The stock answer I have heard for many schools is 1/3 of the undergrad BME students go to medical school, 1/3 go to industry, and 1/3rd go to graduate school (MS or PhD).
Does anyone have any sense as to which of the top-30ish schools seem to attract/select the largest proportion of BME (or ChemE MechE etc) students interested or capable of going on to get a doctorate in BME? Or prepare students the best for this option? (As opposed to pre-med, consulting, finance, etc.)
Thanks in advance!
In general, the quality of the students determine how many go on to grad school, med school, etc. Looking at the top 30 or so schools, they all have great students. If we compared Georgia Tech to FIU, it’s safe to say a higher % of GT students go on to grad school than FIU.
Some schools publish a graduation survey/report, that list outcomes. These vary in details, but often give % that select continue education, industry, still looking…etc.
You can also review how many BS degrees are awarded in BME (and other engineering fields) to the number of MS/PhD’s awarded in those fields. For example, in 2013-14 Duke awarded 114 BS BME, 63 MS BME and 26 PhD’s in BME. On the other hand, Vanderbilt was 47, 12 and 9. Keeping in mind that grad students often transfer in from other institutions, these numbers would still make you think it’s more likely that a student at Duke would pursue a MS in BME than one at Vanderbilt.
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?s=TN&ct=2&ic=1&pg=3&id=221999#programs
Thanks @Gator88NE , much appreciated! Those are some good leads and ideas.
I am also interested if people have qualitative thoughts as to where students predominantly are doing BME for undergrad because they really love research and BME, versus using BME as a step-stone to something else.
By the way, the reason why my question focused on PhD versus MS is that my understanding is that the MS is less helpful for students hoping to enter academia. Unfortunately, this brings up the related question of whether it is wise to even pursue a BS in BME for this path (versus MechE, ChemE, EE etc). When I look at the educational background of BME faculty, they really seem all over the map.
You’re right that the 1/3 split is usually how it goes with regards to BME.
I’m not sure whether it would matter to know the schools that send the most to PhD. programs. Most schools would hover in the 33-40 percent for going to PhD.
Since BME is relatively new field there aren’t that many grad programs in that field. That’s why the BME faculty had degrees all over the map. It really takes a wide variety of people to do research in BME.
Thanks @sciencenerd . The reason why I am interested to know where there is a greater proportion going into PhD programs is to hopefully ascertain the answer to my 2nd question - where can you find students that really love BME and want to do it as an academic career, and also find programs that could be “feeders” for PhD programs…
If that’s what you’re looking for, just focus on the quality of education and amount of researching being done at that University. An university that’s doing a lot of research in BME (or even Electrical, Mechanical, etc.) would be best for YOU, if your goal is a PhD. It doesn’t matter what % of BME grads go on to med school vs. grad school.
Like Gator said, I would not look at percentages. But might look at which schools you could do extremely well at so you can have your pick of grad school options. So not the best name school you get in, but rather the school you will be the big fish in the small pond.