I want to switch my major from Biomedical to Mechanical engineering for graduate school, any advice?

Question

The reason I wanted to switch my major to mechanical engineering is because the undergraduate program in biomedical engineering taught me a bit of every subject: biology, engineering(mechanics, circuits......) but I didn't learn none of the subjects in depth. That is why I wanted to switch to mechanical engineering for graduate school to have an stronger engineering background to eventually work in the medical device field. I am just a concerned since I didn't take the undergraduate courses in mechanical engineering..& it seems to be a tuff major
Thank you in advance = )

Answer 1

First, yes you can.

If you got in, you might need to go back and take some upper division courses. It might also turn out that if you specialize in your grad work, you might be able to avoid some stuff like thermodynamics.

If your school has a Mechanical Engineering department, I'd go over and talk to the dean or some other biggies about getting in and what they would want to see. If there is no department, I'd go talk to the faculty someplace else. I'd also talk to some of the faculty in the Biomedical dept. You can and should also take some ME courses now (or maybe some more physics or math).

Don't be afraid to talk these people up. The more people you talk to, the better idea you'll have. Remember, they are there to teach you and help you even though it doesn't always seem that way. Also, talk to some people in the medical devise field for their ideas.

Good luck

Answer 2

I have a friend who is graduating from mechanical in May and in September she is starting a MASc in biomedical. Her undergrad studies have been mostly themed biomed, obviously under mechanical. However, other than being teased mercilessly by engineering nerds for deserting into the med school campus (all research will be conduced there), she suffered no real issues or had had to pick between one or the other. There's more flexibility in engineering than people recognise. You can mix and mingle classes until it comes out as something that you want to do.

Answer 3

Check with a college advisor to see if you need to change your choices of courses.