<p>I have a question regarding biomedical engineering. I am definitely going to pursue a graduate degree, but I am not certain if I am going to be tied to getting my masters in biomedical engineering. I have heard from many previous post that a masters is a must for this field, but I am very interested in the materials area of it, which leads to my question.</p>
<p>Is it possible/advisable to undergrad in biomedical eningeering and then get a masters in materials science/engineering. I can see how maybe these could compliment each other especially if I plan to concentrate on biomaterials in general. I have read that many others getting an undergrad in mechanical or electrical engineering can go on to get a masters in biomedical. Would this path kind of path work the other way around?</p>
<p>Honestly, with BME being a relatively new field, I don’t see any issues with taking this track. That being said, you’ve got four years of undergrad to think about it, and for two of those years you can even switch tracks.</p>
<p>That’s another thing that worries me. It is a new field, but for some reason it seems like that would mean there are more challenges which leads to a greater reward.</p>
<p>What’s the worrying part about that?</p>
<p>well, it sounds to me like there would be more risk going into something that has not been around as long</p>
<p>When I say relatively new, I mean compared to other engineering fields. Mechanical has been around since the dawn of time, for example. There are definitely opportunities and BME, and it’s not going to collapse anytime soon. In fact, it looks to be one of (if not the) fastest growing sectors of engineering.</p>
<p>No, it would not work the other way around. The reason is that BME is interdisciplinary; the curriculum is limited to elementary coursework in Mech E, EE, and Bio. I’d suggest BME for grad school. Or enter the field directly from Mech E/EE/Mat E undergrad</p>
<p>ok, so then which way would be better for biomaterials? start bme and stay bme in grad or start in another field? I just want a path that fits me</p>
<p>aggieengineer, </p>
<p>as a rule of thumb, I would suggest starting out broad and specialize from there. ME/EE are the broadest, Mat E is more specialized, and BME even more specialized. </p>
<p>imho, when you say which is better for biomaterials, this sounds like were talking graduate school… undergrad <em>to me</em> should be about diversifying your skills as much as you can with coursework/research/internships, taking as many 500 level tech electives as you can. This way when you graduate you’ve been exposed to many things, you’ve gone from being green to dangerous, and you’ll have limitless opportunities and paths to take of your choosing upon graduation. just my two cents but I would start out in Mech E or EE.</p>
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<p>Not all schools allow this, and different schools have a different numbering system. For instance, at UIUC 500 classes were for grad students only and 400 classes were for tech electives for undergrads and in some cases entry level for grad students.</p>
<p>And to throw my two cents in, if you start in BME, you will have plenty of opportunities if you are sure you want to go into BME. However, if you change your mind between now and 4 years from now, having an undergrad major will limit you when compared to something like ME/EE. However, if you are absolutely certain you want to go into BME eventually, then I would say just go ahead and major in it.</p>
<p>Of course if your ultimate goal is to do biomaterials and you want your graduate degree in materials engineering, then it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to set yourself down that path a little more firmly as an undergrad by doing ME or ChemE or something broader and more materials related like that. The exposure to materials in a BME majors most likely will be minor compared to other majors. When it comes to graduate degrees, when you have a M.S. or Ph.D. in your position, it really no longer matters what your undergrad major was, so doing something other than BME as an undergrad will not necessarily exclude you from the BME field if your graduate degree focused on that area.</p>
<p>That said, if you are really interested in doing Materials Science, I would strongly suggest weighing options outside of TAMU and looking for a place with a true Materials Science department instead of the MatSci subdepartment within the Mechanical Engineering Department like at A&M. That is a nonissue if you wait to do MatSci until your graduate degree anyway.</p>
<p>All this makes much more sense now. I agree that I would want to come out of undergrad with as many skills as possible before specializing in grad school. ChemE has caught my eye, it may be worth looking into it a bit more. And as far as graduate school, I am not going to limit myself to TAMU. I just want an undergrad first from a solid engineering school.</p>