<p>Hello All,</p>
<p>This is my first post here. I would like a little help in gathering what you think regarding these schools. I have been accepted to UCSD and Duke for a PhD in Biomedical/Bio Engineering. Both schools are offering great stipends (Duke 32k/year and UCSD 30k/year), and are ranked in the top by US News and World Science Report. I am wondering which school will inevitably look better and provide me the best opportunities. Duke might have a better name, not sure? As of now I am leaning towards UCSD. </p>
<p>As additional information, UCSD is offering a 2 year fellowship which would allow me to pick a mentor while Duke would (in a round about way) force me to work specifically with someone. My long term goal would be to work in industry for awhile and then maybe become a prof down the road. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Is your stipend 30 and 32K a year or is that what your cost at both places will be. What will YOUR cost be at each school.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting. Both schools have provided me with tuition remission and the noted stipends. Basically, I will have free tuition and a yearly stipend of ~30k at each school.</p>
<p>That’s pretty normal - you should get fully funded (tuition remission in exchange for the work you do as an RA or TA, plus the stipend.) People outside engineering/PhD programs may not be familiar with how that works. </p>
<p>Duke is a top 5 ranked program for their PhD Biomedical Engineering. However, UCSD is far better ranked as an overall PhD engineering school. So it really is a tough choice. </p>
<p>In a way, like you, I’m leaning toward UCSD. It’s in a great location, you get to pick your mentor, and it’s higher ranked overall. But… </p>
<p>What I’d have you do is look at the engineering schools where you would most like to teach once your time in industry is up. See if you see any trends re: the PhD programs their profs attended. That can give you a hint as to where you might want to go. </p>
<p>You should also think about where you might want to be for those PhD years - do you prefer the location of Duke, or of San Diego? Where might you prefer to work after your PhD program is done - the west coast or the east coast? You could let that guide you as well. </p>
<p>And lastly, most importantly, which school do you think fits you the best, personally? A PhD is long and can be arduous. You want to pick a program that suits you well.</p>
<p>Very nice. They are both so evenly ranked, I think it comes down to outside factors, like location and what program you feel more comfortable with. I assume you visited? If so where did you get a better vibe? I think the Duke situation is fine if you get along with your potential advisor, but I would personally prefer to choose my own path a little more. If the Duke situation is indicative of not having as much freedom to pursue your own interests then I would opt for UCSD.</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks for the wonderful posts. </p>
<p>RoaringMice - That was a very insightful comment you made regarding faculty statistics. I never considered looking at a potential university to see where they hire from. I also liked the point you made about which coast would I like to reside after the PhD. This certainly will play heavily with what connections you can make. </p>
<p>Vociferous - I did visit both schools. Like you said, everything now is basically about outside factors. I feel I would enjoy UCSD more, and seeing as it is ~5 years, that is weighing heavily on my decision. Although I really enjoyed Duke’s Campus, I dont like the idea of being forced to work with someone. I equally want to choose my own path.</p>
<p>After hearing from you guys, I do feel a little more comfortable leaning towards UCSD. I just want to know I wont be throwing away long term connections and a great name for nothing. Unfortunately, only time will tell. However, I truly think engineering and most PhDs it is more about what you do there then the name (unlike undergrad).</p>
<p>[NRC</a> Rankings in Biomedical Eng](<a href=“http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/area20.html]NRC”>http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/area20.html)</p>
<p>Just a note you are talking about two top 5 rankings, so they are both “name” institutions in your particular field. In fact UCSD is ranked higher according to the NRC and I imagine it won’t be too different when the new rankings come out later this year.</p>
<p>That list is flawed!..JH is number one in biomedengineering</p>
<p>Do you have a copy of the new NRC rankings? If so please share them, because as far as I know they have only been made available to administrators.</p>
<p>National Academy of Engineering Members:</p>
<p>Duke: 3
UCSD: 18</p>
<p>But, depends on what faculty research group you’ll be studying.</p>