Bioengineering

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>Hello, I am considering bioengineering for berkeley and is a big possibility. I know bioengineering is kind of a hard makor to get into, and I'm happy I got in! How hard was it to get into bioengineering? Rough estimate of acceptance rate? Also, how well is berkeley's bioengineering department. I heard all engineering majors are very competitive in berkeley, but how hard is bioengineering specifically? I know rankings dont meana thing, but on UNSWR, bioengineering is 10th, but chemical engineering was 2nd. i actually wanted to do biochemical engineering, but I couldnt find a major like that at berkeley. How good is the chemical engineering department at berkeley? Is it better in some aspects than bioengineering?</p>

<p>Sorry for all these questions. Answers are much appreciated!</p>

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<p>You can concentrate in biotechnology in the Chemical Engineering major if you are interested in that. The Department recently changed its name to the “Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.” ChemE and BioE share many of the same lower div classes, so you can easily switch to the College of Chem. The only differences I remember are that BioE majors take E10 and E7 while ChemE majors only take E7 and that BioE majors have the option to take Chem 1A or Chem 4A, but ChemE majors must take Chem 4A since they are in the CoC. Bioengineering is probably one of the top 5 hardest programs to get into at Berkeley. BioE and ChemE are both hard majors, pretty close in level of difficulty. I would say ChemE major right now is better if you are comparing them by salary. Currently, Berkeley’s ChemE’s average salary is $66,800 and BioE’s average salary last year was $51,192. However, many students end up going to grad school anyways so some of these numbers do not actually matter.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/EngAnn_5-13-10.pdf[/url]”>http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/EngAnn_5-13-10.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/publications/chem_11_12.pdf[/url]”>http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/publications/chem_11_12.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major2010/Bioengr.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major2010/Bioengr.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/ChemEngr.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/ChemEngr.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>General points:

  1. I don’t know the acceptance rate, but Dorian Liepmann made a big deal out of telling everyone that Cal’s BioE is arguably the most selective undergrad program at the University. That said, I haven’t honestly seen much difference in talent between us and the Chem. E.s.</p>

<p>2) Engineering takes work. The other students won’t be out to kill you in either major (at least in my experience - the Chem. E.s tend to be pretty focused on just surviving, and the BioEs I’ve met were all pretty cooperative whenever anyone needed anything…might be different for different concentrations, though), but if you want to do well, you’ll need to figure out what study approach works for you and then put in the hours to master the material.</p>

<p>3) If rankings don’t mean a thing, there’s no real point asking.
Somewhat more helpfully (albeit still only tangentially answering the question): The two majors are different enough that a direct comparison is completely impossible. See below for some expansion on the Biochemical Engineering thing.</p>

<p>Now on to the wonder-fun reality check. Some points here:

  1. “Bioengineering” at Berkeley refers to any of what is currently 5 very-nearly-completely-different concentrations. This is good, because it means that getting in as a BioE keeps your options open and lets you get training for pretty much any aspect of Biotech (especially if you take some Chem. E. classes on the side). It’s also bad, because it means that being in BioE doesn’t tell you or anyone else anything useful about what you’re doing.</p>

<p>2) “Biochemical Engineering” can also mean different things to different people - there’s a standard definition, but there are also a good 4-5 similarly-named fields (including BioE) that refer to other things, and people mix the names up pretty constantly. I know it’s kinda obnoxious to say, but looking at BioE-related stuff pretty much requires that you define your terms in simpler language. What, EXACTLY, do you want to do professionally (right now - see #4 below)?</p>

<p>3) More helpful this time. Biochemical engineering is a concentration in Chem. E. (technically CBME as of last year). It’s defined by a small deviation from the others in classes (you do Biophysical Chemistry instead of Biology for one of your prereqs, then use Chem 112B and the Chem. E. 170 series as your electives). The problem is that, again, Biochemical Engineering means different things to different people. Your best bet pretty much regardless of that is probably to major in one and minor in the other, though, and BioE as the major will make that a lot easier.</p>

<p>4) Just as a reality check here: You’re 18 and just got into college. When I got in, I wanted to be a doctor. That changed to engineering pretty quickly, because engineering is awesome, but it took another six months for me to find something I was interested in, and another 18 for me to work out that I did indeed ACTUALLY want to do that (at which point I formed a plan, got into research, started kicking ass in all of my classes, etc.). You MAY think you are at that stage, but it’s VERY unlikely that you actually are. BioE’s versatility is great for this, but it’s important that you take advantage of that (particularly BioE 24, and to some extent 104) to figure out whether or not your plan is actually what you want to do. You’ve got a good two years in which to do that, but it’s the most important thing you can do with those two years, and failing to do it is going to make your life a lot harder down the road.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much, your information is really helpful! (btw, are you all bioengineering students in berkeley bc you guys know so much?) i am pretty flexible with what I want to study (e.g. I didnt apply for engineering for every school I applied for, I sometimes applied for economics). This is based on only the little science-knowledge I learned from high school, but I know my strengths are definitely chemistry and math, biology and physics are as good but not as good as chem and math (I actually dont know why I applied for bioengineering specifically). I was leaning more towards possibly designing drugs (i.e. pharmacy) and definitely biotechnology (so a mix of bio and mech engineering). But from what you guys said, I think I am leaning towards taking the bio and chem general classes to see which one I enjoy more. Also, this is a side not, but is it possible to do a double major at berkeley bc I want to also major in music (specifically piano), but I couldnt find an area where to apply for double majors on the uc application.</p>

<p>Thank you guys so much again and thanks for being honest and nice.</p>

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<p>Also, is it generally ok to graduate within 3 years as I have lots of AP and IB credit? Especially for any engineering major, is 3 years enough? My biggest worry is that 3 years wont be enough preparation for grad school and I wont be able to get into good grad schools. I have already done some research, so does this help me with preparation?</p>

<p>Thanks,
Sincereley overly concerned, naive high school student</p>

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<p>Lol I am not a bioengineering student. I am a recent admit to the College of Letters and Science. However, I have spent many, many hours on these forums and on various other resourceful webpages online, so I know a lot about everything that has to do with college.</p>

<p>I have learned that the Chemical Engineering major is very flexible. I have reached the conclusion after reading numerous forums that Chemical Engineering is a bit more flexible than Bioengineering (or Biomedical Engineering). One thing that is good about Bioengineering though is that it is expected to grow more over the near future than chemical engineering.</p>

<p>[Biomedical</a> Engineers : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm]Biomedical”>http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm)</p>

<p>[Chemical</a> Engineers : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/chemical-engineers.htm]Chemical”>http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/chemical-engineers.htm)</p>

<p>These pages state that “Employment of biomedical engineers is expected to grow by 62 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations.” And: “Employment of chemical engineers is expected to grow 6 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations.”</p>

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<p>From what I have seen, it doesn’t really make sense to graduate in 3 years. I don’t think it really works to a person’s advantage. It would be hard to do it anyways, especially in the College of Engineering or College of Chemistry. You may have enough credits to give yourself sophomore status, but you will still have to complete a major in order to graduate. To complete the bioengineering or chemical engineering major at UC Berkeley in 3 years would be awesome, but hardly anyone is ever actually able to pull it off. UC Berkeley’s 4-Year Graduation Rate is only 69% (According to US News).</p>

<p>[UC</a> Berkeley | University of California–Berkeley | Best College | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/uc-berkeley-1312]UC”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/uc-berkeley-1312)</p>

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<p>I’m BioE with a Chem. E. minor, possibly doubling into MCB while I accumulate research experience. Most of my friends are Chem. E.s (changing a bit now that I’ve got my act together and started doing research, but still basically true).</p>

<p>I’ve been led to believe that doubling with Music is pretty viable here, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge there. Look into setting up a meeting with Terry Johnson (<a href=“mailto:tdj@berkeley.edu”>tdj@berkeley.edu</a>) to talk about that one; he’s the head of undergraduate advising and easily the most awesome person on this campus. He can also tell you more on the pharmaceutical side of things, though my stuff on that’s…well, in the next paragraph.</p>

<p>If you want to go into making devices, BioE’s the way to go. If you’re a top performer there you can also shoot for the Masters in Translational Medicine after you graduate. For drug discovery, BioE is probably a better option than Chem. E., but you’ll want to ask Terry about that.</p>

<p>RE: The 3-year thing…well…it’s iffy. Good Masters/Ph.D. programs want research or internships, and it’s very difficult to get those during Freshman year (and you’re generally discouraged, for “other reasons” that probably vary from person to person). I’m aware of people (including one of my professors) who’ve done engineering in 3 years and gone to grad school, but they (especially the professor) didn’t think it provided any real benefit.</p>

<p>Having past research will help you, yes - particularly in that it’ll help you get research here (during Freshman year, too).</p>

<p>The advantage to the AP credit, though, is that you can use it to keep your workload relatively light and focus primarily on research. You can even get a minor without too much of an increased workload, actually (I say this from personal experience - I could have gone 3 classes/semester as of last semester [#5] with the minor and still taken a lot of electives; the only reason I’m not is that I’ll have to double major if I want to stick around for another year to get more research experience).</p>

<p>But yeah, the big one, basically: Figure out a way to chat with Terry. I can answer some questions, but he can tell you exactly who else to talk to to get the answers to almost anything. >.></p>

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<p>Thanks so much again! I am mostly thinking about graduating within 3 years to save money(OOS here). How hard is it for me to get research opportunities for freshmen who have done research before? Are there a lot of internship or research opportunities for bioengineering available for people like me? I will try to contact him, I might be able to go to the open house thing, will I be able to talk to him there too?</p>

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<p>I don’t know how hard it would be for a freshman (even with prior research experience). My experience applying last summer (through to the end of last semester) was basically just that very few people have open positions and those are typically given to the first applicant with a decent resume, so you MAY be in fair shape there.</p>

<p>Basic process for getting research is:

  1. Use URAP to hunt for a position (just google Berkeley URAP in like…August) and apply for those. You’ve got lower odds of getting one, but it’s easy so you might as well.
  2. Concurrently with that, write up a cover letter saying who you are, that you want to do research, why you want it (and be honest and simple with this - just tell them you’re interested in doing grad work in that area and want to do some research to find out if it’s actually right for you), and close it asking if they or their grad students have time to talk about undergraduate research opportunities. Then assemble a list of professors doing interesting stuff, customize the letter slightly to each one (at least change the name), and send them off. You might have to send out 20 to get a response, but if you do, you’re basically golden (if you get an interview, odds are you’ve got the position and they just want to check that you’re the same person who was one the resume).</p>

<p>Research and Internships, yup. Emeryville has plenty of Biotech companies, plus JBEI (biofuels research), and the latter always seems to have room for more undergrads if you just want something to put on your resume. There’s lots of stuff on-campus and at UCSF, too - you’re in a pretty great place for BioE research.</p>

<p>RE: Terry, email him ahead of time to find out. He’ll probably be happy to answer questions via email if he can’t meet in person, but face-to-face is usually preferable for bringing up extra questions.</p>

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<p>Thank you again! I’ve had the same problems with finding research. (tried 5 times to get an opportunity and I’m considered extremely lucky). Is it advantageous to even ask starting in May for next year? I would really like to do research! Thanks again.</p>

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<p>RE: May, you might as well.</p>

<p>Technically it is advantageous (June too) because that’s around the time that labs pick up new grad students. They also lose any graduating undergrads around the same time (plus December), so if you’re going to ask, it’s a pretty good time to do so.</p>

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<p>Btw, for anyone who is interested in what happened at the end. I’m a sophomore now at UC Berkeley Bioengineering and will probably graduate in 2.5 years instead of 3 years (to save money mostly) and have been fortunate enough to get 2 research positions since Fall of Freshman year. Though my grades are average. Still planning for grad school!</p>