<p>I'm looking into UNC as a reach school and I'm interested in their biomedical engineering program. It's not a real engineering degree; it's more of an applied sciences degree. It's also part of a joint program with NC State (who does have a legitimate degree) so I don't know how well organized the program at UNC is. I know that you need to an ABET degree to become a PE but I'm not sure if biomedical engineers need that license. I'm not expecting to get into Carolina but I'm just wondering if an "applied sciences" engineering degree is considered worthless in the engineering world. By the way, I'm also considering the biomedical engineering degrees at Arizona State and The University of Arizona.</p>
<p>As most have said in previous advice (in the many other threads that have come along about this), you should really reconsider getting an BME degree as an undergrad. It is better suited for a graduate degree once you come from either EE or ME. Also, I know UNC is a great school (I’m an '07 Alum), but they are not known for engineering- and not being ABET is a problem. If you are intent on BME for undergrad, I would stick with legitimate ABET BME schools. </p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>Yes, check the other threads on this often discussed subject.</p>
<p>That’s a shame. I spent months trying to pick a major from liberal arts to business to architecture only to find out that every major I liked was considered worthless. I succumbed to engineering because I wanted job security and I pick biomedical engineering because it fits my skill set and is IMO the most interesting of the engineering branches. Then, I declare it as my major at every school I apply to. Now I do some more research only to find out that the degree is useless. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I’m not really interested in pure mechanical or electrical; it was really the uniqueness of the biology and medical part that made me interested. I guess I could look into civil since I like buildings and structures but its really the architecture that interests me.</p>
<p>You can always get in, take some classes, and see if you want to transfer. Obviously some people are going to make it. If no one in the undergrad BME ever made anything out of themselves, their would not be a degree. The advice from most engineers on here, though, is that you can contribute MORE to the field in graduate school once you have a solid base in one of the other core engineering degrees. The UNC program, to me, is more of a “I ultimately want to go to med school” degree. And that is fine if that is what you want to do.</p>
<p>I get what you’re saying. Its just that everything I want to major in gets shot down when I read articles on recent college graduate unemployment.</p>
<p>Everyone is going to have something negative to say about something. People always have something to say about Industrial Engineers (what I am doing) like:</p>
<p>they are not really engineers
imaginary engineers
should learn one of the core engineering degrees before going in
Is the easiest engineering degree
glorified business students
don’t learn as much math (which I had to laugh at because ALL I do is math, thanks stochastics…)
and so on…</p>
<p>But, I did it anyway because I saw value and practicality in it. I am now getting a Masters in it, and have already had job offers.</p>
<p>Just wondering, what was your undergrad degree?</p>
<p>Major in what you love as long as it has a decent job outlook. If you go on forums like these, everyone in every field will tell you that the field you are interested in is over-saturated! I’ve heard of Nursing, engineering, and business all having “awful” job outlooks. While BME is usually a degree you get after ME or EE, that doesn’t mean you can’t get a job in it. </p>
<p>Ether way, a lot of engineering programs have a pretty similar freshman course load for the first year, so you can always switch majors.</p>
<p>My undergrad degree, haha, is Psychology. Hence why I had to do 2 years of pre-reqs before I could get into an engineering masters program.</p>
<p>You might consider Materials Science Engineering or Chemical Engineering (or even Chemistry) for your undergraduate major. A lot of BME and Bioengineering departments are led by faculty from those disciplines. Plus, a review of the Career pages at companies like at 3M, BASF, GE Healthcare and others demonstrate that you can enter BME with a B.S. Probably takes an M.S. to rise above a rudimentary job, however.</p>