<p>I have no clue.</p>
<p>Biochemistry is a pure science field, studying the chemistry of the molecules found in living cells. Biotech is about manipulating those chemicals (and also living cells) to produce a product; bioengineering is the development of those processes on a commercial basis.</p>
<p>For example: a biochemist eluicidated the structure and function of the insulin milecule; someone in biotech (not called a biotechnician) figured out how to get yeast or bacterial cells to produce human insulin (through genetic manipulation); a bioengineer figured out how to grow those cells in vats and purify the insulin.</p>
<p>DMD's post is pretty solid, but I'd say that bioengineering (also called biomedical engineering) is much more broad than biochemical processes. Bioengineers could be designing any sort of product (even ones that aren't chemicals per se), such as medical devices (e.g., stents) or imaging technologies (e.g., MRIs).</p>
<p>What's the difference for an undergrad? Biotech and biochem are most likely going to offer coursework that is similar to that of the chemistry and biology departments, while bioengineering will require significant engineering coursework. There could be significant differences there, depending on the school.</p>
<p>I have a fair amount of info on this topic, as my daughter is considering majoring in bioengineering starting in fall 2006 and I have taken her to visit a number of schools. I was also a faculty member in bioengineering at the University of Michigan in the early 1990s.</p>
<p>Bioengineering or biomedical engineering is simply the application of engineering principles to people. As Columbia2002 mentions, this includes much more than just developing some biochemical or medical ideas on a commercial basis. Different biomedical engineering departments and programs have substantially different strengths and emphases. Frequently, biomedical engineering departments / programs have, in addition to their faculty with primary appointments in bioengineering, a significant number of adjunct or affiliated faculty members, either from the medical school or from other engineering departments.</p>
<p>You should check each department website for the types of research performed by the faculty members within the department to determine the flavor. In smaller bioengineering departments, they typically attempt to be strong (with at least 2 or 3 professors) in a few areas rather than have one person in each of many areas. For example, there may be faculty members who have strengths in biomaterials (materials science), artificial organs (biochemical), image and signal processing (electrical engineering / computer science), biomechanics (mechanical engineering), biochemical engineering, etc. Only a few colleges with large departments will have strengths in all of these areas. Some colleges that have medical schools in very close proximity to the bioengineering department also facilitate research projects that involve the medical school. </p>
<p>An undergrad in bioengineering will take some coursework in mechanical, electrical, or chemical engineering, along with biochemistry, anatomy, etc. The material is not watered down. For example, bioengineering students often take mechanics or electrical circuits courses along with ME, EE, and other engineering majors. Even the courses offered separately within bioengineering departments appear to be quite comparable to those of the other departments. However, an undergrad degree in bioengineering cannot possibly cover all of the material of electrical engineering PLUS mechanical engineering PLUS chemical engineering PLUS biology. Hence, a BS grad in bioengineering is somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none. </p>
<p>The engineering to which an undergrad bioengineer is exposed is all rigorous. But such a student has necessarily not been exposed to any one field at the depth of a mechanical or electrical engineer. If you are looking for an undergraduate degree that will allow you to get hired and do work as an engineer with only a 4-year degree, then this may not be the best option (this was stated to me directly by the chairmen of at least two schools my daughter and I visited). In order to get a good job with an emphasis on ENGINEERING, a bioengineer should obtain a masters degree, which will allow concentration at depth in one type of engineering such as mechanics, electronics design, etc.</p>
<p>I mention that a 4-year degree is not the best preparation for a job with an emphasis on engineering. But I have been told that, since bioengineers have been exposed at more than an introductory level to a number of engineering ideas, a bioengineering major is an EXCELLENT preparation for a job like a sales engineer, or even some business jobs such as analysis of investments, etc. Engineering is simply problem solving, and different engineering disciplines have slightly different approaches to problems. A bioengineering student has been exposed at a non-trivial level to a number of different ways of looking at problems.</p>
<p>Most BS grads of bioengineering programs fall into one of three career paths: grad school (in bioengineering or other engineering); med school; or industry. You may want to check with each department to see where their grads end up; this may give you more info on the flavor of that department. </p>
<p>Also, for whatever it is worth, in nearly every engineering school bioengineering has a dramatically larger percentage of females than does any other engineering discipline, especially at the graduate level (often close to 50/50 at undergrad level in bioengineering). The department chairman of one school I visited with my daughter opined that this seems to be because female engineers would like to do something that helps people, whereas male engineers typically like to work on cool things.</p>
<p>If a student is really interested in the biotech / bioengineering field, definitely wants to go into industry, and only wants to study 4 years, then I would suggest majoring in ME, EE, etc. and taking some other courses in bioengineering and volunteering in someones research lab. This was the path followed by the vast majority of bioengineers 20 years ago. But if you want an excellent all-around engineering education and are fairly confident that you will attend grad school at least for the masters degree, then bioengineering might be a great option.</p>
<p>The three replies are great. I have no idea how a 17 year-old kid can decide which area he/she likes best.</p>
<p>Pafather, you alluded to the following. If a kid thinks he wants to be an investment analyst who studies biotechnology and biotech companies, then is a degree in bioengineering and a MBA the way to go? What is the way to go? Can a degree from the University of Washington, Wisconsin, Texas, Colorado, Arizona State, Maryland, or Florida get you where you want to go? </p>
<p>Are kids who were slackers in high school in trouble because they can't get into certain schools or certain departments?</p>
<p>Are the workloads in biochemistry, biotechnology, and bioengineering the same?</p>
<p>Pafather, what is your daughter interested in doing?</p>
<p>dstark,</p>
<p>Biotechnology is different from bioengineering. Depending on how Biotech is used, bioengineering may be a subset or possibly even completely different. Biotech consists of subjects such as the following (I got this list from a web site):</p>
<ul>
<li>bacteriology</li>
<li>biochemical engineering</li>
<li>bioinformatics</li>
<li>bioprocessing</li>
<li>cell biology</li>
<li>computational & mathematical modeling</li>
<li>developmental and molecular genetics </li>
<li>DNA technologies</li>
<li>electrophoresis</li>
<li>embryology</li>
<li>immunology</li>
<li>microbiology</li>
<li>nucleic acid chemistry</li>
<li>protein engineering</li>
<li>virology</li>
</ul>
<p>I have no idea how a 17-year-old can commit to any major, or how an incoming freshman could definitively choose between studying chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, computational biology, bioengineering, molecular biology, etc. My only advice to a student would be to take all of the major courses in first year freshman courses that are common to physical science and engineering majors, plus some biology: 2 semesters of calculus; 2 semesters of physics with calculus (with labs); one or 2 terms of general chemistry (with lab); and general biology (with lab). </p>
<p>While taking these courses, ask your friends about their majors, try to read up about what it available, and what you find interesting. If you are at a school that allows it, you could try to get involved at some menial level in a research lab to see IF you like it. For whatever reason (that is why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream) some kids find biochemistry exciting, other kids like math and biology but are less excited about chemistry, other kids like the emphasis of chemical engineering, etc. The key, of course, which always keeps your options open for a while is to have EXCELLENT grades. If you decide to major in chemistry and do not realize for a few semesters that you really want to study chemical engineering, then switching would not be a likely problem if you have an excellent academic record. An average student will likely have less flexibility. </p>
<p>I even think it does not matter THAT MUCH what you major in, because you can always take courses in another department to make the emphasis of your degree different. For example, if you major in biology but take a half dozen elective courses in chemical engineering and get excellent grades, then I would not be surprised if you could get accepted to top grad schools in chemical engineering. I know it is not exactly the same thing, but I know several students who were undergrads at small, Christian liberal arts colleges and majored in physics and then were accepted (with funding) for graduate school to study mechanical engineering at MIT.</p>
<p>If someone wants to be an MBA-type in the biotech field, then he/she needs to realize that at the better MBA schools, you need to work around 5 years or so BEFORE you get accepted to an MBA program. Hence, step 1 is to get a degree that will allow you to get a JOB, preferably in the biotech area of interest. Biotech includes a HUGE range of different types of industries and jobs. I am only personally familiar with biomechanics, which is a small subset of bioengineering. At the engineering / bioengineering departments where my daughter has visited, there seem to be fairly good opportunities for working in a research lab as an undergrad, both during the academic year and during the summer. I would advise a student who is interested in industry to get a summer internship in industry, at least between junior and senior years. A good department should be able to help you find such a position.</p>
<p>My daughter is leaning toward med school, but she is interested in an undergrad degree in bioengineering she really likes to understand the scientific fundamentals behind the ways things work and also because engineering majors typically require fewer liberal arts courses. While she reads a lot, she is not particularly interested in politics, philosophy, etc. She has a very strong scientific bent. At some schools that do not offer bioengineering, she will have to major in chemical or mechanical engineering and then just take her electives to make it more of a bioengineering experience. She has to decide in the next two weeks if she will be studying bioengineering at Case Western, Pittsburgh, Tulane or chemical or mechanical engineering at CalTech or Princeton. Fortunately, the former three schools all include large merit scholarships, so that also factors into OUR decision.</p>
<p>Pafather, thanks for the thorough response. It was very helpful.</p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter. She's obviously very bright and has great choices. I'm sure it is tough, but I hope she is having fun deciding.</p>
<p>I thought Tulane had axed all their engineering departments. That didn't include bioengineering???</p>
<p>pafather, I’m having trouble deciding between a major in bioengineering and finance. I’m interested in finance, but I want to work in a management level position for a biotech/pharmaceutical company or at least have some finance-related job that specializes in biotech (consulting?). Would you recommend doing a finance major and a bioengineering minor, or a bioengineering major and a finance minor? Of course I plan on obtaining an MBA later on, and I also plan on obtaining a master’s degree in biotechnology engineering. What would you advise I study for undergrad?</p>
<p>This thread is nearly 5 years old and pafather hasn’t posted in over 2 years. He probably won’t see your question. Why not start a new thread?</p>
<p>Oh, I didn’t realize he hadn’t posted in 2 years. I already found an answer, though. Thanks anyways.</p>