goals. When applying, it is important to consider your internal motives for pursuing graduate studies. This is more important than the availability of funding, the estimated timeline to completion, or the perceived number of slots. Our experience is that student satisfaction is highest when their objectives are strongly aligned with those of their graduate program.

The Master of Engineering (M.E.) in Biomedical Engineering prepares biomedical engineers for professional careers in developing advanced healthcare technologies. Over 9 months, this 32-credit graduate program includes clinical observations, an advanced foundational biomedical curriculum, and an experiential project-based introduction to innovative technology development.UVA students pursuing their Bachelor's Degrees can apply for UVAccelerate, which enables students to do the B.S. and M.E. degrees as a "4+1" experience. Biomedical Data Science is a core element of the program and includes training and access to patient data, advanced analytics and modeling and a focus on effective data visualization.M.E. students pay tuition and fees and may apply for the Link Family Fellowship Award.Professional Career Planning is provided through instruction, networking and individual career advising. The M.E. program welcomes a diverse group of outstanding students from a variety of engineering and science backgrounds who are passionate about applying their professional skills to improve patient care.

The Master of Science (M.S.) in Biomedical Engineering is a graduate-level education in the fundamentals of the field and the research activity for our program. M.S. students enroll in core classes plus electives, and the Master’s thesis provides a record of research effort and activity during the M.S. period. The M.S. timeline is governed by coursework enrollment and fulfillment of requirements, which typically take 18–24 months. The M.S. student pays tuition and fees, which might be offset by partial teaching or research assistantships if available. The M.S. can be a good option for applicants from a non-BME field who seek to credential themselves for an industry career in the BME sector. Alternatively, an applicant may be uncertain about their commitment to research and seek to reevaluate after completing coursework. The M.S. is also a viable option for applicants who do not feel that their undergraduate record accurately reflects their academic preparedness or readiness for a research degree. M.S. students do occasionally transition to the Ph.D. program, but the M.S. is not a necessary or implied intermediate step on the path to a Ph.D. We enroll about three M.S. students each year (range: 1–5).

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biomedical Engineering is a mentored opportunity to become an expert on a specific research topic and train for a career involving independent research. This means identifying a void in knowledge with your Ph.D. advisor and Ph.D. Committee members, devising a plan to fill the void rigorously and executing that plan all the way through analysis, interpretation and transmission of results to the broader scientific community. Foundational coursework and electives are tested holistically through a Ph.D. qualifying exam, and terminal progress toward becoming an independent scientist is judged by a candidate’s Ph.D. Dissertation Committee. The Ph.D. dissertation communicates the gap in knowledge by synthesizing the existing literature, fills the gap with interpretable and actionable results and discusses the broader implications and future directions of the research topic. The timeline for a Ph.D. depends on research progress and the choice to pursue intervening activities, such as laboratory rotations and professional development programs. Normally, Ph.D. candidates defend their dissertation in 5–6 years. Ph.D. stipend, tuition, and fees are paid by research assistantships from the sponsoring laboratory (subject to satisfactory performance) or by predoctoral fellowships secured independently by the student. A Ph.D. is the option for those who know they want to pursue a research career in academia, industry, or government, although there are additional career paths that Ph.D. graduates can take. We normally enroll about 16 Ph.D. students each year, but this number fluctuates annually depending on the Department’s ability to sponsor research assistantships (hereis a partial list of faculty who are recruiting this year).

Occasionally, we receive applications where we are puzzled by an applicant’s choice of program given their background and interests. The best place to explain your rationale for M.E., M.S., or Ph.D. is in the written statement of the application. We look forward to reading about it.

From Sepideh Dolatshahi, Associate Professor of BME

Biomedical Engineering is at the interface of engineering with biology, focused on integrating quantitative and physical principles with advances in modern biology. As such, we do not require that students have a certain undergraduate major to apply to BME. We are inherently interdisciplinary, and receive and enthusiastically welcome applications from a wide variety of backgrounds, in addition to biomedical engineering. We welcome applications from students with science, math and engineering training and a commitment to making the BME transition.

Our applicants can be students with solid quantitative training—for example, in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering or Chemical Engineering—who are confident in their ability to learn the biological sciences. We recommend that these students include cell biology and biochemistry in their undergraduate curriculum or demonstrate familiarity with these disciplines via previous research experiences. Alternatively, our applicants can be brave, quantitatively savvy biologists, immunologists or biochemists. Either way, we look for evidence in your application materials (coursework, research, your personal statement, reference letters and early contacts like Zooms) to gauge whether or not you will succeed in our biological, engineering and computational coursework and research in our BME laboratories.

Having come from a purely electrical engineering, telecommunication networks and signal processing background myself, I started my BME journey at the Ph.D. stage at Georgia Tech. I managed to convince my Ph.D. advisor that I had what it took to build the cell biology and biochemistry background that was needed for my Ph.D. research. There was a steep learning curve, which required enthusiasm and persistence. Many other faculty members in our department have non-BME undergraduate or even graduate training backgrounds. Regardless of your undergraduate major, you are a strong applicant if you demonstrate excitement for research, have an academic grounding in both quantitative and life sciences and have enthusiastic support from previous mentors. It is important that you are able to identify faculty within BME whose research aligns with your interests and have a rough plan for bridging the gaps in your background.

From John Hossack, Professor of BME, and Sepideh Dolatshahi, Associate Professor of BME

International participation brings new perspectives and cultural enrichment to our program. The department currently has 40+ international graduate students and faculty from six different countries. We have many international undergraduates, and a significant proportion of our postdoctoral fellows are international. International students often choose between a new life in this country upon graduation, or they take what they have learned and experienced back to their home country to further advance the impact of our research globally.

Advice for international applicants:

Think carefully and methodically about your long-term career plans. What skills and experience do you want to learn and what is the logical pathway to your long-term career? Following that, take advantage of the UVA BME faculty pages and their lab websites to decide which labs are best aligned with your interests and aspirations. Read faculty pages closely and be open to new directions that add to your versatility as a professional Biomedical Engineer.

Compose a well-informed email or arrange to call or Zoom - “I would like to work in…(be specific).” Show genuine interest in the work of faculty that you are interested in, and ideally try to develop a mutual relationship well before the submission deadline. (Just be aware that different faculty have differing needs from year to year in terms of recruitment.) Have good questions for faculty and try to draw attention to any relevant experience or skills that you have. For example, it is perfectly acceptable to develop skills in one application area and then reuse them for a new direction. Faculty are looking for enthusiasm, a self-driven nature and a hard-working, methodical attitude.

Consider using your personal statement to communicate the aspects of your educational background that might be different from those of U.S. institutions. For example, GPA or curriculum differences may be worth clarifying relative to a biomedical engineering major. This will help faculty better assess your background.

Make contact with students in laboratories of interest to you—especially with international students. They may have advice. Our department and the University will help guide you through the visa process and the logistics of travel and accommodation. Generally, we recruit international students to the Ph.D. program - rarely to M.S. or M.E. programs. With few exceptions, Ph.D. students are supported throughout their studies by a stipend subject to satisfactory performance.

Useful Resources and Links:

• The International Students and Scholars Program (ISSP) at UVA strives to address the unique needs of the international student and scholar community, including cultural, social, educational as well as legal issues in regard to their immigration status.
• The UVA Graduate Biomedical Engineering Society (GBMES) is an active graduate student organization. The GBMES International Student Chair is selected each year by our current graduate students.
• For current UVA students, Volunteers with International Students, Staff, and Scholars (VISAS) is a volunteer organization at the University of Virginia which organizes a variety of programs for speakers of other languages who would like to practice English and intercultural exchange.
• For US visa information, see DHS study in the states page and ICE student and exchange visitors program.

From Chris Highley, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

In my view, advice on connecting with faculty before joining a graduate program comes in two parts. One addresses the question of whether it makes sense to make a contact and how it relates to the application process/grad school. The other is how to go about it.

To address the first question: Does reaching out make sense and how might it affect admissions? The answer to this depends on what you hope to get out of the effort to reach out. Your contact should be sincere. If you email, that email should reflect your genuine enthusiasm for that person’s research. This might be reflected through an insightful comment or question, but the most useful inquiries will convey more than passing knowledge. If your interest does not yet go beyond broader interest in the field, that’s perfectly fine, but you will likely receive a more generic response. Our faculty make every effort to respond to thoughtful emails from interested students, but what does it mean if a faculty member does not return your email? It probably means that he or she is quite busy with other things. By no means should a lack of response deter you from applying to a program. If you are interested in our program, apply—your faculty of interest will see your application and consider it carefully during admissions.

In-person interactions are always a great opportunity for direct exchange, so when you have the opportunity to chat with someone whose work you’re interested in at a seminar or a conference, go for it. These interactions are well worth overcoming any nerves to introduce yourself, ask a question or comment on research. Generally, the more knowledgeable you are of a researcher’s work, the better the chances of having a discussion that establishes a relationship. If you plan to attend the BMES Annual Meeting, our faculty have a strong presence there every year, and regardless of whether you are presenting work, we’d love to meet you and hear about your interests.

So, how do you go about making connections that are durable and impactful? There is no particular formula here. As a budding researcher and potential grad student, you should be intellectually curious and not hesitate to express interest or ask questions when you have the chance. It’s worth emphasizing that you can help yourself a lot by getting to know the lab through published work and webpages that the lab uses to share information. You might then use your contact as an opportunity to ask specific questions about the research group or faculty member that you couldn’t find answers to elsewhere. All such interactions that help in determining a match between a student and PI are a critical element of joining a graduate program (this topic is addressed elsewhere in this guide). The pre-contact “season” typically runs from summer through fall. Earlier contact allows for more time for you and a faculty member to learn about one another, but you should reach out with your inquiry whenever you have it, even in November or December.

One closing note, if you are thinking that contacting faculty is a prerequisite to admission, this is not true. Taking my own group as an example: none of the students in my lab contacted me prior to applying to UVA. We found we were good matches for one another during the regular admissions process. I always welcome the opportunity to exchange ideas and share our work with curious undergrads.

From Kevin Janes, Professor of BME, and Dan Abebayehu, Assistant Professor of BME

If you visit our Ph.D. application site, you will find that we have an incredibly detailed set of prompts for the personal statement:

(Required) Provide a 1–2 page personal statement or statement of purpose. Ideally, your statement will address one or more of the below prompts. We suggest addressing only one or a few of these prompts in detail rather than trying to address them all superficially.

1. Was there a singular experience that solidified your motivation and commitment to pursuing a graduate degree? If so, please tell us about it. If not, explain how you arrived at your decision to pursue graduate school.
2. Two of the Core Values at the UVA School of Engineering are “Educating Engineering Leaders” and “Excellence Through Diversity”. If you have leadership experience promoting diversity in STEM or have the potential to add a unique perspective to our program, please share.
3. What accomplishment are you most proud of? What challenges did you have to overcome to achieve success in reaching that accomplishment?
4. Is there something that you believe provides the strongest evidence for your readiness to pursue graduate studies? If yes, please expand. Speculate on how you think your readiness might align with a specific advising or mentorship style: hands-on vs. hands-off, individual vs. team-based, etc.
5. Describe the themes that summarize your general research interests and how they relate to our program. If these themes align with prior research experience, explain why you want to continue on with them. If the themes are different, explain your rationale for the change.
6. In what ways do you hope or expect to grow during your time as a graduate student? Comment on what a successful graduate outcome looks like to you if you have such an idea operationally in mind. To what extent do you have a sense of how graduate school fits into your longer-term career plans?
7. If there is anything additional you feel that we should know about you in evaluating your application, please include it in this statement.

MORE:

All applicants are strongly encouraged to explain their rationale for applying specifically to the Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. program at the University of Virginia.

We want to hear your story. A richly informative personal statement, which adds context to the other components and demonstrates resilience, can distinguish and elevate an application within the BME Admissions Committee. In an age of variable grade inflation, no GREs, and ChatGPT, the personal statement remains the one place where you words have the power to tell us what distinguishes you as an applicant. Our belief is that everyone has facets of their academic, scientific, family, or life experiences that distinguishes them—we want to hear about those facets. Likewise, each applicant has their own individualized reasons for applying to the University of Virginia and the Department of Biomedical Engineering specifically—we want to hear about those reasons, too. Personal statements that are generic or overly cautious may be quick to write and quick to read, but they leave no impression about the applicant in the end.

One useful litmus test for a personal statement is to go through the document, remove the subject, and then ask, “Could these statements hold true for anyone BUT me?” If the answer is “yes”, you are writing generic platitudes that we have seen before and not a personal statement. It is also acceptable to take risks in a personal statement: we would rather read something that surprises us than be unable to reach any opinion because we feel as if we have read nothing at all. Our department is built on a culture of inclusion, support, transparency, and trust—there is no better way for applicants to cultivate a sense of belonging than by showing us these qualities in their personal statement.

From John Hossack, Professor of BME, and Kevin Janes, Professor of BME

For most graduate BME programs around the country, graduate admission proceeds in one of two ways: 1) “Program Admit” where an applicant is admitted and then, through to-be-determined rotations in the first year, must find a thesis advisor willing to sponsor their research; or 2) “Mentor Admit” where the offer of admission is tied to a prespecified thesis advisor. Our program does not do Program Admit, because we think it is unfair to give applicants an impression that they have access to “any” thesis advisor when in fact they do not. We do our fair share of Mentor Admit, and we also can accommodate a third path called “Rotation Admit” where an applicant is admitted to a pair or trio of candidate thesis advisors.

During the application process, is there an optimal strategy for navigating these outcomes, such that it leads to the best possible outcome for the applicant? We argue yes and will try to lay out that strategy here.

The plan starts with the application. When filling it out, don’t be afraid to cast a broad net when indicating your research focus or potential faculty interests. The application gives five open spots to list faculty: use them, and only indicate rankings if you have a strong preference based on your own study of the faculty or prior interactions with them. If your scientific interests are broad, feel free to list more than one research focus, especially if you will speak to that breadth in your written statement. The goal of your application packet is to generate as much enthusiasm from as many specific BME faculty as you can based on your application. Be sure to consult the “Who is recruiting this year for the Ph.D. program” tab to see who is looking for students this cycle—these are the faculty most likely to be reviewing your application.

As the process moves ahead, your strategy should change. Take advantage of every interaction with our program and refine (or re-define) that broad-net list of faculty to a shortlist of possible advisors whom you are enthusiastic about and where the feeling is perceived to be mutual. As a resource, be sure to use students currently advised by the mentors on your shortlist; think about how it would be like to become one of them. The early interactions can be by email or Zoom, and they should culminate with the in-person visit to Charlottesville. Prune and prioritize until you can go no further—we will be doing the same.

If, at the end, you have a clear frontrunner, then your preference should be for a Mentor Admit. Often, applicants feel like they are “missing out” if they don’t get to do rotations; ironically, the opposite is true. Matched students regularly interact with their mentors in the summer before the first year. Some work in the lab full time, others iterate with mentors on project ideas and fellowship applications. The intellectual investment of faculty toward rotating students is lower in the beginning, and the semester of rotations typically adds six months to a student’s graduation timeline. Therefore, the option of Rotation Admit is not without its tradeoffs.

Some applicants, however, have a strong rationale for Rotation Admit. Maybe you are changing fields or deciding between two fields and need an in-lab exposure to arrive at the best decision. Perhaps you are coming in with your own fellowship support and have earned the flexibility to “write your own ticket”. Or there might be a co-mentor arrangement developing where you are mentored by two advisors. It’s best to think of Rotation Admit as a special case of admissions when the circumstances warrant. It should not be thought of as a safer way to get an offer of admissions. Applicants who indicate that they “would be happy to rotate with any three of the following six faculty” are the most likely to fall through the cracks.

In summary: start flexible, prune continuously and use the in-person interview day to obtain those final pieces of information that yield a well-reasoned preference for Mentor Admit or Rotation Admit. You are encouraged to ask our students about their match vs. rotation trajectory and how it impacted their early years of graduate study. Of course, we are also available to serve as resources to help guide you through this process in a way that maximally benefits you and your unique strengths and interests when the time arrives.