Education

In parallel with its research thrusts, the Clemson-MUSC program pursues educational goals to develop a unique brand of bioengineers trained to understand and respond to clinical challenges and perspectives. The graduate-only program offers its students (MS/ Ph.D.) unique opportunities to pursue bioengineering research and education at a medical institution with access to clinical research and training resources and personnel. Program students and cross-over interdisciplinary MUSC students can complete required and elective bioengineering courses taught locally by primary and program faculty and through videoconferencing from participating faculty in the parent bioengineering department at Clemson.

The program is a credit to both universities as a model for collaborative efforts aimed at bridging disciplines and institutions. Clemson's bioengineering graduate program defines its own degree requirements, which include a defined set of core courses, rules guiding the selection of a dissertation advisory committee, a defined written qualifying exam taken at the end of the second year of graduate study, submission, and defense of a plan of research, which constitutes the oral qualifying exam, and submission and defense of a dissertation describing an original piece of research.

In addition, the students can enroll in basic science and clinical MUSC electives for full transfer credit. The graduate educational experience at the Clemson-MUSC program offers the advantages of personalized graduate education and a curriculum designed with strong clinical/translational emphasis. Joint clinical-bioengineering courses where students have clinical rotations aimed at identifying and solving problems that could be addressed with engineering approaches are unique and valuable aspects of the joint program.