Academic Regulations 2004/5
School of Electronics & Computer Science

MEng Electronics for Biomedicine

Programme Structure

You will study 120 credit points in years 1, 2 and 3, and 150 credits (15 course units) in year 4. These credits are at level C (Certificate) in Year 1, mainly at level I (Intermediate) in Year 2, then at level H (Honours) in Year 3, and level M (Masters) in Year 4.

The main themes addressed in Year 1 provide a solid foundation for an education in electronics. These include mathematics, physics and solid state electronic devices, analogue and digital circuit design, programming, software design, professional issues and practical laboratory work. However, to provide a framework for the later years of study, courses in introductory electronics for biomedicine, medical ethics and safety are also taken. In Year 2, the course and practical material is divided between continuing electronics courses (including mathematics, design and test of digital systems, computer systems engineering, semiconductor devices, charges, currents and fields, and analogue electronics) and biology courses including cell and molecular biology and physiology. In Years 3 and 4, the core material includes taught modules covering industrial practice and management as well as individual and group projects in biomedical electronics topics: core units in electronics devices and systems and measurement and signal processing for/applied to clinical biomedicine will also be taken.

Students are strongly recommended to spend 20 weeks in industry, usually as two 10-week summer placements.

If you leave after successfully completing one year of study you will qualify for a Certificate of Higher Education; after two years you will qualify for a Diploma of Higher Education, after three years study you will qualify for a BEng degree. The completed MEng degree is obtained after four years of full-time study.

Appendix 1 : Programme Structure and Content

The information in this appendix is accurate at the time of writing but is liable to change in minor ways from year to year. For the latest information see the course handbook, a copy of which is kept in the Courses Office and is also available online at http://secure.ecs.soton.ac.uk/ug/handbook. Note that some options are subject to prerequisites and exclusions which, for brevity, are not shown here.

In these tables, modules in Years 1 and 2 are all compulsory; those marked with an * are compulsory in Years 3 and 4 for MEng students.

Year 1 : 120 credits, all at level C

Course Code Title
Credit
COMP1010 C Programming
10
ELEC1004 Professional Issues
10
ELEC1005 Analogue Electronics
10
ELEC1006 Circuit Theory
10
ELEC1007 Engineering Physics
10
ELEC1008 Digital Circuits and Microprocessors
10
ELEC1009 Logic Circuit Design
10
ELEC1010 Software Engineering
10
ELEC1012 Solid State Electronics
10
ELEC1NN1 Fundamentals of Biomedical Measurement
10
MATH1013 Mathematics for Engineers
10
MATH1017 Mathematics for Engineers
10

Year 2 : 120 credits, at level I except as noted

Course Code Title
Credit
Level
ELEC2012 Analogue Electronics
10
ELEC2014 Design and Test of Digital Systems
10
ELEC2015 Semiconductor Devices
10
ELEC2016 Design I
10
ELEC2017 Design II
5
ELEC2020 Charges, Currents and Fields
10
MATH2NN1 Mathematics for Electronic and Electrical Engineering
10
BS121 Molecular Basis of Life
15
C
BS144 Cell Communications
15
C
BS141 Foundations of Physiology
15
C

Note: ELEC2017 Design II
Students will not do 50% of this module because they will not have done all of the second year options taken by MEng Electronic Engineers. The students on the MEng Electronics for Biomedicine will follow existing practical sessions for BS144 and BS141.

Year 3 : 120 credits, all at level H except as noted

All students must take COMP3020 (CM391) Individual project (40 credits). In addition, students must take certain specified units as given in the tables below.

BEng Electronics for Biomedicine choose 8 further units from the list below.

The compulsory core modules for MEng Electronics for Biomedicine are identified with an * in the list below.

Course Code Title
Compulsory
Credit
Level
BS241 Neuroscience and Immunology
*
15
I
SOM3NN1 Anatomy
*
5
IS685 Biomedical Applications of Signal Processing
*
10
ELEC3NN1 Biomedical Data Processing
*
10
ELEC3NN2 Electronics for Electrophysiological Measurement and Stimulation
*
10
MANG3022 Management I
*
10
ELEC2018 Software Engineering
10
I
ELEC3017 Digital System Design
10
ELEC3025 Integrated Circuit Design
10
ELEC3020 Advanced Computer Architecture
10
ELEC3031 Analogue Electronics
10
ELEC3024 Materials and Processing of Devices
10
ELEC3019 Optoelectronics
10

Year 4 : 150 credit points, all at level M

Students take ELEC6052 Group Design Project over both semesters together with additional compulsory units indicated in the table below. Students must then choose optional modules from the table below to give an overall total of 150 credit points. A normal single unit contributes 10 credit points.

Students should note that there are a number of prerequisites for the optional units; decisions they made for the third year may affect their choice. It should also be noted that it may not be possible to run some modules if the number of students registered is very small.

Course Code Title
Compulsory
Credit
ELEC6050 Group Design Project
*
50
ELEC6NN1 Biomedical Sensors and Transducers
*
10
ELEC6NN2 Biomedical Imaging
*
10
ELEC6NN3 Biophotonics and X-ray Imaging Technologies for Biomedicine
*
10
ELEC6085 Bio-electro Technologies
*
10
ELEC6079 Microsystem Technology
*
20
COMP6009 Individual Research Project
*
20
ELEC6088 Optical Fibre Communications
10
ELEC6035 Integrated and Nonlinear Optics
10
ELEC6009 SPICE Circuit Models and Technology
10
ELEC6010 Digital Integrated Circuit Design
10
ELEC6011 Electronic Measurement Techniques
10
ELEC6017 Instrumentation and Sensors
20
ELEC6029 Silicon Technology and Devices
20