<p>What is the difference between course 20 (bioengineering) and course 10B (chemical biological engineering)? Is course 10 (chemical engineering) very different from the two other courses?</p>
<p>Basically, what I am passionate about lines up with the research of the faculty within the chemical engineering department, so should I consider majoring in chemical engineering?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Look up the required courses for both - I think that will give you a good idea as to what the differences are.</p>
<p>If what you like lines up with chemical engineering, yes, you should absolutely consider majoring in 10. If you like the research that the department has as applied to biology, you’ll probably love 10B - it has a good chunk of the normal 10 curriculum in it anyway :)</p>
<p>My son started out in 20 and just graduated in 10B. Part of the decision to go 10B is that with 20 you really need to go for a PhD, with 10B there was the option to continue to grad school or go into industry. 10B seemed to offer the potential for more variety of careers in case he decided to veer from bio. In addition MIT is the best school in the world for Chem E, so it is hard not to take advantage of this.</p>
<p>I’m going to attempt being brief with this one</p>
<p>Course 20 requirements:
[MIT</a> Course Catalog: Course 20](<a href=“Welcome! < MIT”>Welcome! < MIT)</p>
<p>Course 10B requirements:
[MIT</a> Course Catalog: Course 10-B](<a href=“Welcome! < MIT”>Welcome! < MIT)</p>
<p>So, the main difference between 20 and 10B, IMO, is that 20 is a bit more “science-focused” while 10B is more “engineering-focused.” What do I mean by that? Well, I feel that 20 focuses more on fundamentals and more on research into brand new things that may or may not be useful. 10B, on the other hand I feel is like 10 in that there is a lot of focus on optimization and applicability. Some people have described chemical engineering to me as processes the major, and a lot of the problems are optimizing those processes.</p>
<p>So, my personal opinion is that 20 is more interesting. I think I’m guilty of being more of a scientist than engineer (I’m majoring in Materials Science AND Engineering, so I clearly haven’t decided yet) in this case. Also, in terms of jobs, I think it’s that true that with biological engineering, grad school is more likely to be necessary (though, I don’t think you necessarily need a PhD, depending on what you want to do). 10B is probably more ready to go into industry straight out of undergrad. Though, the better question is, do you want to go into that industry?</p>
<p>Also, a caution against 10B, a lot of people go into chemical engineering thinking it’s a good idea because they like chemistry. From most people I’ve talked to, 10 is not chemistry. 20 and 3 are closer to chemistry than 10, and are still lacking.</p>
<p>Additionally, if you want to do biology and engineering, another path to consider is taking the path I’ve followed: I’m majoring in course 3 and minoring in 7.</p>
<p>I guess what drew me to course 20 was the fact that I am interested in the actual mechanistic functions of our cells. But I don’t just want to discover a pathway or whatnot, I want to discover it and apply that discovery to make a new drug or target an environmental carcinogen. Which is what left me thinking either course 20 or course 7+course 10b, or even course 6-7.</p>
<p>I’m also considering courses 7, 20, and 6-7. Could anyone expound on some of the benefits and drawbacks of 6-7? As opposed to, for example, doing the Computational & Systems Biology emphasis track in 20. Does the breadth provided by 6-7 detrimentally sacrifice depth in either CS or bio? How would either of these majors affect career prospects?</p>
<p>Wondering the same as LuoSciOly.</p>
<p>Me as well. Why would a student choose to major in 6-7 vs a double major in course 6 and course 7 or the computational biology track within course 20?</p>
<p>Presumably because the requirements are less/different for 6-7 than a 6+7 double major or the computational bio track for 20. 6-7 requires a lot less bio than 7 and has little overlap with course 20.</p>
<p>lidusha is (IIRC) 6-7, so I’m sure she will chime in if she sees this thread.</p>
<p>I don’t know a lot about the 6-7 program, but my understanding is that it basically is a double-major in 6 and 7, though having the structure of a defined major probably makes it easier to navigate than a double-major.</p>
<p>With respect to depth vs. breadth, keep in mind that you are always free to take more classes than are required. It’s not always easy, but no one will stop you from taking a bunch of classes in one specific subfield, if that’s what jazzes you.</p>
<p>EDIT: UMTYMP, it’s not actually “a lot” less bio – just two restricted electives less, plus project lab. So the bio side of 6-7 is basically 7A minus two electives.</p>
<p>It’s perhaps not a “lot less bio” than 7A but 54 credits (the amount less bio in 6-7 than 7) is at least close to being if not already being a “lot less bio”.</p>
<p>I am mainly interested in learning what the resultant career outlooks look like (type of career, starting salaries, grad school, etc.) among 6-7, 20, and 10-B.</p>
<p>This doesn’t break down majors into tracks or provide good data on which majors go to grad school but <a href=“http://gecd.mit.edu/sites/default/files/graduation11.pdf[/url]”>http://gecd.mit.edu/sites/default/files/graduation11.pdf</a> has very good information on what jobs and salaries different majors start with.</p>