Biomedical engineering for undergrad

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I'm currently planning to get the bachelor degree for BME, but I don't know if I should. The thing is, I probably can't financially afford to study for any graduate degrees, in other words I can't go further than a 4-year degree. I'm still hesitating because it is a jack of all trade type of major; but on the other hand, I live in CA, which has the highest concentration of biomedical engineering, and I plan to study in one the top biomedical school.</p>

<p>What are the pros and cons of this? What makes BME better than other engineering major and what makes it worse? Should I go with this?</p>

2

<p>While I would have commented differently as lately as a semester ago, right now, talking with son who just went to a biomedical engineering conference, I’d suggest going to your California school and studying BME and getting your foot in the door with local companies.</p>

<p>We live in a region with no biomedical engineering, and although S really wanted to go to a school with a BME major, they were unaffordable and too far away. Instead, he chose a nearby school who gave him a free ride, and next year, will have a degree in mechanical engineering.</p>

<p>He was lucky enough to find a professor at his school doing biomedical engineering research, mechanical engineering, not the microbiology/gene stuff that seems to predominate a lot of BME schools, but he doesn’t have a 4.0 and he’s not been able to land an internship for this summer. In fact, the only internship he’s done has been in the automotive industry, which is the big industry where his school is located.</p>

<p>He is now regretting the fact that he did not take on the big debt and go to a school where the biomedical industry is, get his foot in the door, and perhaps get into grad school based on not just his grades, but also, internship experience.</p>

<p>We are hoping his research will get him noticed, and he will not worry about whether his graduate work will be funded or not. He’ll take on the debt to get “where the action is”, so to speak.</p>

<p>But now, he’s not only competing with international kids and kids with 4.0s from elite schools, but also, kids who have industry experience for grad school.</p>

<p>I would do the biomedical engineering undergrad, try to take meaningful electives that will give you a more basic engineering foundation, or even minor in mechanical or electrical or computer, whatever your interest is, so you do have a backup plan. But if there is a biomedical engineering school available to you in an area where the industry is, I would definitely go with that.</p>

3

<p>To the OP, what colleges in California are you looking at? What colleges in California offer an undergrad biomedical engineering degree?</p>

<p>Also, if you attend a college near biomedical industry, get on as an intern, but preferably, a co-op, there’s a possibility your company could send you to graduate school, so it won’t cost you anything. Many companies require a year tenure before you get education reimbursement. I’ve noticed that some colleges have two different engineering masters: one that is research and thesis based, and one that is coursework based, with most coursework offered in the evening, so that those already working in the industry can stay at their job and earn their master’s in the evening, probably paid for by their company.</p>

<p>Good luck to you, and I hope you are able to pursue that biomedical engineering degree.</p>

4

<p>Search a few earlier posts and you’ll find that many people suggest that students SHOULD NOT select BME or Bioengineering for an undergraduate major. They argue that the chances of getting a job in the field with a bachelor is quite limited.</p>

<p>You might want to consider majoring in Chemistry or Physics at the affordable school of your choice, and then hope for grad school (with good grades) in either Mechanical or Materials Science, or Bioengineering.</p>

5

<p>I was told by one of the associate deans of the College of Engineering the other day (at Texas A&M) that a BS in biomedical engineering/bioengineering is only really good for two things: pre-med or pre-research. In other words, don’t get an undergraduate degree in it unless you plan to go to graduate school afterward.</p>

<p>I will also add that you shouldn’t worry about paying for graduate school. Nearly all PhD students in STEM fields are paid to go to school, and a large portion of MS students are as well (though this varies pretty wildly by school). Don’t rule out graduate school because of money. If you want to do BME as a career, the odds are that you will have to do graduate school anyway.</p>

6

<p>I still agree that it is important to get an undergrad in a “basic” engineering degree, but son is very worried that he will have difficulty getting into biomedical engineering for grad school. He definitely has not been able to secure an internship in the field, despite doing “biomedical engineering” research.</p>

<p>In fact, at the biomedical engineering conference he just attended, he said he was “bullied” by the other presenters because they claimed he knew nothing of how the muscles in the body work, as he has no collegiate biology classwork, and that he should just forget about getting into the biomedical engineering field. </p>

<p>For the OP, if you can, try to get in some biology classes with your standard engineering major. My son had wanted to do this, but because his engineering curriculum is so limiting, and his honors programs require extra courses every semester, he has not been able to get those biology courses in.</p>

<p>I try to reassure him that he’ll be able to pick those up during his graduate coursework, or perhaps try to fit some in during his senior year, as he has a little wiggle room his last semester. </p>

<p>We will see how this all plays out in the coming years. One more year to go for the mechanical engineering degree, and hopefully, admission to a biomedical engineering grad program in a place where the industry is located and actually recruits from.</p>

<p>Would love to hear from the OP what schools he/she is considering for biomedical engineering, as we’re three years out from initial college search process and would love to hear what schools are known for biomedical engineering nowadays.</p>

7

<p>My kid has a minor in Biomed with MechE BS, nobody will even look at you for an internship unless you have your masters, let alone offer employment. This area although touted as an up and coming field, be aware, with the changes in health care/insurance, if your child is looking at companies which make the device/implants/design etc. until the landscape of what will occur companies will be very slow to hire or invest money in new technology.
We know a surgeon who uses implants/CAD designed, the devices/design cost upwards of 20K, insurance will not pay these prices any longer. He says they pay about 4k on a 20K implant. He said the past 12 months have devastated the industry. On top of the insurance issue, these implants and devices are now taxable, so adds another issue for these companies investing in hiring. </p>

<p>As far as biology courses in undergrad, they are not adequate for a biomed career. Anatomy and physiology courses given to PT or nursing majors would be more appropriate. I know the bio courses my D took for her undergrad did not prepare for a biomed career, the anatomy and physiology courses I took for nursing degree would. PT/nursing majors lab exam is naming every muscle and bone in the body and how each muscle works. </p>

<p>Many of the companies main design facilities are in the midwest.</p>

8

<p>I wonder if son should look at kinesiology courses that are offered if he has room in his schedule. His undergrad college is a big football school and there are a lot of pre PT, kinesiology majors, as well as an excellent nursing program. The A/P class has close to 200 kids in it and is offered over 2 semesters, with an intensive lab, so I don’t think he’ll be able to fit that in. Would perhaps taking one semester of AP be of benefit to him, the one the nursing students take? Or would he be better off taking a kinesiology course on the muscles? Thanks so much for the help!</p>

9

<p>You find a course in both undergraduate and graduate Bioengineering departments called ‘Anatomy and Physiology for Engineers.’ Therefore I wouldn’t fret about having the right Biology preparation before entering a Bioengineering program.</p>

10

<p>A/P for engineers courses will vary wildly by university. I know my D course was bare as far applicable skills. My D tried to get work/research in schools kinesiolgy department, they wouldn’t allow it, said it was for pre PT majors or exercise science majors.
If he is going to definitely be applying to a biomed grad program, it will be covered, undergrad is broad sampling, not in depth.
He could take a kinesiolgy course to see if it interests him, the biomed engineering field is so vast, from sport equipment foot wear, prosthetics etc.
One semester of AP is only half the material, so might not be of much use. Maybe could do both over a summer. To be clear, taking it will give him knowledge about the human body, help him decide what direction he may want to take with it.</p>