Biochem to Masters in Engineering?

College Majors Science Majors
1

Hello,
I’m a current third year biochem undergrad at the University of Florida, and I am really starting to wonder what I want to do with my future career. I came in as a stereotypical pre-medical student pushing for a biology leaning science degree, and after microbiology I eventually realized that I don’t like too many biological sciences. I haven’t tried to transfer directly into a general chemistry degree as I feel biochem is at least somewhat more specialized, and I am already very close to graduation (6 more required credits left).
I started degree shopping this past semester and I realized I would want to be an engineer. I looked into chemical engineering. A lot of people have already told me that it is a degree much more focused on physics and math, but I do enjoy physics just as much as I like chemistry. At one time I thought of minoring in physics. I figured I could see if I could transfer into ChemE, but it wouldn’t make to much sense. So I started looking into graduate school, and noticed the masters degree in engineering within the ChemE department.

I suppose my question to those that can answer, is whether it is worth it to get the M.Eng. degree coming from a biochem undergrad, and what classes I should take in my time left to increase my chances of being admitted into a program?

2

I’m not as familiar with ChemE, but I got my BS in molecular & cell biology with a heavy focus on biochemistry, and later went on to get an MS in mechanical engineering. Generally speaking, your most recent degree is the one that employers will care about–in your case, if you were to get an MS in ChemE, that one. However, the engineering Master’s without an engineering Bachelor’s will mean you have less breadth of knowledge than your peers who got an engineering BS, and less practical experience in the form of internships, co-ops, and projects. Still, your background might also make you more qualified for a particular subset of jobs.

If you want to get into an engineering Master’s program, you should take, at a minimum, multivariable calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. You should also look into taking fundamental engineering courses like statics/dynamics, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics, to name a few.