So after being rejected from bioengineering : bioengineering, I managed to get into bioengineering bioinformatics work bioengineering biosystems. Which one of these fields would you recommend?which has a greater scope in terms of future jobs?do you believe that it is worth majoring in either of these fields? Any current students in either of these fields? Thank you!
- biosystems or bioinformatics
@stressed4lyfe how did you manage to get into bioengineering informatics or biosystems if they are also impacted programs?
@uc2mom I appealed with quite a compelling letter.
@stressed4lyfe That’s great!! Congrats!! Just curious…Were you admitted into your second choice major when the decisions came out?
@uc2mom thank you! Yes, I was admitted to my second choice major. I still wish I could do bioengineering though, since their biosystems program is not accredited.
@stressed4lyfe Biosystems is the department’s newest major, I don’t know much about it unfortunately. Bioinformatics is a fairly established one that’s offered by many different departments on campus. Since neither is ABET accredited, I think you should look at each of these multidisciplinary majors as the sum of other disciplines. For example:
Bioengineering: biology + electrical engineering
Biotechnology: biology + chemical engineering
Bioinformatics: biology + computer science
Biosystems: biology + mechanical engineering
(Disclaimer: These are just my impressions from looking at the flowcharts on http://be.ucsd.edu and the 2014 Triton Day BENG packet, not at all gospel truth.) Which of the last two fields interests you more? UCSD bioengineering has a solid program with loads of research opportunities and industry connections (Whitaker Institute), you really can’t go wrong with any of the majors
@groverrohan thank you for your detailed reply! Do you believe that not being ABET accredited will play a major role in future job perspectives? Also, I’ve heard that the biosystems program is seeking accreditation; any idea when this might actually be?
@stressed4lyfe I hadn’t heard about that, that’s great! The ABET website says that the accreditation process takes 18 months, so if it has started you’ll graduate with an ABET degree. I think accreditation is less important in bioengineering fields (I read somewhere UCSD for a while had and possibly still has the nation’s only accredited biotechnology program, and there are only 25 accredited pure bioengineering programs in the nation). UCSD is probably well known enough for bioengineering that choosing a non-ABET won’t impact hiring prospects significantly.
FWIW, bioinformatics is slightly more competitive than biosystems based on average admit GPA and SAT score.
@groverrohan thank you!! I know that bioinformatics would be the smarter choice, but I’ve never really been into the data analysis / computer science part if it. I just believe that I would enjoy biosystems more. I’m just worried about finding a job with that degree in the future. >.<
@stressed4lyfe Don’t study something you won’t enjoy! Both degrees are useful for different jobs. If you won’t be excited about a career involving informatics, why study that? Biosystems at UCSD is still a solid choice—I find it hard to believe that the major’s recent graduates are all going to be unemployed and/or miserable.