Biomedical Engineering

Program Overview

Biomedical engineering lies where the physical and life sciences meet, using physics and chemistry to understand how living systems work. Its approach is quantitative: mathematical analysis and modelling of systems from the subcellular to the whole organism. How competitive: for the Class of 2029, which entered in fall 2025, Harvard admitted 4.2% of its 47,893 applicants; it publishes no separate figure for international applicants. It sets no IB minimum and no subject requirement, and it requires the SAT or ACT: IB results, final or predicted, count in their place only in exceptional cases. Students apply to Harvard College and choose a concentration, Harvard's name for a major, from 50 fields.