BS in IE to PhD in BME prospects

[LizzyG]

Hi, I'm currently a second year undergraduate at a public state school. I'm majoring in industrial engineering (ABET accredited). I will be participating in an engineering REU (biomedical focused) this summer and hopefully, I will be offered a slot in another REU/research internship for the summer of 2017. By the time I graduate, I will have completed an undergraduate thesis (required for graduation) in industrial engineering. 

If all things turn out well, I will have 3 strong recommendation letters from research professors by the time the fall of my senior year approaches.

Has anyone had any experience in getting your undergraduate degree in an engineering discipline that is different than your PhD engineering discipline? I'm not sure if applying to a PhD program in biomedical engineering with an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering will hurt my chances in admissions. I have taken a year of biology and one general chemistry course, and I'm not sure I have enough biology-related electives. Would you be able to recommend more biology/chemistry electives that would prepare me for a PhD in BME?

 

Are PhD BME programs typically funded? I know that BME is still a relatively new engineering discipline, so I am unsure if I am likely to be funded.

What schools (public US universities) would you recommend for an IE undergraduate from a medium-sized public school? My school is not particularly prestigious for engineering (famous for music and education) and I'm unsure whether or not the prestige/reputation of my undergrad institution will hurt my chances in admission.

Here is a list of schools I have been researching for PhD BME programs:

UT Arlington
UT Dallas
University of Illinois at Chicago
Colorado State
University of Minnesota
TAMU
University of Delaware
University at Buffalo

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about these schools PhD BME programs?

I know this is rather early to start posting on this forum now, but I'm trying to get a good start on preparing for graduate school (admissions, "fit" schools, etc.)

Any advice is much appreciated 

[pterosaur]

BMI is a field where people come from a lot of undergraduate majors into the PhD, even from non-engineering backgrounds. (I did my undergrad in neuroscience.) To figure out what other pre-requisites you might need, I would look at the admissions websites of schools you're considering. 

Why are you only interested in public universities? Any school in the US that offers you a PhD acceptance in engineering should be funded. If it's not, don't do it. That basically negates worrying about differences in cost.

Biomedical engineering is a very broad field and covers everything from biomaterials to robotic prosthetics. The specific type of research you want to do should really affect where you want to apply, and it will hugely affect your chances of getting in, because research fit is a big part of deciding who to take.

As you pointed out, you have loads of time to figure this out. It's good to start early, but don't stress yourself out. I didn't have much idea what schools do apply to until a few months beforehand. Your interests will evolve as you spend more time in research. As long as you have solid recommendations, grades, scores, and research experience, I wouldn't worry about the prestige of your undergraduate institution - there's nothing you can do about it anyway. My biggest recommendation ad this point would be to try to cultivate a mentor relationship with a professor. I worked in a professor's lab for 4 years and she was hugely supportive and helpful through everything academic, including applications, course selection, fellowships, grad school recommendations, and general advice.