<p>Does anyone know what is involved in becoming a biomedical engineer?</p>
<p>A bachelors in engineering with an emphasis on the human body and medicine. There are biomedical engineering majors for people who want to do just that.</p>
<p>Look back through the old threads in this forum. Lots of BME's have posted about their experiences in the past. I can remember at least a half dozen threads in the last month alone.</p>
<p>I am also going for Biomedical Engineering, so I know a little bit about it.
First, I recommend looking at the Collegeboard site, since they offer a really good description of what Biomedical Engineering is, what high school classes you should take and just plain everything about all majors. So check out: <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/majors/14.0501.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/majors/14.0501.html</a>
Second, definitely check out the site for ABET accredited colleges. ABET is an accrediting board that checks out the engineering programs offered at colleges and it is really important to check this out before applying to colleges. Getting a degree from a non-Biomed-ABET accredited school is an extreme disadvantage. Just remember that MIT is not ABET accredited for BioMed, but they don't care, because they really set the standard for ABET. If you get into MIT, go to it even though it is not ABET accredited. Lastly, Columbia is trying to get ABET accreditation in 2007, since it is a pretty new program at the school. So far, I've visited the ABET accredited universities in the Northeast and they are really awesome. Right now, there are only 30 universities that are ABET accredited, so you can tell that these are really great schools and they are up-to-date. To get to the site for the BioMed Colleges, go to Google, type in ABET, click on the first choice, on the left side click on Find an Accredited Program, drag mouse to Engineering Programs and click, click on the arrow by Search by Discipline and then scroll down to BioEngineering and there you go. Sorry that I couldn't make a link, but plese check this site out. It is really important.</p>
<p>i thought that ABET only mattered if you wanted to go straight into industry after college......so that if you get a PhD after undergrad but your undergrad wasn't ABET accredited, then it doesn't really matter...</p>
<p>Sorry, I should have explained that better. I'm not totally sure, but I think it is okay to go to a non-ABET college for undergraduate and then transfer, but there are some ABET-accredited colleges that are just undergraduate. I would say to try going to these smaller colleges first if you can't get into MIT, or the big names. There are a lot of ABET-accredited colleges that are really easy to get into. It is an advantage to go to an ABET over a non-ABET even for graduate. What ABET accreditation does is also tells you that the college is very up-to-date and are very in-tune with the engineering in society. They have to go through a huge and rigorous examination to get the ABET-accreditation. ABET studies where the previous graduates have gone and their success in the world. This is why it is important to try to get into an ABET college no matter if you'll go to a different one for graduate. Rensselaer tells their undergraduates to transfer to another graduate school so they get a different feel for things on the same level.</p>
<p>You usually don't need ABET for BME, and most companies could care less. They look at school name and reputation. In my state we have 3 schools with BME; Yale, UConn, and U Hartford. Hartford is the only one ABET accredited, yet Yale and UConn have WAY better reputations for putting out engineers and both schools engineers have an easy time getting jobs. Hartford on the other hand may have the accreditation but it doesn't have the same reputation as the other two so its "advantage" is canceled out.</p>
<p>MIT isn't accredited because their program is quite new.</p>
<p>Typically, advancement in the bio industry requires a PhD or similar (MD/PhD being the other) -- not graduation from an ABET school. For structural, civil, even aerospace and electrical (to a certain degree, and then, specific to some subfields), ABET is important. For the others, not so much.</p>
<p>I am interning at a biomedical device company, and no one has a bioengineering degree. Just get a Mechanical engineering degree, thats what they all have. Most employees would also rather take a mechanical engineer. No one seems to know what they hell they teach you in a bioengineering major. Mechanincal engineering opens up all the same options bioengineering does save medical school, plus way better options for grad school.</p>
<p>ABET shouldn't be used as a criteria in choosing a BME/BioE program. Generally, you want to be specialized at the undergraduate level for employment in industry. Generally, specialized programs have specific tracks in the curriculum rather than a whole mish-mash of pick and choose courses. Generally, specialized programs are ABET accredited while non-specialized programs are not. ABET may be an indicator, but it is only suggestive. The accreditation itself is really unimportant since you'll unlikely need a EIT and PE as a biomedical engineer.</p>
<p>As I have suggested in a previous thread, it is generally a good idea to major in a traditional engineering field (eg mechanical, chemical, electrical) at the undergraduate level and take specific bioengineering courses (possibly as a minor), instead majoring in bioengineering.</p>
<p>Don't worry about ABET if you choose a Biomedical engineering program. What I recommend is that you choose a major in either electrical or mechanical engineering and then get your master's in Biomedical. From what I've seen getting a master's in Bidmed is very helpful as you don't really do much applied research in a typical undergrad Biomed program. I've had students in the field tell me that a master's is nearly a requirement in order to get a good job.</p>
<p>bio-med is also a new major in Penn State.</p>
<p>They will seek accredition in about 08.</p>