At Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, we offer a respected master of engineering in surgery and intervention program that is uniquely designed to create a new group of engineers capable of creating, developing and translating systems, devices and algorithms designed to facilitate surgical and interventional processes and their outcomes.

Vanderbilt School of Engineering, in partnership with the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE), launched this novel graduate program to train engineers to address challenges and develop solutions at the intersection of engineering and procedural medicine.

The degree is a 30-credit hour program designed to enhance training in the domains of engineering for surgery and intervention with extensive exposure to clinical domains.
ESI core skill sets available for training are:

• interventional imaging, therapeutics, guidance and delivery,
• modeling, simulation, image analysis, data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence,
• robotics, medical devices, instrumentation, and sensing.

Further, each student as part of their design experience will join a cutting-edge ESI laboratory environment as part of a design internship — an immersive designed-based project where students are mentored by both clinicians and engineering practitioners.

Understanding the M.Eng. in Surgery and Intervention Program Structure

With regards to the overall program structure, the master of engineering in surgery and intervention has two tracks: the innovator track and the inventor track. Each track is 30 credit hours and consists of core coursework and electives — explore these two tracks below:

*Note: There are several professional courses in the School of Engineering that would satisfy this requirement. This is done in consultation with the student’s adviser and program director. This can be satisfied in fall or spring.

Vanderbilt University understands the power behind learning by doing. For this reason, all graduate engineering students at Vanderbilt secure an engineering design internship prior to graduation. These experiential learning opportunities enable engineering students to develop real-world experience in a professional setting, which directly contributes to the marketability of Vanderbilt alumni.

With regards to the master of engineering in surgery and intervention, ESI students are required to complete a design course in the form of an ESI design internship. This design internship requirement is crucial as students are immersed in an intensive design project working environment with both expert clinical and engineering mentors. 

Through this design internship experience, students learn about cutting-edge approaches to contemporary surgical and interventional problems. Using their enhanced didactic engineering skills acquired over the course of their training program, combined with a novel design environment, students will develop their own advanced prototype device, process or therapeutic.

Engineering expertise available to you at VISE:

At Vanderbilt School of Engineering, there is a process to selecting a preceptor for each student with regard to the design environment:

1. The process begins with the evaluation of the student’s ESI skill survey upon application

2. In consultation with the program director, potential design environments are identified

3. The preceptor and student establish a mutual match

4. At the initiation of the 6-credit hour design course experience, preceptor and student enter into a design course project agreement 

ESI students are also encouraged to consult the various preceptor faculty and identify potential preceptors of interest. Additional advising by the program director on potential preceptors of interest will also be provided. 

*Note: Laboratory/Preceptor matches can be established apart from Vanderbilt resources. The design course sequence is conducted within the context of a non-disclosure environment with the goal of maintaining intellectual property. In the case of a non-Vanderbilt Laboratory/Preceptor design environment (e.g. industry), Vanderbilt resources typically available as part of this program and associated with being a Vanderbilt Inventor will not be able to be used (such as prototype funds and VISE facility use).  In addition, the student and the student’s non-Vanderbilt preceptor will have to develop an individual development plan (IDP) with the Program Director to ensure degree rigor while maintaining appropriate confidentiality of intellectual property. 

Here are the potential faculty/preceptors available for partnership at Vanderbilt School of Engineering.

Choose a topic you are interested in exploring:

Additional Resources for Future ESI Students

We invite you to take the next step in rewarding your spirit of ambition — please click below to explore more resources:

Vanderbilt University’s strong history of and commitment to interdisciplinary work and the close proximity of its Medical and Engineering Schools makes it the ideal institution for advancing the state of the art in this field. In conjunction with VISE, the School of Engineering provides a transformative infrastructure that facilitates this interdisciplinary work and creates an environment in which traditional boundaries are eliminated. 

In fact, Vanderbilt University is one of the only universities to offer such a ground-breaking program. Here are just a few of the things that set Vanderbilt’s master of engineering in surgery and intervention apart from other universities offering similar degrees:

What sets Vanderbilt’s master of engineering
in surgery and intervention apart?

The master of engineering in surgery intervention program at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering is a transformative field of study that prepares future engineering leaders for diverse careers across surgery and intervention and procedural medicine environments. You can choose to take the next step in your engineering career today; take this opportunity to connect with us!