<p>I did a search on this forum for non-ABET programs, but I couldn't find anything relevant. </p>
<p>Is there any harm in having a non-accredited engineering degree?</p>
<p>1) I'm not going to grad school. I have no desire whatsoever. </p>
<p>2) I'll have an ABET B.S. in BME. If I was to go to grad school, it would be in BME anyway.</p>
<p>3) The unaccredited portion would be a second major in EE (a BSAS in EE, rather than a BE in EE).</p>
<p>My school offers both an ABET EE and the non-ABET EE. I could still graduate in 4 years with the accredited version, but it would require taking at least 18 credits every semester here on out (4 semesters left) with at least one summer class.</p>
<p>The whole purpose of the non-ABET degree existing is essentially for double majors. So is it okay to avoid the overkill?</p>
<p>Since you mention grad school, I would definitely go ABET. With the lousy job market, even most engineers are going on to grad school, whereas before, many were grabbing lucrative job offers with just a BS. I suspect there will be more competition for grad school spots, as well as scholarships to attend, ie, TA, fellowships. With BME, it’s a given you have to go to grad school, so there will be even more competition for grad school for BME. </p>
<p>If I might ask, where are you getting a BS in BME?</p>
<p>Son originally wanted to do this, but could either not find a fit, get in, or find an affordable option. He is starting out mech eng, and wants to at least minor in bio, but just the reg mech eng bs is requiring a full 18 hours every semester plus summer classes. </p>
<p>I would definitely recommend getting an accredited BS in EE for job purposes. If grad school doesn’t pan out for you for BME, at least you’ll have a degree that will get you a job. I would suspect you’d be more employable with an ABET undergrad EE than a non ABET one.</p>
<p>^ My point was that I’m not going to grad school (and if I was, the lack of ABET wouldn’t matter anyway). It’s honestly at the bottom of the list right now. Actually, that’s the reason for the double major to begin with- I know there isn’t much for people with only an undergrad in BME.</p>
<p>I’m an undergrad at wustl.</p>
<p>Also to note, I’m not doing any more than four years. Unless someone here wants to give me the money lol.</p>
<p>So my question was essentially what the cons are to the second major not being ABET.</p>
<p>Since you don’t want to do grad school and realize your employment options are limited with a BS in BME, then definitely do an ABET in your “employable” major.</p>
<p>In looking at job postings for BME, we frequently came across phrases such as “must know Java” or “must know C++”, blah, blah, blah.</p>
<p>I’m not a computer person, so I can’t give advice on this, but I would definitely try to pick up some computer classes along the way, maybe as electives?, to make yourself more employable, especially if you don’t want to do grad school.</p>
<p>And yea, the money issue, totally agree. Going to the higher priced BME schools, like Marquette, Saint Louis and Catholic for son, was definitely going to prohibit him from going to grad school, and most certainly leave him with a lot of debt once he attained his undergrad degree.</p>
<p>Hope to hear four years from now that you were able to get a job at BME with a BS. I’m pullling for you! Internships, coops, will give you a boost.</p>
<p>As I understand it, you propose to earn an ABET degree in BME, and a non-ABET degree in EE. </p>
<p>One obvious advantage to ABET accreditation is that it facilitates licensure as a Professional Engineer. But as far as state licensing boards are concerned, any ABET engineering degree will work, regardless of discipline. If you were to apply for a PE license in the future, you would meet the ABET criterion, because your BME degree would be ABET. The lack of ABET accreditation on your EE degree wouldn’t matter – even if you applied for the EE PE exam. </p>
<p>Incidentally, no state currently licenses biomedical engineers. So for practical purposes, the value of ABET accreditation in BME is rather low. Many well-known schools have never pursued ABET accreditation in BME for that reason. ABET accreditation matters for EE, but not really for BME.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, corbett. We were trying to find ABET accredited BME schools when searching for son, and unfortunately, not many were within our financial and his academic reach. The OP is fortunate to have gained admittance into WashU and is willing to take on the financial burden to attend there. One hopes that the reputation of the school will open doors for him when it comes time to job search. Thank you for the info on the PE exam. It is something I will definitely encourage son to pursue.</p>
<p>I think you have to go to an accredited engineering school to get a PE license. You might be able to get into a grad school if you choose non-ABET, but then again, you don’t need a degree to apply to HBS.</p>
<p>In terms of getting a job, I don’t think employers really care about the accreditation. But I really can’t speak for that.</p>
<p>^ Come to City College.
Our BME department is really amazing.
We are working toward ABET accerited for BME (as Corbett stated).
Our BME department is the fastest growing, and the department works with various medical and engineering centers in new york city.
[Research</a> - Partner Institutions - Department of Biomedical Engineering - CCNY - CUNY](<a href=“http://bme.ccny.cuny.edu/research/bmeny/partners.php]Research”>http://bme.ccny.cuny.edu/research/bmeny/partners.php)</p>
<p>The well-known Sophie Davis Bioeducation program is also part of CCNY. So BME department, gets additional advantage. (I really want to compare that to Harvard’s BME and medical school). </p>
<p>Also, the tuition is pretty damn good (for out - of -state resident it’s a bit expensive…)</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses, everyone. As I understand it, the reason why bme’s have difficulty getting jobs with only a bs is because they hire mechE’s or EE’s for bme positions.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely take all of this into account when I talk to the prof. who handles the bme double majors in the ee department. Nothing has been set in stone yet, although I am a declared ee minor (I decided I wanted to double literally 2 days after that paperwork went through).</p>
<p>BME with BS/BE degree isn’t going to help a lot. As you also notice, most of the stuff that you do in BME is usually mechanical and electrical engineering. Just think about the surgeon arms. </p>
<p>BME is relatively a new specialized concentration. The reason is to maintain the quality and supply of technicians and engineers in the medical industry. BME, like civil engineering, will eventually have students to specialize in one area. </p>
<p>But the knowledge of medical application is beyond most undergraduate programs. This is why BME graduates are encourage to go on to graduate study, and further their areas of specialty. Many of them also study EE, mechanical, and / or computer science if they think they need to.</p>
<p>The electrical guys can develop the circuit boards for you, and the mechanical guys can design and test the product for you, but people want the BME guys to collaborate and help them design and decide how to use it, where to put it, and how to put it. To keep my words short, BME guys know medical stuff more than the EE and ME guys.</p>