BME-301-davidlin-2026-08-15-10-51-30

Title of Course: Biomedical Engineering Ethics and Professional Development

Prefix and Number: BME 301

Semester and Year: tbd

Number of Credit Hours: 2

Prerequisites: BME 201 with C or better (or concurrent)

Course Details

Day and Time: tbd

Meeting Location: tbd

 

Instructor Contact Information

Instructor Name: tbd

Instructor Contact Information: tbd

Instructor Office Hours: tbd

 

TA Name: tbd

TA Contact Information: tbd

TA Office Hours: tbd

 

Course Description

Ethical topics in Biomedical Engineering, including responsibilities to society and scientific conduct; topics related to the professional development of Biomedical Engineers.

 

Course Materials 

Books: none

Other Materials: none

Fees: none

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) 

Course Learning Outcomes

(students will be able to:)

Activities Supporting the Learning Outcomes Assessment of the Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate understanding of ethical and professional responsibility in global economic, environmental, and societal contexts.

Lectures, and reading and writing assignments Reading annotations and writing assignments

Use critical thinking and reasoning to make informed judgments about ethical issues and engineering solutions.

Lectures, and reading and writing assignments Reading annotations and writing assignments

Demonstrate awareness of diverse contemporary issues that influence career development and professional practice.

Lectures, and reading and writing assignments

Reading annotations and writing assignments

Course Schedule

[Please note that a WSU semester is 15 weeks + Thanksgiving/Spring Break. The schedule below does not include the break.]

Dates Lesson Topic Assignment Assessment

Week 1

 Syllabus, course overview, and expectations

Lecture

Week 2

Career paths and planning: preparation for industry, graduate school, or medical school

Lecture

Writing assignment

Week 3

Survey of alumni placement

Lecture

Writing assignment

Week 4

Job search and resume

Lecture

Writing assignment

Week 5

Industry speakers

Lecture

Writing assignment

Week 6

Industry speakers

Lecture

Writing assignment

Week 7

Introduction to ethics

Lecture, reading

Writing assignment

Week 8

Animal welfare and research

Lecture, reading

Writing assignment

Week 9

Academic and research ethics

Lecture, reading

Writing assignment

Week 10

Research with human subjects

Lecture, reading

Writing assignment

Week 11

Ethics case studies

Lecture, reading

Writing assignment

Week 12

Ethics case studies

Lecture, reading

Writing assignment

Week 13

Professional codes of ethics

Lecture, reading

Writing assignment

Week 14

Disability rights, access and assistive technology

Lecture, reading

Writing assignment

Week 15

Contemporary issues

Lecture, reading

Writing assignment

 

Expectations for Student Effort 

For each hour of lecture equivalent, students should expect to have a minimum of two hours of work outside of class.

 

Grading

Assignment Breakdown
Type of Assignment (tests, papers, etc) Points Percent of Overall Grade

Attendance

15%

Class Participation and Professionalism

10%

Reading Assignments in Perusall

10%

Writing assignments

65%

 

Grading Schema
Grade Percent Grade Percent
A

>92

C 73-76
A-  90-91 C- 70-72
B+ 87-89 D+ 67-69
B 83-86 D 60-66
B- 80-82 F <60
C+ 77-79  

Numerical grades will be rounded to the nearest integer value.


Attendance and Make-Up Policy 

Students are expected to attend all classes and actively participate during class discussions.  It is your responsibility to catch up on missed classes.  Class absences must be made up with a one page report about the topic covered in the missed class or by attending an approved BME seminar and writing a one-page summary. Make-up reports are due two weeks following the absence.  Details about make-up assignments and approved seminars will be posted on the class website. A student is expected to let the instructor know by 9 am the day of class if he/she will be absent.  You do not need to provide any personal information about why you are absent, just that you will be absent.  Any unexcused absences will be considered in the Attendance portion of the grade by a deduction of 3% of the total grade, up to the maximum of 15%.  


Academic Integrity Statement

You are responsible for reading WSU's Academic Integrity Policy, which is based on Washington State law. If you cheat in your work in this class you will:

-receive a "0" for the assignment

-Be reported to the Center for Community Standards

-Have the right to appeal my decision

-Not be able to drop the course of withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished

If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask me.

If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the form at the Center for Community Standards website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.