Brown Biotechnology Master's= the biggest scam in the universe

[user12616]

I am trying to hopefully inspire some of you students looking to spend tons of money on a Master's degree to take your money and run (far) away.

Save yourselves. You are better than this program.

The program coordinators will not listen to you, and they will certainly try to make your life miserable. They also pander towards specific students (their own research students) that play nicely. If you are interested in industry experience, many students are able to get a decent internships through the co-op program that allow them to help pay for school. The catch: good look convincing your research advisor to let you take time off research to work.

While seemingly "flexible", this degree is designed to allow you to create your own curriculum (like the Brown ideology), although this program is nothing of the sort. There is little/no infrastructure for this program (i.e. pay your way $$), and it is essentially designed as a means to bringing in money to fund the PhD program in BME, which has become considerably more reputable over the past few years, even declining students into the BME Master's program, which is virtually identical to the Biotechnology program except that it has an explicit number of Engineering/Biology credit requirements. 

Do not even think about trying to switch into the BME Master's program. You are not good enough. At one point the coordinator even insinuated that the Biotech program accepts everyone and has no selectivity whatsoever (Basically: you're paying to be here. Deal with it)

If you are between Brown and UPenn, Columbia, even Northwestern for your Biotech Master's-- go elsewhere! I thought I would save money going here. You are better than this school. 

As for me, I'm off to a more reputable school (sorry, just had to throw that out there) for my PhD. I simply couldn't stand the department any longer. Best of luck to everyone!

[infladorelectrico]

Hey,

So I applied to the Biotech PhD program. Could you tell me more about the program please. Are they even accepting students this time? What's going on??

[user12616]

Hi,

Don't be discouraged that you haven't heard back. The Biotech PhD program has literally *zero* funding. It takes people as needed, typically when they are Master's students in Biotechnology that wish to stay on for PhD because of the success of their research work (meaning that their Master's advisors want to sponsor them) but do not meet the requirements for the BME PhD. In these cases, the Biotech PhD program creates spots as needed, specifically for those students. It does not accept students externally otherwise. The last few years have seen only 2 new Biotech PhD students or fewer (sometimes none); however, all of them the special case of Masters to PhD matriculation.

Bottom line: apply to better (legitimate) programs! Best of luck!

[additional character]

I came across this thread just prior to starting the Master's in BIotechnology program and found it concerning at the time. Having just completed a Master's in Biotechnology I felt I should provide a counterpoint to the experience described above.

The program offers clear tracks for those students who require a structured curriculum. This includes a recently added management track. However, the biggest perk is the flexibility offered by the program. I was able to take courses within the engineering , neuroscience, and business department focusing solely on my areas of interest and not spending money on coursework to meet predetermined requirements. Though there are requirements outlined for graduation with an ScM or AM, Dr. Schell is extremely supportive and will approve almost any reasonable modifications to ensure you receive the educational experience you want from the program. I had a great PI and was able to quickly be engaged in a project which will be submitted for publication in the coming months.

For those students looking to go into industry, they have built strong connections with many of the leading companies an individuals in the biotech industry. They provide near weekly opportunities to network and build connections, particularly with companies within the northeast. The payed Co-op experiences are also a nice perk. Anyways, it is a great program particularly for students who interest may not fit the structure of typical masters curriculum.

I am glad I did not let the above comment sway my decision to apply to this program. Perhaps things have changed significantly since 2016. That being said, I do think there is a valid point. If you think you are going to pursue a PhD, apply to PhD programs. PhDs are  typically funded and many will allow you to incorporate a masters, so there is no reason to spend money getting a masters before hand.