The best thing to do if you are interested in studying abroad is to visit the Office of International Education’s Study Abroad website. Most BME students study abroad through Georgia Tech faculty-led and exchange programs, but students can study through other college and university programs as well. Humanities/social science courses, and introductory science and engineering courses are readily available in most of these programs, which make them attractive to students from many majors. A few programs, including three BME programs, offer courses targeted to appeal to specific majors.
The BME Galway Summer Program is situated in the West of Ireland, which has become the European capital for the healthcare and medical device industries. This program, a collaboration between the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering and the National University of Ireland, Galway, seeks to leverage this remarkable concentration of medical device companies. It is designed for third and fourth year BME students who are interested in an international experience which enables them to combine classroom learning with field trips to medical device companies to learn first-hand their R&D and manufacturing practices.
The Nakatani Research and International Experiences for Students Fellowship Program sends up to 12 Georgia Tech biomedical engineering undergraduate students to laboratories in Japan for 10 weeks starting in mid-May. Working at various universities in Japan, students are paid to perform research and get exposed to the latest technologies in addition to gaining new cultural experiences. The program also sends up to 12 Japanese undergraduate students to Georgia Tech, including the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, for five to six weeks starting in mid-August.
Students may also choose to pursue opportunities to work abroad. The Georgia Tech Global Internship Program provides students the opportunity to gain experience in their field, develop the skills employers need in a global economy and get exposure to cross-cultural communication and learning. Registering an internship is free and the internships are often paid positions. The duration can be from 10 weeks to one year.
