Bioengineering phD w/ a bachelor's in biology

[Gavin Hong]

Hello friends,

I graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology last spring and am currently in the process of getting ready for grad school. I was wondering how common it is for biology majors to be accepted into bioengineering phD programs. 

Your input will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Edotdl]

I don't know of anyone personally that has done this. It probably depends heavily on your coursework - i.e. have you taken enough BioE classes to be able to succeed in graduate level BioE classes? Besides some upper level courses, it'd probably be nice to have most of the standard engineering curriculum completed too (Calc 3, Diff Eq, Physics, etc).

[pterosaur]

It is definitely doable. I went from neuroscience to bioengineering, which is a pretty similar shift. I did look at the requirements of different programs, though, and tried to align my remaining electives with that. For me that meant calc 3, diff eq, and lin alg. (I took IB physics but didn't take any in college, FWIW.) I did also work in a lab with a lot of bioengineering grad students for 4 years in undergrad, which I think helped show that I could handle that type of research and the quantitative aspects that you don't necessarily encounter in a biology program.

[madbiochemist]

I did a B.S. in Biochemistry and made the switch to a biomedical engineering PhD. You can do it, but you need to take any courses required by the graduate department (usually they require math through differential equations and linear algebra). I think you probably also need to have killer research experience within an engineering lab before graduate school. Then you should apply to a lot of schools. I know (from faculty) that my stats would have qualified me for several schools I was rejected from if only I had an engineering degree instead of a biology degree. Sometimes I also feel a bit behind in my engineering classes, but I can get help from the professors/other students when I need to. You can message me if you have questions.

[Biohazardia]

I had a BS in molecular biology and am now in a bioengineering PhD. What really helped was that I had a biomedical engineering minor and took a couple advanced math classes (differential equations, multivar calc, engineering physics) in my undergrad, and I had a biomedical engineering professor write one of my rec letters. However, I did undergraduate research in a purely molecular biology lab. To be honest though, I do think a lot of schools prefer their BME students to come in with engineering backgrounds as opposed to biology and I agree with madbiochemist, I was also told by faculty I'd be quite competitive in biology PhD programs, but would be seen as less competitive for BME because of a non-engineering major. Bottom line is - yeah it's hard, but you can do many things to help your case and it is certainly possible, such as experience in an engineering lab (I really wish I had that), BME classes, higher maths, etc. I also second applying to a lot of schools. 

[Gavin Hong]

Thanks so much for the thoughtful replies, guys. I am also considering applying to BME master's programs and taking the industry route. Do you think it'll be considerably easier for me to get accepted into a bioengineering master's program with a background in molecular biology or would the criteria for master's program be almost identical to those for phD programs?

Thanks, again.