<p>I'm thinking about biomedical engineer major and I was looking at universities that offer that degree. Three universities that I'm looking at are Texas A&M, University of Houston, and University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Obviously Texas A&M is one of the top engineering schools, so that begs the question, does school ranking really matter in the end? Will graduating from Texas A&M instead of UTA help me get a job quicker?</p>
<p>I believe that A&M is ABET certified and that the other two are not, but you should check this out. In general, graduating from an ABET Certified program is considered to be a big leg up in getting a good job in the field.</p>
<p>So, in answer to your question – if I’m right on the certification issue. Yes, it may make a big difference.</p>
<p>Among ABET programs – some would argue that it doesn’t matter. However, going to a school with a better reputation is never a negative. Otherwise, check with each school’s placement office, and determine who interviews, where people get jobs, etc. Many schools have statistics on this, and many of those make them available.</p>
<p>Yes, ranking does matter to some extent. However, if two schools are close in the rankings (perhaps even 15 ranks apart), at that point they’re close enough that it doesn’t matter. You’d probably get a very similar education at both closely ranked schools. The ranks change all the time and there are more important factors than a few ranks. School reputation, location, on-campus recruiting, and many other things should also be factored into your decision.</p>
<p>So yes, you may want to put some weight on ranking if there’s a bigger difference in rank, but don’t let that be the sole deciding factor.</p>
<p>I would suggest you take a look at companies recruiting at any school you apply to. My sons school had great internship and employment opportunities at the annual job fairs and we have heard of other engineering U’s without this great perk.</p>
<p>I looked up if UTA is ABET certified (I didn’t even know what that was, so thank you) and it says it is ([Accreditation</a> - College of Engineering - The University of Texas at Arlington](<a href=“http://www.uta.edu/engineering/academics/accreditation.php]Accreditation”>http://www.uta.edu/engineering/academics/accreditation.php)), but it doesn’t say if biomedical engineering is. It says mechanical and what not are, but not biomedical. I’ll guess I’ll have to call or go up there.
Thank you for your input and thanks for the information. I don’t really know what to look for.</p>
<p>@ Crazed
Pardon my ignorance and if you don’t mind my asking, but how would I go about doing that? Would I have to actually go to a job fair, or would that be on the school’s website, or…?</p>
<p>Hi - Try this:</p>
<p>[Accredited</a> Program Search](<a href=“http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx]Accredited”>http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx)</p>
<p>Also, It may not be a bad idea to just contact the school to see if it’s in the process of getting the accreditation. My son said JMU posted on it’s site, that their’s would be in 2012, and I just noticed that it was finally posted to the ABET website. Good Luck</p>
<p>UTA is ABET, according to website.</p>
<p>@ Care2dream
Thank you for that link! It’s weird, I looked up biomedical engineering and it says that UTA offers it, but it isn’t ABET certified for biomedical engineering. I guess they’re in the process. I’ll have to contact them. Thanks again!</p>
<p>I’m sorry. You’re correct. I had Austin on the brain…</p>
<p>Oh, no problem. That link was really helpful. Apparently there are only three colleges that are accredited in biomedical engineering in Texas.
Thanks again!</p>
<p>Tag-
Call the schools placement office, or the engineering dept and ask them if they have a job (career fair) on campus each year. At my sons school, this is in Oct or early Nov. Many employers are there looking for interns (paid and unpaid) and to hire students that will graduate the following Spring. You meet a rep and give them a resume, speak about the position, etc. Then follow up with a resume, email, etc. and hope they call you for an interview.</p>
<p>You can also post this on the threads for each school on this website. They may do it differently, but I think it is important to have the help and opportunity in finding summer internships.</p>