The Joint PhD in Biomedical Engineering builds upon and complements the existing Master of Applied Science/Master of Engineering program offered by the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering (OCIBME), which was established in 2006. The Institute draws on the expertise of two participating medical research units: the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) and the University of Ottawa Eye Institute. It also draws on the expertise of a number of prominent researchers from other associated academic units and research institutes at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. The OCIBME also has close ties with local Ottawa hospitals, which provides unique opportunities for students.

As with the existing MASc/MEng program in Biomedical Engineering, the joint PhD is a multidisciplinary degree, welcoming applicants from a wide variety of academic fields, including engineering, computer science, biomedical sciences, and health sciences. It responds to increasing demand from students in these fields for highly specialized and innovative education in the area of biomedical engineering. The program consists of three courses and a thesis, with two of the courses in the area of biomedical engineering, and the third from any discipline related to the needs of the student’s research area. This elective course serves to cultivate the multidisciplinary character of biomedical engineering. As with other joint programs, students in this PhD program may choose elective graduate courses from either university.

The program provides several new and unique research dimensions in the field of biomedical engineering relative to other biomedical programs in Canada. It has the unique advantage of being offered jointly by a number of academic units from two major universities. Each of these units have distinguished research strengths and recognized contributions in a number of biomedical research fields. The sharing of research/laboratory facilities and major research collections between the two institutions also provides students with an outstanding spectrum of research resources.