Prior to reading more closely on Carnegie Mellon’s website, I was seriously considering applying to this school. I am a strong match and am aware of its reputable engineering program. However, I found that students who intend to major in biomedical engineering MUST declare a dual major and major in chemical engineering as well. I’m pretty set on a biomedical/bioengineering major with a premed track so there really is no reason for me to major in chemical engineering. Is this because CM’s biomedical engineering department is underdeveloped? I feel like these two are some of the hardest majors and would be an overload in terms of course load, so is it even doable? Thank you in advance.
Wondered about this too, but on an on-campuis visit that included a session on Biomedical Engineering, it was explained really well by one of the professors. Basically, they feel that any biomedical engineering project usually requires contributions from engineers from other fields - for example designing a prosthetic or a heart pump might require input from mechanical, electrical, chemical, and/or materials engineers, not really a single “biomedical engineer.” Their capstone projects usually try to create teams of engineers who double-major in a variety of fields for just this reason. And you can double-major with any other engineering field, not just chemical.
My child is in the program doubled with materials science engineering and loves it. It is well designed so that it doesn’t require much extra work - you just use up more “elective” slots by taking biomedical electives. I think the program is pretty strong - they just got some brand new facilities in a brand new building.