What is the best major to go for stem cell/tissue engineering?

My end goal is stem cell and tissue engineering, but I don’t know which major is best for me to take and learn the most for it. I’ve researched for a while now and have gathered that I can choose from ChemE with Bio electives, Materials Science, or Bioengineering. I just want to work in research labs, which has lead me to think Bioengineering would fit best, but others say ChemE and Materials Science are better.

All of those majors, plus more, can get you involved in stem cell and tissue engineering (including non-engineering majors).

What you first need to do is select a school. You’re looking for one that does a significant amount of research in the Life Sciences (Biological and biomedical sciences), as well as engineering. After picking a school, review which majors are available and would be the best fit. It will vary by school.

You’ll end up with a list of schools and majors. For example, a state of Florida student may come up with a list like this…

UF: Biomedical Engineering, Material Sciences and Engineering or Biology (Biotechnology track)
FSU: Chemical Engineering
USF: Chemical Engineering or Biomedical Sciences
Several out of state public and private schools…

After research these majors and schools, you end up with a list of schools that would “work” for you. Then you can start applying in the Fall. Once you’ve been accepted to several of these schools, you can decide which school and major to pursue.

Good Luck!

That has classically been in the domain of biology (or agronomy if you work with plants), specifically cellular biology and molecular biology. You’ll need an advanced degree no matter which route you take.

Tissue engineering is more along the lines of research in bio. Bioengineering is typically either device focused or bioinformatics forcused but less on the actual tissues.

Like with any major at any school, the material you learn will be mainly based on your professors’ areas of expertise. They each may teach general courses that are broader than their areas of expertise (the PhD is a highly focused area), but the upper level courses will be limited and focused. So choose a school known for its work in regenerative medicine. It’s an inter-disciplinary field so faculty will be doing research in multiple fields (and majors). For example, Stanford, University of Pittsburgh, Wake Forest… Find what faculty’s research interests you the most and see what department he has an appointment in. See if you like that department/major.

Edited to add: regenerative medicine covers both tissue engineering and stem cell research.

Check out Case western…known for both engineering and medical
http://engineering.case.edu/ebme/research/research-thrusts/biomaterials

My daughter just finished her junior year studying BME. Her concentration is biomechanics with an interest in mechanobiology. She has a minor in Biology (with a lot of physiology focus), and a minor in Materials Science. She is planning to apply to PhD programs next year in the tissue engineering direction most likely. She did a bioengineering REU last summer and is heading to another in a few weeks. This second REU is very much tissue engineering related.