Upon successful completion of the IMS first year program, students have a number of options for continuing their education and professional development. It is expected that the majority of students will apply and be admitted to medical school as this is the main thrust and purpose of the program. Some students who find the practice of medicine no longer fits with their personal ambitions may find alternative career paths in professions related to health care but not as medical practitioners. For those students, Drexel University provides a curriculum leading to advanced study and preparation for research in either industry or academia. This is the Biomedical Science program offered through the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems.

Within the Biomedical Science program, IMS graduates can pursue a number of alternative pathways. For those who wish to gain a Master’s of Science degree (M.S.) in Biomedical Science, the School offers a challenging second year curriculum in quantitative analysis. The program includes three terms of mathematics, two quarters of systems analysis, two quarters of statistics and experimental design, computer programming and a term of biomedical ethics and law. The goal of the program is to combine the biological and life science knowledge provided by the IMS program with analytical skills to prepare students for industrial positions.

For more enterprising students who wish to specialize, the school offers two concentration areas, one in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering and another in Bioinformatics. For IMS graduates, students would complete one year in the core quantitative analysis as described above and then spend a second year being educated in the specialty. To obtain training in biomaterials and tissue engineering, student take three terms of biomaterials (Biomaterials I, II and III) and three quarters of tissue engineering (Tissue Engineering I, II and III). For Bioinformatics, students take courses in Biosystems Modeling, Biocomputational Languages, Biomedical Signal Processing, Quantitative Systems Biology, Genome Information Engineering and Pharmacogenomics. This training prepares students for advanced careers in tissue engineering or bioinformatics.

From Training in Quantitative Biomedical Science to Medical School-Level Coursework

As yet another alternative, students may begin their careers with the training in quantitative approaches during their first year and then continue their studies along with other students in the IMS program taking medical school courses during their second year. These individuals will also receive a Master’s of Science in Biomedical Science at the successful completion of their second year of study. These students can also continue their education, pursuing Certificates of Advanced Study in either Bioinformatics or Tissue Engineering, or continuing on for a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science.

The Options

Option 1
Year 1 – IMS program
Year 2 – Biomedical Science Core
Result – Masters in Biomedical Science

Option 2
Year 1 – Biomedical Science Core
Year 2 – IMS program
Result – Masters in Biomedical Science

Option 3
Complete Option 1 or 2
Year 3 – Complete set of Courses in Concentration
Result – Masters in Biomedical Science with Certificate of Advanced Study in ________ (Tissue Engineering or Bioinformatics)

Option 4
Enter into Biomedical Science Program and Complete Core Courses
Year 2 – Complete set of Courses in Concentration
Result – Masters in Biomedical Science with a Concentration in ________ (Tissue Engineering or Bioinformatics)

Option 5
Year 1 – IMS program or Biomedical Science Core
Year 2 – Biomedical Science Core or IMS program
Years 3-5 – Graduate study and research
Result – Ph.D. in Biomedical Science

Visit www.biomed.drexel.edu for more information about the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems.

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