How to chart a course to a biomedical engineering degree?

Answer 1

Among the many factors students should consider before committing to a program of study in biomedical engineering are an academic institution’s level of support for research and development, the prestige of the school’s partnership with a university hospital, and the importance of obtaining a graduate degree for securing employment in the biomedical engineering industry.

Biomedical engineering, once considered primarily an inter-disciplinary specialization, is now widely recognized as a scientific discipline in its own right. Biomedical engineering combines the design skills and practical application of mechanics of an engineering discipline with the medical, anatomical, and diagnostic knowledge of a health care discipline. Biomedical engineering requires extensive education and training in two core areas: Biology and engineering. Because biomedical engineering is a relatively new field of study, there is a strong emphasis on research and development within the biomedical engineering field and its sub-fields, such as bio-compatible prosthetic technologies, biomedical micro-technologies, bio-mechatronics, bio-mechanics, bionics, rehabilitation engineering, medical imaging, and bio-pharmaceuticals. Each sub-field of biomedical engineering is research-intensive; thus, an academic program in biomedical engineering should include a strong emphasis on research and development.

The prestige of an academic institution’s biomedical engineering program is often tied directly to the quality of its research and development programs as well as to the amount of funding for these programs. Closely connected with research and development is the ranking of the hospital or medical school that an academic institution is partnered with. Biomedical engineering is a science-intensive discipline and the ranking and reputation of the academic institution may affect employment opportunities for biomedical engineers.

Undergraduate and graduate degrees in biomedical engineering, sometimes called bio-engineering, are offered by a growing number of institutions of higher education. Most, though not all, biomedical engineering degrees are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Unlike some engineering degrees, such as electrical engineering, which often do not require postgraduate education for entry-level jobs, many entry-level positions in biomedical engineering require engineers to hold a graduate degree. In fact, many schools will require that students majoring in biomedical engineering commit to a long-term course of study that will lead to graduate degree, such as a master’s or doctoral degree.