hi I’m going to be freshman in college this fall and unsure about my major.
at first i thought i wanted to do something in the medical field but now i think i want to do engineering.
If i major in electrical engineering, would i be able to branch off into biomed engineering or computer science for grad school?
also is biomedical engineering the same as bioengineering??
Yes you can, you do not need to go to grad school for the same discipline as you did for undergrad. You just need to show that you are competent enough to handle the grad level coursework, thus for your electives, you should take some BME and life science courses, and/or additional computer science courses beyond the minimum.
And many people do use biomedical engineering and bioengineering interchangeably.
Electrical engineering goes great with both those other disciplines. As an electrical engineer you will have programming experience which will ease you into the computer science field. And as an EE you will have a head start on the circuits classes and bioinstrumentation component of the biomed curriculum.
As a word of advice. With just a bachelor’s in EE you will have plenty of job opportunities. Some companies will pay for your master’s degree as well. So if you’re taking out loans, I’d recommend maybe go for a job right out of school after 4 years and see if the company will pay for your master’s. If so you will save A TON of money.
What is you dream job? my son loves planes when he was little. In College, he went to study Mechanical Engineering (not AE-Aerospace Engineering) and now he has a high paying job as aerospace engineer immediately right after college. The company has employee benefits for higher education and he is planning to get his MBA paid by his employer. He is eyeing for Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley for MBA part time basis.
So, if your dream job is working for automotive, HVAC, designing things, or aerospace industry then Mechanical Engineering will be fine and dandy too.
As a Mechanical Engineer, I’d agree with post #3. ME is a flexibile degree appropriate for those examples and many other fields too. But OP’s question was about EE… which also can be good prep for many fields. BME can be limiting with just a BS degree, so I like OP’s idea to start with EE undergrad
OP" “at first i thought i wanted to do something in the medical field but now i think i want to do engineering”.
My comment: Engineering is not always EE but also Mech. Engineering, civil, etc. More importantly, ME can be partnered with BME-Bio Medical Engineering. Lots of research in upper class of BME will be helpful if you have the background of Mech Eng.
Who says Mech Engineering is not good for BME? ME is closely related to BME and you can not go wrong by doing ME. Don’t believe me? do a little internet research and you will be surprised.
Click this link for Tulane Univ BME (Bio-Medical Engineering) research and it will show you their undergraduate research of BME that is closely related to Mech. Engineering: http://www2.tulane.edu/sse/bme/research/domains.cfm
Oh by the way, Tulane Univ BME is one of the oldest of BME in the US and it ties also with Tulane Medical School. Tulane BME backgrounds are diverse, covering the areas of biomechanics, biomaterials, bioelectronics, biotransport and cell and tissue engineering. Their undergraduate and graduate teaching and research programs are extensive.
Anyhow, If you don’t want to go to BME grad school then your ME degree in undergraduate will open up lots of jobs in HVAC, Aerospace, automotive, designing things, etc.
I am just giving OP some other venues in doing engineering to jump start your BME career if you so desire.
Essentially everything you just said about ME can also be said about EE.
From what I know (admittedly limited, mostly learned here on these forums). ME can be good for BME. But OP was asking EE question, so I assumed that EE path had more appeal at the intended college.
Mech. Eng. is more closely related than Elec. Eng. when it comes to BME. BME research is geared towards designs of medical devices etc and these are mechanical engineering stuff. I am going to copy with the definition of MBE as follows (from Wikipedia):
Biomedical engineering (BME) is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g. diagnostic or therapeutic). This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine, combining the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to advance health care treatment, including diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy.[1] Biomedical engineering has only recently emerged as its own study, compared to many other engineering fields.
The words the design concepts as described above are definitely Mechanical Eng. not EE.
More importantly, OP said: “If i major in electrical engineering, would i be able to branch off into biomed engineering or computer science for grad school?”
My comments: It looks like OP is not sure whether to purse BME or Comp. Science for grad school.
Therefore, I have given him the alternative choice in pursuing BME.
If OP really wants to do BME then he/she should check with the BME Dept and ask any professors whether ME or EE is more closely related to BME. I am pretty sure the professor will agree with me.
Also, you can pursue BME at grad school if your major is Biology or chem or chemE or bio material science as they are related to Tissue Engineering in BME.
finally, OP good luck with your school with undergraduate EE and grad school BME or Comp Science.
First, what you just posted is a very nonspecific description of BME that could still apply equally to ME preocupa EE. Both do problem solving. Both do design. Both are involved in BME fields.
Second, the answer of which field is over to BME is a nonsense question to begin with. BME is such a broad field that which other field is most closely related depends entirely on which subfield of BME is in question. Some are more related to ME, others EE, others materials science, and so on.
*which field is closer
Sorry for the typo.
Just for the fun of it: I have never heard of EE is being the backbone of design, etc. But, I maybe wrong. Every time in any conversation talking about designing things, they always refer to ME not EE.
Just for the fun of it, regarding the designing thing, I will copy the definition of ME and EE from wikipidia:
Mechanical engineering is the discipline that applies the principles of engineering, physics, and materials science for the design, analysis, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the design, production, and operation of machinery.[1][2] It is one of the oldest and broadest of the engineering disciplines.
The key word: design is in this definition.
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. This field first became an identifiable occupation in the later half of the 19th century after commercialization of the electric telegraph, the telephone, and electric power distribution and use. Subsequently, broadcasting and recording media made electronics part of daily life. The invention of the transistor, and later the integrated circuit, brought down the cost of electronics to the point they can be used in almost any household object.
Electrical engineering has now subdivided into a wide range of subfields including electronics, digital computers, power engineering, telecommunications, control systems, radio-frequency engineering, signal processing, instrumentation, and microelectronics.
The key word: design is not found in this definition
Don’t get me wrong: Of course, you can force EE major to do design too if you will. But, it is not common.
So, just for the fun it, if OP wants to do BME with lots of design then ME is the answer meanwhile other majors like EE, biology, chem or chemE, or bio material science (related to Tissue Engineering in BME), they also can do other BME concentration.
So, OP we have given you lots and lots of information in here. Do you still want to go to BME for grad. school or you prefer monkey around with the systems (hardware and software) in Comp. Science major?
Stop. Citing. Wikipedia.
Do you think that electrical components just magically design themselves? No. EEs design them. Generally speaking, if you read something about a branch of engineering involving the applications of some sort of principles, that application is design.
I really wish you would stop jumping into threads and spouting a fountain of “information” on topics about which you know nothing. All engineering fields design things. All of them.
But by all means, don’t take it from me. I am only a professor of engineering. Go ahead and use your experience as the parent of an engineer to tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about.
What do you know? You only have a PhD, National Lab experience and are a University Professor. :))
Saying the work product of EE does not involve design is uninformed and wrong.
As one possible example showing EE design work, patents are issued for EE based designs because they are unique and involve creativity and imagination.
bonehe3ad: “I really wish you would stop jumping into threads and spouting a fountain of “information” on topics about which you know nothing. All engineering fields design things. All of them.”
I would say: So, are you saying Wikipedia is wrong as I quoted previously? Did you see any word “design” for EE in that wikipedia? I guess not. Also, don’t get my wrong that I don’t know a bit of those BME products. I am just a parent who has worked professionally as Loan Officer in Commercial and Consumer Bank to finance any projects from hotel/motel, business projects, real-estate, engineering projects and some of the engineering projects related to medical equipment and medical products (BME products) for export/import thru opening LC (letter of Credit), Term-Loans, Revolving Loans, etc. So, by doing those, I have to know a little bit of the products, how-to operate, the product costs, nitty gritty of those things since they all are related to bank financing and its ROI of the bank’s money.
IlliniDad18: "Saying the work product of EE does not involve design is uninformed and wrong.
I would say: Mech Eng has more designing stuff than EE. When it comes to conversation about design/designing stuff then Mech Eng comes into pictures not EE, right?. That is the fact, you can not change it.
Also, did you read that definition from Wikipedia too or not? the word design is not in definition of EE. Also, did you read my disclaimer previously? here I am going to post it again: Don’t get me wrong: Of course, you can force EE major to do design too if you will. But, it is not common.
So, of course EE will do design too but not too much but is very limited as that major is not designed for designing stuff.
Lastly, when it comes to BME and its design items such as medical devices and prostheses. etc. Do you think those designs come from EE?..I rest my case.
As Mark Twain once said about arguing with a …
Dead Man (as in Mark Twain) does not lie?..but I prefer a live person to talk to.
I am honestly out of things to say to try to make these things clear to you. You continually spout absolute nonsense with no factual basis and refuse to listen to reason. I honestly don’t have the time to keep arguing these same points over and over again. I really just hope that the students and parents asking questions on this site have the critical thinking skills required to realize that 90% of the things you post are bad advice and/or flat out wrong.
You realize that ANYONE can edit wikipedia to change a definition. If you like I can add the word design.
Also, “commercialization” in your definition of EE means products were “designed”.