<p>Hey guys, </p>
<p>I'm planning on applying Rd to Duke for biomedical and electrical engineering. Im interested in doing bme with an ee perspective. </p>
<p>Duke has an amazing bme program, but How does its ee program compare with Michigan or northwestern?</p>
<p>Michigan offers a bioelectronics concentration so it would be perfect for me. Duke on the other hand I have to double major or minor in one. </p>
<p>Sent from my MB865 using CC</p>
<p>EE at Duke is really solid; I’ve heard a lot of good things from friends I know that have majored it in it. Its really to get access to research opportunities and there’s a lot of cutting edge research going on. I think the poster bluedog can speak to the actual EE curriculum since I think he was an engineer at Duke.</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with any of these options though obviously. Good luck on your applications!</p>
<p>^Yep, I was an engineer at Duke and will try to provide some insight. Although I was just straight up BME (with a minor in Trinity), I certainly was exposed to ECE and knew several people who double majored. Having a “concentration” in bioelectronics vs. a double major in BME/ECE while taking upper level electives and conducting research in bioelectric/biolelectronics is the same - it’s just a naming difference. Your experience and knowledge learned will be very similar. Duke definitely has several faculty members and courses in the bioelectrics field: [Bioelectric</a> Engineering | Duke Biomedical Engineering Department](<a href=“http://www.bme.duke.edu/research/bioelectric-engineering]Bioelectric”>http://www.bme.duke.edu/research/bioelectric-engineering). In fact, all Duke BME students are REQUIRED to take courses in this area as part of the standard curriculum and students can choose to supplement it with additional electives and research. </p>
<p>If it was something like BME and aerospace engineering that you were interested in, then I would say Duke doesn’t have much going on in the aerospace domain and a school like Michigan might be a better fit. But for bioelectrics, that is right in Duke’s wheelhouse and strength. Companies won’t see a difference between a “concentration” and relevant coursework/research, especially since a BME/ECE double major covers that field - its simply a subfield within those disciplines. I knew several people who started jobs at places like Medtronic, Guidant, Stryker, etc.</p>
<p>Michigan and Northwestern have larger ECE programs than Duke and thus have more faculty members and potentially more total research output (by sheer numbers). However, Duke’s faculty is still very strong and honestly as an undergrad, there are still PLENTY of choices within the discipline to choose from that I could see no shortage in options. There is also a very large interdisciplinary nature for research at Duke and especially within the ECE department: <a href=“http://www.ece.duke.edu/research[/url]”>http://www.ece.duke.edu/research</a>. They even situate the labs physical location based on research topics rather than department - I was in a BME lab, next to a genetics professor’s lab, next to a bio professor’s lab…</p>
<p>I applied to (and was accepted) to Michigan and chose Duke engineering over it. I find Duke’s engineering program particularly appealing due to its smaller size - MORE professor interaction and access to research as an undergrad. 90% of Pratt students conduct research - Michigan certainly has strong undergrad research programs (UROP and the like), but those are typically reserved for more top students (which everybody THINKS they will be, but not everybody can be a part of by pure definition). </p>
<p>So, at Duke engineering, due its small size and more communal feel, you’re basically guaranteed to conduct high-level research with a professor as an undergrad. The school also is appealing from a social perspective in my mind, and it being in the context of a great overall institution is certainly a positive. Study abroad opportunities (rare for engineering program) are plenty at Duke as well. Here are some other unique/appealing aspects of the school: [For</a> Applicants | Duke Pratt School of Engineering](<a href=“http://www.pratt.duke.edu/undergrad/applicants]For”>Undergraduate Admissions | Duke Pratt School of Engineering)</p>
<p>In addition, double majoring in BME/ECE is basically no more difficult (from a requirements perspective) than single majoring in BME - the curriculum simply requires DIFFERENT courses rather than more courses. So, that’s pretty nice in my mind. Here is the BME hanbook with sample curricula: <a href=“http://www.bme.duke.edu/sites/bme.duke.edu/files/handbook-F12.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bme.duke.edu/sites/bme.duke.edu/files/handbook-F12.pdf</a></p>
<p>In the end, if you find Duke the most appealing university overall, then I wouldn’t hesitate in the least to recommend Duke based on your intended interests. Michigan and Northwestern are also great, though - I’m certainly not saying otherwise. Simply, that bioelectrics is very firmly established within the BME curriculum and research areas at Duke and there are plenty of job opportunities post-graduation for those who pursue this area.</p>
<p>Hope that helps! Good luck!</p>