As part of our series on How to Fully Fund Your PhD, we provide a list of universities that offer full funding for a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. A PhD in Biomedical Engineering can prepare you for an academic career in teaching or research, or for a non-academic career with biotech companies, scientific consulting firms, medical and scientific journals, law firms dealing in intellectual property, science-focused nonprofit organizations and foundations, government agencies, and venture capital firms.
“Full funding” is a financial aid package for full-time students that includes full tuition remission and an annual stipend or salary for the three to six-year duration of the student’s doctoral studies. Funding is typically offered in exchange for graduate teaching and research work that is complementary to your studies. Not all universities provide full funding to their doctoral students, which is why we recommend researching the financial aid offerings of all the potential PhD programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad.
You can also find several external fellowships in the Cameroon-Scholarships database for graduate and doctoral study, as well as dissertation research, fieldwork, language study and summer work experience.
Cornell University, Department of Biomedical Engineering (Ithaca, NY): Since the BME Department was founded in 2004, all PhD students have been fully funded, i.e., tuition, stipend, and health insurance, throughout their degree program.
Duke University, Department of Biomedical Engineering (Durham, NC): Most applicants admitted to the PhD program are offered a fellowship or research assistantship. Financial support awarded to PhD students includes a stipend, tuition payments and payments for most Graduate School fees.
Johns Hopkins University, Department of Biomedical Engineering (Baltimore, MD): All students are admitted with a full fellowship that covers tuition, and provides a modest stipend for the duration of their PhD. Because students are fully funded, they can choose to perform their dissertation in essentially any laboratory in the University.
University of Michigan, Department of Biomedical Engineering (Ann Arbor, MI): All successful BME PhD students are fully supported by their research advisors, through external or internal fellowships, or as graduate student instructors.
University of Pennsylvania, Department of Biomedical Engineering (Philadelphia, PA): If accepted as a PhD student in Bioengineering, full funding will be provided that includes tuition, health insurance, and a stipend.
Stanford University, Department of Biomedical Engineering (Stanford, CA): All students admitted to the PhD program are fully funded for five years; this covers all tuition plus a quarterly living stipend. For 2018-19, the living stipend is $10,300 per quarter.
University of Texas at Austin, Department of Biomedical Engineering (Austin, TX): All admitted PhD students receive full financial support through graduate research assistant positions, fellowships, and teaching assistant positions. This includes a competitive annual stipend, paid tuition and fees, and health insurance coverage for the duration of the student’s degree program.
University of Virginia, Department of Biomedical Engineering (Charlottesville, VA): All doctoral students are fully funded, and 40% also receive additional fellowships and grants.
Need some tips for the application process? See our article How To Get Into a Fully Funded PhD Program: Contacting Potential PhD Advisors.
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