Is majoring in biology and minoring in biomedical engineering a good idea?

Hey, rising senior here trying to plan out what I’m going to major in during my undergrad years. As of right now, I really have 2 main passions I want to explore in my future, which are helping people as a profession in the medical field as well as engineering some sort of biomedical innovation. I’m still struggling to figure out what medical specialty I’ll pursue, but the ones on my mind have been neurology, psychiatry, and potentially surgery. But anyway, to chase these passions I have, there are two main majors/minors I’ve been looking at.

The first is a major in biological sciences as no matter which path of medical specialty I decide to pursue, it will ultimately help me as a base degree (as opposed to only majoring in neurology and potentially wasting time in college if I decide to pursue a different career path). The second is a minor in biomedical engineering as I am also interested in creating a biomedical innovation. The problem is, I’ve heard that most of what you learn as an undergrad studying biomedical engineering is mostly about biology itself rather than engineering. Is this true? And would this major/minor combination be a good fit for what I’m trying to achieve?

Also, how could a biomedical sciences major factor into this?

You can major in anything for med school if you hit the right classes. If you decide not to pursue or don’t get in, having a bio degree is not a good degree to have (for income). So the engineering sounds better - in that sense - but will have a different level of academic sophistication.

Biology majors’ bachelor’s degree job prospects are not that good, because so many of them (many failed pre-meds) graduate every year.

Biomedical engineering majors’ bachelor’s degree job prospects are better, though often not as good as for other engineering majors. Biomedical engineering is a favorite major of “engineering + pre-med” students.

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I dont think you can minor in Biomedical Engineering. So, major in Biomed Engineering but be aware it’s an ultra competitive major.
Neurology isn’t an undergraduate major.
Neuroscience and cognitive science are.

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So would you recommend only majoring in engineering and still trying to get the class prerequisites for med school?

Ah I see, by change would you know how a biomedical science degree would fit into all of this? Some schools offer it and I’m kind of confused as to what the difference is between this major and a biology or biomedical engineering major.

So for instance, I decide to major in BME but then by the end of my undergrad years I decide to go to med school to pursue a career as a neurologist/physician. Would this still be possible for me to do?

A neurologist is a specialist in neurology. A physician is anyone with an MD. You can go to med school with a degree in any major.

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Oop I meant psychiatrist lol, but yea I get your point. Thanks

Biomedical engineering is a favorite of the “engineering + pre-med” crowd because it includes most of the pre-med courses in its course plan.

However, it will require more math and more math-intensive physics courses than those typically taken by biology majors or other pre-meds.

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There aren’t typically engineering minors for non-engineering majors, because it isn’t meaningful. Getting an ABET-accredited engineering degree is very all-or-nothing. And studying engineering as a pre-med isn’t always a smart choice, because it’s harder to get the GPA you’ll need for med school admissions, and then if you do get into med school, you’ll have worked very very hard for something you’ll have little opportunity to use.

On the other hand, as already noted up-thread, an undergrad biology degree isn’t a great platform for paths other than med school or a PhD.

A good compromise pathway would be to major in biophysics or engineering physics with a biomed emphasis. This would allow you to fork off in either direction after undergrad: pursue med school or a grad program in biomedical engineering. (Examples from the same university, so you can compare: BS Biophysics Concentration – Physics vs. Engineering Physics, BSE < Case Western Reserve University The later is an ABET program and the former is not, but either could leave the door open for an engineering masters.) Another tech-adjacent path is to major in Cognitive Science and include a solid computation background; this can be a good path into the user-interface side of biomedical innovation, without doing a full-blown computer science degree.

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Ahh biophysics is definitely a very interesting major I’ll look into!

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Two things to know:

Many entry-level jobs in BME require a graduate degree (MEng in BME).

There is only limited job market for undergrad biophysics degrees. Many positions either don’t specifically require a biophysics degree (biomedical device sales/marketing, documentation for devices, research lab assistant etc) or require an advanced degree. A BS in biophysics does not qualify one to go directly into the BME field. Typically a biophysics major would need Master’s in BME to go into biomedical engineering/device design or a PhD to go in research.

P.S. if you’re interested in the brain + engineering–take at look at the Neural Engineering program at Pitt:
https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/neuro/

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Thanks that’s some helpful info!

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