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2026-2027 University Catalog
Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies/Pre-Medical Engineering Studies Concentration, BS
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 Return to: College of Engineering (Undergraduate)
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Degree Requirements
120 Credits RequiredInterdisciplinary Engineering Studies Major Requirements (60-78 credits)
Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies Major Courses (10-16 Credits)
Pre-Med Concentration Requirements (50-62 credits)
Area Selectives (30-39 credits)
The following are common medical school preparation pre-requisites that are required in addition to those met with your First Year Engineering requirements (2 semesters of General Chemistry with lab, 1 of 2 semesters of Physics with lab, 1 semester English composition), and your IDES sophomore science selective option (the other required semester of Physics with lab). Meet with an academic advisor to ensure all requirements of your IDES degree plan and medical school requirements are being met.)
Other Program/Departmental Requirements (58-64 credits)
Other Departmental Requirements (34-39 credits)
Engineering General Education Requirement (24-25 credits)
For a list of courses that satisfy this requirement, see Supplemental Information. General Education I - Credit Hours: 3.00 (UCC:HUM) General Education II - Credit Hours: 3.00 (UCC:BSS) General Education III - Credit Hours: 3.00 General Education IV - Credit Hours: 3.00 General Education V - Credit Hours: 3.00 General Education VI - Credit Hours: 3.00 Written Communication (UCC: WC) - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00 Oral Communication (UCC: OC) - Credit Hours: 3.00
Electives (0-2 credits)
- Electives - Credit Hours: 0.00-2.00
Career Description
- Students who take the Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies pathway (BS), frequently are interested in pursuing medical school programs after their undergraduate degree.
- Two types of programs-allopathic medicine (M.D.) and osteopathic medicine (D.O.) are available to become a physician. The credentials, training, jobs, and available specialties are the same for both.
- Allopathic and osteopathic physicians use a biological approach to healing. Physicians diagnose, treat, and work to prevent human illness and injury.
- They perform examinations, analyze medical histories, order and interpret diagnostic tests and develop treatment plans.
- Allopathic and osteopathic physicians are very similar in their approach to working with patients and the differences between them are more historical than current practice.
- The osteopathic approach is patient oriented and uses a somewhat more holistic approach than allopathic medicine. Osteopathic medicine also incorporates a treatment modality-Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM)-which is a form of musculo-skeletal manipulation that is used both for diagnosis and treatment.
- MDs and DOs practice in all the same specialties. Work is in progress to combine the two types of residencies.
- Purdue University is one of the locations for the Indiana University School of Medicine. Marian University houses the osteopathic medical school in the state.
Developing an IDES degree pathway to become a physician
- Students should complete a bachelor’s degree in a field of their choice (IDES) along with necessary prerequisite courses that prepare them for medical schools.
- Medical school is a four year program followed by on the job training (residency) which will last 3-8 years. Subspecialization is accomplished through fellowships which can last several more years.
- MDs and DOs are licensed by the state after passing an examination.
- Physicians must also pass board exams for certification in specialty areas.
Preparation
- Observe physicians to make sure this is the right field for you and that you truly understand what it means to be an allopathic or osteopathic physician.
- Medical schools will also want to see you can handle a heavy course load while being active in extracurricular activities, providing community service, and gaining medical experience.
- While each medical school determines the courses it will require, the required courses are relatively standard and similar to the list below.
- All required courses must have a minimum grade of C.
- Other than Biochemistry, which is one semester and does not require a lab, the science requirements are typically 8-10 credit hours with two of those hours being lab.
Grade Requirements
- A student must earn a grade of C- or higher in the 24 credits of general education electives that are required for the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree, Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies major.
GPA Requirements
- A GPA of 2.0 is required for all Baccalaureate degrees.
- A GPA of 2.0 is required in the 30 credits of 20000+ level engineering courses counted towards the Bachelor of Science degree, Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies major.
Course Requirements and Notes
- A maximum of 24 credits from any one Engineering discipline (AAE, ABE, BME, CE, CHE, ECE, EEE, ENE, ENGR, EPCS, IDE, IE, ME, MSE, NUCL) may be counted towards the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree, Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies major.
- 30 credits should be 20000:59999 engineering courses/15 credits of the 30 should be 30000:59999 (Concentration courses can be used to meet requirement)
- No more than 6 credits of ROTC courses (AFT, NS, MIL) may be counted towards the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree, Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies major.
- No more than 3 credits of engineering research may be counted towards the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree, Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies major.
Pass/No Pass Policy
- No courses counted towards the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree, Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies major, may be taken for a P/NP grade.
Transfer Credit Policy
- A student that is awarded the Bachelor of Science degree (BS), Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies major, may not then re-enroll at Purdue and use those courses to count towards the Bachelor of Science in Engineering Degree (BSE), Multidisciplinary Engineering major.
- The Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree, Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies major, is not an ABET-accredited program.
- If you are interested in registering for a course offered by a different institution, please review the information on the Purdue Office of the Registrar Transfer Credit website.
- If you are an incoming transfer student, please review the above Transfer Credit website and then work with your academic advisor to determine exactly how your previous courses might transfer.
University Requirements
University Core Requirements
For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the University Senate Website. - AI Working Competency (UCC: AI)
- Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (UCC: BSS)
- Human Cultures: Humanities (UCC: HUM)
- Information Literacy (UCC: IL)
- Oral Communication (UCC: OC)
- Quantitative Reasoning (UCC: QR)
- Science #1 (UCC: SCI)
- Science #2 (UCC: SCI)
- Science, Technology, and Society (UCC: STS)
- Written Communication (UCC: WC)
Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement
To obtain the Civics Literacy credential, all Baccalaureate degree seeking students will complete the Civics Literacy Podcast pathway - Complete 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement that use C-SPAN material and pass the required quizzes per episode. After the pathway has been successfully completed, students will take the Civics Literacy knowledge test. Civics Literacy does not impact a student’s GPA or bear any financial costs. More details about each pathway and how to complete the requirement can be found on the Civics Literacy Student Dashboard in myPurdue. Upper Level Requirement
- Resident study at Purdue University for at least two semesters and the enrollment in and completion of at least 32 semester hours of coursework required and approved for the completion of the degree. These courses are expected to be at least junior-level (30000+) courses.
- Students should be able to fulfill most, if not all, of these credits within their major requirements; there should be a clear pathway for students to complete any credits not completed within their major.
Sample Plan of Study
The following sample plan of study is a suggested arrangement of courses. Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student. Pre-Requisite Information
For pre-requisite information, log in to mypurdue.purdue.edu and click here. World Language Courses
World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor. (ASL-American Sign Language; ARAB-Arabic; CHNS-Chinese; FR-French; GER-German; GREK-Greek(Ancient); HEBR-Hebrew(Biblical); HEBR-Hebrew(Modern); ITAL-Italian; JPNS-Japanese; KOR-Korean; LATN-Latin; PTGS-Portuguese; RUSS-Russian; SPAN-Spanish) Critical Course
The ♦ course is considered critical. In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major. Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful. These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program.” Disclaimer
The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student. The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion. Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. |
Return to: College of Engineering (Undergraduate)
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