<p>Have any one of you guys heard about double majoring with an engineering degree? What is your opinion about such thing? I am really looking for sth like ChemE and Biochem BS but I don't know if it is possible to do it in 4 years.</p>
<p>Double majors in engineering definitely exist. Different universities offer different double majors. Also the requirement of additional units varies significantly from one uni to the next. The range can be from 10-80 extra units. So it really depends on what university you are going to attend. Some catalogs say that they are willing to be flexible, and let the student create their own program for the double major.</p>
<p>Sure, you can do it. I'm pulling it off in CS and Physics, with no AP credit to boot. Go for it, man. Just make sure you like what you're doing, because you'll be doing lots of it.</p>
<p>What I really want to do is research later in biochemistry/molecular biology or drug development (synthetizing new molecules from scratch...) so how much will the chemical engineering background help?</p>
<p>Can anyone give their opinion?</p>
<p>Based on what I'm told, ChE background will not help much, if at all. The closest thing is drug delivery, which isn't designing the drugs themselves.</p>
<p>
[quote]
What I really want to do is research later in biochemistry/molecular biology or drug development (synthetizing new molecules from scratch...) so how much will the chemical engineering background help?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>First off, almost all research jobs in drug development require a PhD degree and even a few years of postdoc.</p>
<p>What degrees are useful for drug development research really depends on which fields you are looking into specifically. </p>
<p>For example, if you are talking about synthesizing simple, organic compound and testing their toxicity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, etc., then get a chemistry/biochemistry degree, and move on to graduate study in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, or biochemistry. A bachelor degree in ChemE will be "nice to have" but not necessary.</p>
<p>However, if you are talking about research in scaling up drug production, especially the bulk production of macromolecules known as biologics, then a ChemE degree will definitely be very useful and almost required. Also, research fields in drug delivery and nanocapsule design also need ChemE knowledge.</p>
<p>Personally I would go with the ChemE + biochem double major route just to keep myself with more options. But you do have to realize that it's rather difficult to maintain a decent GPA this way and graduate in four years.</p>
<p>Well, I thought many classes for ChemE overlap with biochem.
Is ChemE more physics oriented than chemistry oriented?
"A bachelor degree in ChemE will be "nice to have" but not necessary." So doing ChemE and moving on to pharmacology or drug production won't give me any disadvantage compared to a guy who did biochem major?</p>
<p>Oh, and I've heard some Chem Engineers actually get involved in the biomedical sciences, by studying things like actually synthesizing viruses (which could be used as vectors for recombinant genes). Is that true?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Is ChemE more physics oriented than chemistry oriented?
[/quote]
Yes. ChemE also involves a lot of math.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So doing ChemE and moving on to pharmacology or drug production won't give me any disadvantage compared to a guy who did biochem major?
[/quote]
No, I don't think it would be a disadvantage as long as you gain enough background knowledge in biology by taking relevant courses and/or do undergraduate research.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Oh, and I've heard some Chem Engineers actually get involved in the biomedical sciences, by studying things like actually synthesizing viruses (which could be used as vectors for recombinant genes). Is that true?
[/quote]
Yes. Emerging fields in biology such as systems biology, synthetic biology, biochemical engineering, biophysics, etc. are highly quantitative in nature. Chemical engineers' combined knowledge of chemistry, physics, math, and probably biology is very valuable.</p>
<p>I'd like to stress that what research you can do for grad school is not limited by your major, but depends on what courses you have taken and what research experience you have done during undergraduate years. It's very difficult to convince a professor that you are passionate about his/her research if you have no background knowledge and experience in that field at all .</p>
<p>At UMD, ChemE and BME are in the same department.</p>
<p>I think the easiest would electrical and computer engineering</p>
<p>The most common at my school is mechanical and aerospace because they allow you to double count technical electives for both your mechanical and aerospace degrees. So you can finish both in an extra semester. Not all schools have this option though. In general, I don't think it's that worthwhile. If you have interest in another discipline, it's more beneficial to take higher level courses of your interest in that department instead of going through all the requirements to get both. It just isn't practical to double major in engineering if there is no special program between the two.</p>
<p>A lot of CS people at my school double majors in math.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Have any one of you guys heard about double majoring with an engineering degree? What is your opinion about such thing?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Personally, I would recommend against it, and I say that as a guy who doubled himself (a dual-engineering program). Frankly, the benefits to doubling are minimal. You are probably better off instead spending your time in getting a master's degree. Either that, or just spending your extra time in networking and recruiting. It is far better to get just a single major and get the job that you want rather than get a double and then not get the job that you want.</p>