Hello all! I am going to be attending UVA this fall as an engineering major. My declared major is Chemical Engineering, but I am really interested in Chemical and BioMolecular engineering which is offered at some schools that I got into and couldn’t afford. My thoughts about this major was that 1. it seemed really really really cool and 2. it is a rare major that will be highly sought after on the job market, even with only a bachelors (I intend to do a masters though). However, my dad is saying that it is a major that is a lot like BME in terms of job prospects and employers won’t hire you until you obtain a masters degree in this field. With all that said, I am wondering if it would be A. Possible and B. Wise to try and sort of “create” my own engineering major based on the curriculum of others schools with this program. I have checked, and UVA does have classes that seem similar to those a ChemBE major would take at a school like Hopkins or GT. And lastly, I’m wondering if (in a worst-case scenario) it would be worth it to transfer, after all of the general engineering courses are finished, to a school with a ChemBE major. I’m hoping to continuously apply to scholarships and work to hopefully pay for college if I get into Hopkins again as a transfer. However, I also heard that if your state school does not offer your major, you can get in-state tuition to a school that does. Is this true? Thank you all in advance!!!
And I don’t mean to sound unenthusiastic about UVA, honestly I am so happy to be going to a college, let alone a great one like UVA. I am very satisfied with where I’m heading off this fall!! I just really am more interested in this specific path of ChemE and I want to do anything in my power to pursue it.
To be honest, at places like Georgia Tech, the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is just a longer, rebranded name for the Departments of Chemical Engineering elsewhere. They are still awarding ABET-accredited chemical engineering degrees. The added biomolecular component really just means that they have a sizable number of faculty who are active in that research area and they offer essentially a focus area in those types of subjects. They all just essentially describe different tracks within the broader field of chemical engineering. In other words, if UVA offers essentially the same courses, just without the extra word in the department name, you will be totally fine.
Also, the rarity of a course of study doesn’t say anything about how in-demand it will be. It is just as likely that it is rare because of low demand as it is that the demand is high because the supply is low. That’s a moot point, though, because each of the departments you cite are still just chemical engineering departments that happen to focus quite heavily on the biomolecular aspect of the discipline.
@boneh3ad Okay cool! So should I just talk to my academic advisor to see if I can fit some classes or something like a nanotech or material science minor to sort of mirror that added biomolecular component?
That would be a solid option.
@boneh3ad Great! Thanks so much for your time and advice!