I feel like this is probably a crazy question, but how hard (if at all possible) would it be to balance a major in BME, ECE, and CS minor at, say, Duke University?
How about just a BME/ECE double major?
Or a BME/CS double major?
Doing two engineering majors will be too much alone, if even possible. It depends on incoming credit and if you are okay having little free time and/or taking an extra year or two. The CS minor on top of that probably adds another semester/year.
The only double majors involving anything you have mentioned that I have seen plausible combinations for would be ECE/CS.
Why do you want to do all of this? You would be much better suited picking one and dabbling in the other two, even if not officially for a minor or major. What are your goals? Doing all three because you can’t pick just isn’t going to work here.
I think a large part of it is that I don’t know what I want to do haha.
Why those 3 subjects then?
To start, I have an interest in engineering in general. I also have an interest in biology, having enjoyed it in school and conducting research in a lab. But I also really like computers. ECE and CS both sound like majors that I would enjoy, but from what I know the job market is better for CS.
I have also heard claims that BME on its own is a shallow field.
What part of “computers” do you like? ECE and CS are actually pretty drastically different subjects. It sounds like you’re coming from the hardware side, which would be ECE. In that case, it would probably be best to start as general engineering and go from there.
Thanks for your input PengsPhils.
As of now, I am not sure if I’m more interested in the software side or hardware side. I attempted to transfer into an AP computer science class and a Digital Electronics class at my high school, but unfortunately both were full, so right now I’m messing around with CS50x. In addition, I have dabbled in some basic web development. But long story short I’m pretty inexperienced in both sides, more so in the hardware side.
Do you have any opinions on BME?
Also, I’ve noticed that many colleges have separate programs for electrical and computer engineering, yet some schools such as Duke have Electrical/Computer Engineering programs. What’s the difference?
Hm. Well, you’ve got to start somewhere, and general engineering sounds like it covers the most bases.
I don’t have any opinion on BME, but I haven’t heard anything negative about it previously or comments about it being a shallow field. Are they speaking in terms of academics or job opportunities?
I’m not an expert here, but to make it simple, CE is a subset of EE that focuses on computers specifically, while EE is more general. If you want a better idea of specifics, compare EE/CE programs to places that have single EE and CE programs and see where the curricula differ.
It’s true that the discipline of electrical engineering focuses more on hardware but I know many electrical engineering majors who work on the software side.
If you are interested, why not major in ECE and then just take supplemental classes in biology and computer science? You don’t have to officially major or minor in something to study it. You can be a biomedical engineer with an ECE degree and some bio classes.
Well, what I’ve heard is that BME at the undergraduate level lacks focus.
Thank you for your insight juillet, I will definitely consider that when the time arrives. I think that for now I will take PengsPhils advice to heart and start out with general engineering.
Also, @PengsPhils , here is the Duke BME handbook. According to it, I can double major BME/ECE without having to take any more classes. Would you still say that the rigor would be borderline unmanageable?
https://bme.duke.edu/sites/bme.duke.edu/files/u11/handbook_F15_0.pdf
Hm, I guess I stand corrected on that one. It will probably vary from school to school. That schedule does look pretty packed though - not much room for electives or breathing room. Something to consider before committing. It doesn’t seem impossible, but it will certainly be tough. Additionally, no room for doubt in your choice.
I think that starting with general engineering and then picking one and taking classes in the other areas is a great idea that gives you flexibility with the rigor of the subjects and will allow you to do plenty beyond college in the fields.
If you can double major in BME and ECE without taking any additional courses, what is the point of having two majors?