The thesis option is typically selected by students who are oriented towards a career in academic or industrial research and development, or students who want to acquire an initial independent biomedical research experience before seeking admission to doctoral programs.

The Master's thesis is a research monograph which describes the significance of the research and summarizes the research activities completed as part of the MS degree requirements. The objective of the thesis is to evaluate the candidate’s competence in the area of the MS research. The thesis must demonstrate that the research is original and that the candidate has the ability to solve complex scientific and/or technical problems at the interface of engineering and medicine or biology.

The thesis must be approved by a thesis committee. The duties of the thesis committee are:

• to consult with and to advise students on their research;

• to meet, at intervals, to review progress and expected results;

• to read and comment upon the draft thesis;

• to meet, when the thesis is completed, to conduct the final oral examination and to satisfy itself that the thesis work is original; that it demonstrates the candidate's ability to solve complex scientific and/or technical problems at the interface of engineering and medicine or biology; that it is written in lucid and correct English; and that it is submitted in approved format.