<p>Hi guys, first time poster here. Please forgive my ignorance if this belongs somewhere else. </p>
<p>Basically my story is this: I'm a rising senior pre-med in microbiology that just decided medicine isn't right for me. I want to get into engineering, maybe biomedical or biomechanical. Basically what I need to know is if there is any way for me to graduate with my micro degree and move to a grad program in Engineering. I know this isn't a common thing but I have read a couple threads talking about switching from a science undergrad to engineering grad school and the general consensus seems to be that it's possible but may require extra coursework before grad school. I have quite a bit of flexibility in my schedule next year so I'm wanting to see if I can work in at least some of the prerequisite coursework there, and then maybe do what's left as post-bacc? Any insight into what classes to look into, who to talk to about this, or what my next move should be would be greatly appreciated. </p>
<p>Relavent info (maybe)
Have taken: Chem. I & II, Bio I & II, Biochem., Cal. I (AP)
Have not taken: Cal. based physics, any math beyond Cal I
Undergrad school = Auburn University GPA = 3.95</p>
<p>I’m a physics/math major who’s going to chemE grad school. Didn’t take one chemE class… but yeah, I’ll have to take extra in grad school. It might be helpful to take some of those engineering classes, but in my case that wasn’t necessary.</p>
<p>Thanks eaglesfan,</p>
<p>I’m sure in your case, since you’ll be taking just the basic engineering courses extra since have more physics and math than you need. Have you ever heard of someone going to grad school without the math and physics background though? </p>
<p>It just seems kind of absurd to me going in knowing so little. I want to fast-track myself to grad school as much as I can but I’m afraid I would be completely lost without the foundation classes I missed out on.</p>
<p>Actually I think I’ll have to take design (which people usually take their senior year and involves using everything learned previously), so it’ll definitely be interesting… I do know one (and I don’t think it’s too uncommon) person who went from chemistry to chemE. I don’t think she took any classes to help prepare either. IMO focus on being one of the best students in your school and discipline, do lots of research, apply for lots of top awards, and make very good connections w/ your faculty letter writers.</p>
<p>And I don’t know much about that field, but probably a good thing to do would be to contact professors from a school you might be interested in and ask what classes would be good. You could always try to apply to places you like and see what happens (what I did), and maybe some masters programs. When I talked to a professor at MIT about my situation before I was accepted, he said basically if I didn’t get in, doing well in a masters program would put me in an excellent position in the future. (Obviously this only applies if you want to do PhD. I think masters probably is easier to get into anyway.)</p>
<p>Also this is from the MIT chemE FAQ:</p>
<p>I am an undergraduate chemistry major. Do I have a chance of being admitted? Are there courses I should take to strengthen my engineering background?</p>
<p>We require that all incoming graduates take four core classes regardless of prior coursework. If your background is not in Chemical Engineering, please keep in mind that you will need to pass these core requirements and that this may be very difficult without experience as an undergraduate in Chemical Engineering. In the past, our faculty has admitted students from other disciplines with an educational background that we believe has prepared the student for our graduate core classes.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, this is very helpful!</p>