Academic Advising

The Biomedical Engineering program is accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). CEAB seeks to assure that graduates of the program meet the academic requirements for professional licensure and that they possess twelve attributes that set graduates up for success in their careers as engineers. In the Faculty of Engineering, we assess students based on a set of program indicators throughout the courses in the chemical engineering curriculum.

List of graduate attributes and associated program indicators

Supplemental exams:

• Students promoted conditionally with a failing grade between 42 and 49 may be eligible to write a supplemental exam. Eligibility is at the discretion of the instructor, and is not guaranteed. The exam must be approved by the program director in addition to the course instructor.
• If the student passes the supplemental exam with a grade of 50 or more, they will clear the failure and obtain credit for the course. The failing grade remains on the transcript, but the course will show as an earned credit. 
• Only one supplemental exam will be granted in any given term. 
• SUPP exams must be written within one year of the failed course. 
• There is a $175 Supplemental Exam Application Fee. This fee is non-refundable. Please contact the BME Undergraduate Office before submitting the application and paying the fee. 
• Supplemental exams are NOT offered for first year SYDE or BME courses, and are typically not offered for electives. 

Promotion rules:

Your term standing is available on QUEST shortly after the end of the term. Definitions of academic decisions and promotion rules are outlined in the Examinations and Promotions section of the Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar. If you have any questions regarding your term standing, contact the BME Undergraduate Office. 

During your final year, you will complete a Biomedical Engineering Capstone Design project. During two consecutive courses, students work in teams on a real, open-ended engineering design problem under the supervision of a faculty member with expertise in that problem area.

Eligibility

The BME Specializations have changed, and which ones you are eligible to pursue will depend on what year you began your studies.

If you began your studies between 2022-2025 —

• You have the option to declare and pursue both the 2022-2025 specializations and the current (2026 and later) specializations.
• Please refer to the 2025 Academic Calendar for a list of the "old" specializations and requirements, and refer to the current Academic Calendar for the "new" specializations and requirements. 
• Note that some of the specializations listed in the current Academic Calendar have the same names as ones listed in the previous Calendar. Please specify whether you are declaring the "old" version or the "new" version when adding the specialization to your degree. 
• If the version of the specialization that you are pursuing has a capstone component, you will need to check in with your capstone instructor and the Specialization Coordinator frequently to ensure that your project is on track to fulfil this requirement. 
• Note that regardless of which requirement term you are following for your specialization, your degree requirements will still be based on the Academic Calendar from the year that you began your studies, so it is important that you refer to that specific version of the calendar for your degree overall. 

If you began your studies in 2026 or later —

• You will only have access to the current (2026 and later) specializations. Please refer to the current Academic Calendar for a list of the "new" specializations and their requirements. 
• Note that if there are any changes to requirements for any of the current specializations, you will still follow the requirements for the term during which you declared the specialization. 

Declaring your specialization

• To declare your specialization, fill out the Plan Modification Form and email the completed copy to the BME Undergraduate Office. It is helpful if you include what you are declaring in the body of the email as well.

• You should declare your specialization before the start of your 4B term to ensure that it can be added to your transcript and properly accounted for when your Academic Advisor is conducting grad checks. 

• Once you have declared your specialization, it is a good idea to keep an eye on Quest to ensure that it has been added. Please note that these changes are not automatic, and can take a few days to appear at the student's end. 

What if a course isn't available?

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are on track to complete your degree requirements, including their specialization requirements. Some courses that are required for, or contribute to, specializations may not be offered on a regular basis, so it is important to make a plan in advance, and review the requirements as you progress through your program. Sometimes this may mean taking an elective that you aren't particularly interested in taking in order to meet a specialization requirement. Some course substitutions may be approved by the Specialization Coordinator in outstanding circumstances, but these approvals are not guaranteed. Course substitutions must be approved in writing and sent to your Academic Advisor.