Going from Engineering undergrad to Life Science PhD

[audelair]

Hello!

I had a few questions about my hope of going into a life science grad program with a mechanical engineering bachelor's degree. I have been in the work force for ten years and taking courses on the side.

I am actually taking prerequisite coursework for going into a physical therapy program, but as I am taking chemistry and biology courses, I have been considering switching over to a grad program in the life sciences. What field exactly will depend on what kind of research experience I can gain over the next few years.

My question in regards to planning is in regards to coursework. Will a PhD admissions office care at all about any additional coursework I take right now? For instance, I want to continue the courses relevant to clinical work (A&P, microbiology, for instance) instead of switching over to biology for bio majors. Plus, I have already gone the path of health occupations bio courses so I would have to go backwards to take the biology for bio majors.

If PhD programs don't even care about courses taken on the side like I am doing now, then I can catch up with any gaps (that are not covered by cell, A&P, microbiology) on my own with the Campbell Biology textbook I have.

My main goal for taking courses is to maintain the prerequisite path for physical therapy (in case I decide I actually want to do it) as well as build a better foundation for applying to grad school as well as get into research opportunities.

Given that these are just classes I am taking on the side, does any of this matter AT ALL to grad admissions office, in terms of how I go about it? I figure they would rather see a GRE subject test result and research experience than worry about what courses I took to make up my biology foundation.

I am interested in anyone's advice on this. Thanks!

[Usmivka]

In answer to your question:

Yes, the courses you take now (and even those that will not be completed prior to your application) matter to an adcom. They show that you are working to fill in educational gaps in a rigorous manner. Generally your classes are more important than something like a subject GRE that not all applicants will even take. Doing well on it will show you can cram and do well on tests, not that you've mastered the material or have the educational background to jump into graduate work. That said, there are plenty of ways to use a MechE degree in the life sciences that don't necessarily require a working knowledge of everything an undergrad bio major might learn about, so this will depend on the program and research topic.

Edited October 26, 2013 by Usmivka

[audelair]

Thanks a lot for the response!

Actually, I am glad to hear that these courses will help a lot towards showing my efforts. So far, I am getting excellent grades, so that is good.

So my observations from looking at the websites of some of these PhD programs, prerequisite coursework really depends on the recommendation of the advisor I would be working under. The courses that I have taken or want to get into are cell biology, full sequence of anatomy and physiology, microbiology, genetics, and biochemistry. The big missing pieces would be the general biology courses that biology majors usually take. But the cell and A&P sequence (which I am halfway through) actually leads me to the higher level biology coursework at the college I am studying at anyway, so going back and getting general biology courses would be really going backwards just to fill in a few gaps. Would you foresee a situation where I should redirect my efforts to make up general biology or just continue to go down higher-level biology coursework in the area that I want to do research?

Edited October 26, 2013 by audelair

[Usmivka]

The advantage of a general biology course is that it can introduce you to and help you mentally integrate diverse topics--you want to know what you sort fo work can inform you on a given problem, and where to look for answers. I think you could do the same with sufficiently diverse upper level work, and the courses you already took for the other track probably serve the same purpose. Take a look at the requirements for a couple of representative programs you might apply to--if they require biology coursework that isn't covered by your past and current coursework, try to fill in those gaps, but otherwise I see no reason take something very similar to what you've already done. I took a "short course" version of physical chemistry different from what many other chemistry majors took because I didn't care about getting an ACS accredited degree--the grad program I applied to didn't care either. I suspect the biology track you take is similarly unimportant at at least some prospective programs. Also, I'm sure you've seen enough commentary on the site to recognize that your work and research experiences are more important than your coursework. You can learn a lot on the job that may not have been covered by classes, but applicants need to demonstrate research potential above and beyond simply doing well in classes--to be a good student is not sufficient to be a good researcher.

[emmm]

I agree with Usmivka that it will be very difficult to get into a life sciences PhD program without research experience. If you do not have any, you need to figure out some way to get some. This could be very hard to do if you need to work full time. It would also help you decide if a PhD is really the option you want to pursue. Best of luck!

[DGChaos]

Hello. I am currently an electrical engineering undergraduate and I'm trying to switch over to the life sciences as well--mainly systems biology. I have never had formal biology courses, and most of my learning has been on websites like coursera.org.

 

I have applied and do not know how things are going to go from here on. If I don't make I this year, I'm going to work at a lab and get about a year's research experience before applying a second time.