The Neural Engineering Master's degree provides students with specialized skills and knowledge within the field of neural engineering, suitable for advanced roles with higher salaries in the neurotechnology industry and related fields, as well as for the most competitive PhD programs.
Requirements
- Complete a minimum of 30 graduate-level credits, including:
- 4 core courses
- 2 elective courses
- 2 semesters of seminars
- Project (max. of 6 project-type credits allowed)
- Additional credits can come from core/elective courses or project credits
- Additional Criteria:
- Must receive a C grade or higher in Program of Study coursework and CR grades in seminars and project-related credits
- Average GPA of 3.0 or higher in Program of Study
Neuro Course List
Core Courses
Complete at least one course from each core area:
Neural Interfaces
- ECE 6960 Commercialization of Neural Technology (3 credits)
Neurophysiology
- NEUSC 6050 Systems Neuroscience (4 credits)
NeuroRobotics
- Neural Engineering & NeuroRobotics (4 credits)
Cross-listed as BME 6440, ECE 6654, or ROBOT 6400
Neural Analysis & Modeling - 1
- ECE 6535 Mathematical Tools for Neural Data Analysis & Modeling (3-4 credits)
- BME 6005 Computational Neuroscience (3 credits)
Elective Courses
Complete 2 courses (must be from different categories):
Core courses that are not used to fulfill a core area requirement may also be considered as an elective in that category.
Category 1: Neural Interfaces Electives
- CS 7710 Neuromorphic Architecture – 3 credits
- ECE 5480 Diagnostic and Therapeutic Ultrasound – 3 credits
- ECE 6215 Biomedical Micro Devices – 3 credits
- ECE 6226 Electrical Interface MEMS – 3 credits
- ECE 6245 Design and Simulation Microsystems – 3 credits
- ECE 6330 Health Technology – 3 credits
- ECE 6360 Bioinstrumentation – 3 credits
- ECE 6710 Digital VLSI Design – 4 credits
- ECE 6730 Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit Design – 3 credits
- ECE 6780 Embedded Systems Design – 4 credits
- ECE 7310 Advanced Topics in Magnetic Resonance Imaging – 3 credits
- ECE 7620 3-D Reconstruction Techniques in Medical Imaging – 3 credits
Category 2: Neurophysiology Electives
- BME 6003 Cellular Electrophysiology & Biophysics – 3 credits
- BME 6230 Musculoskeletal Functional Anatomy for Engineers – 3 credits
- BME 6302 Biomaterials – 3 credits
- BME 6460 Electrophysiology & Bioelectricity of Tissues – 3 credits
- NEUSC 6040 Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience – 4 credits
- NEUSC 6060 Neuroanatomy – 1.5 credits
- NEUSC 6100 Visual Neuroscience – 3 credits
- NEUSC 6245 Neurophysiology Lab – 1 credit
- NEUSC 7750 Developmental Neurobiology – 1.5 credits
Category 3: NeuroRobotics
- Robotics 1: Mechanics (ROBOT 5000/6000)
- Robotics 2: Control (ROBOT 5100/6100)
- Motion Planning (ROBOT 6200)
- Advanced Mechatronics (ROBOT 6500)
- Haptics (ROBOT 7400)
- Robot Manipulation and Mobility (ROBOT 7000)
- System Identification for Robotics (ROBOT 7010)
- Virtual Reality (CS 5360/6360)
- Human-Computer Interaction (CS 6540)
- State Space Control (ECE 5652/6652)
- Nonlinear Controls (MEEN 7200)
- Optimal Controls (MEEN 7210)
- Adaptive Control (ECE 6570)
- Advanced Image Processing (CS 7640)
- Computer Vision (CS 5320 / ECE 6657)
Category 4: Neural Analysis & Modeling
- BME 6433 Biological Statistical Processing - 3 credits
- CS 6210 Advanced Scientific Computing - 3 credits
- CS 6300 Artificial Intelligence - 3 credits
- CS 6353 Deep Learning - 3 credits
- ECE 6520 Information Theory - 3 credits
- ECE 6530 Digital Signal Processing - 3 credits
- ECE 6540 Estimation Theory - 3 credits
- MATH 6070 Mathematical Statistics - 3 credits
- MATH 6440 Advanced Dynamical Systems - 3 credits
- MATH 6630 Numerical Solutions of Partial Differential Equations - 3 credits
- MATH 6740 Bifurcation Theory - 3 credits
- MATH 6770 Mathematical Biology I - 3 credits
- MATH 6780 Mathematical Biology II - 3 credits
Seminars
Complete 2 semesters of approved seminar courses
- Studies in Neural Engineering / Neural Engineering Research Group (BME 6470)
- Frontiers in Neuroscience (NEUSC 6010)
- Neuroscience Journal Club (NEUSC 6030)
- Biomedical Engineering Seminar (BME 6090)
- Electrical Engineering Seminar (ECE 6900/6910/7900/7910)
- Robotics Seminar (ROBOT 5800/6800)
Project
Recommended Credits - Complete any of the following under the supervision of a neural engineering faculty member and with approval from the director of academic studies (Maximum of 6 credits allowed):
- Independent Study / Independent Project
- Research & Internship / Co-operative Education
- Honors Project / Honors Thesis
- Biodesign (BME 6081/6082)
- Master's Thesis Research
Alternative Course Option - Project-intensive courses can also be used to fulfill the project requirement:
- Commercialization of Neural Technology (ECE 5960)
- Embedded Systems Design (ECE 5780/6780)
- Digital VLSI Design (ECE 5710/6710)
- Mathematical Tools for Neural Data Analysis and Modeling (ECE 5535/6535)
- Computational Neuroscience (BME 5005/6005)
- Biological Statistical Processing (BME 5433/6433)
- Digital Signal Processing (ECE 5530/6530)
- Deep Learning (CS 5353/6353)
- Systems Neuroscience (NEUSC 6050)
- Neurophysiology Lab (NEUSC 6245)
- Neural Engineering & NeuroRobotics (ECE 6654 / BME 6440 / ROBOT 6400)
- Advanced Mechatronics (ROBOT 6500)
If you do not have a prior degree in engineering or a quantitative/computational science, then the graduate supervisory committee may request that you complete additional coursework to fulfill proficiency requirements.