Biomedical engineering is at the nexus of medicine and engineering. Professionals in the field are involved in pursuing advances in technology and medicine that improve — and save — human lives as doctors, inventors, engineers, and more. They are responsible for leaps forward in human society, and are literally changing the world.
Students who want to go into biomedical engineering can major in biomedical engineering or in bioengineering, which is a larger umbrella that includes biomedical engineering. So much falls under the bioengineering umbrella, and it’s a great jumping-off point for people interested in the medical side of engineering, the engineering side of medicine, or the policy sides of both. To help you pick the right program for you, we’ve compiled our top ten biomedical and bioengineering programs in the United States.
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Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, Maryland
Johns Hopkins offers the leading biomedical engineering program globally. Connected to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the program offers seven areas of focus including genomics, immunoengineering, tissue engineering, neuroengineering, and more. The four-year undergraduate degree is broken up into four phases: Foundation, Bootcamp, Residency, and Practice, and students can apply to the 3+1 program as juniors to earn their bachelor’s and masters in just four years.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)— Cambridge, Massachusetts
The BS in Biological Engineering at MIT encompasses everything a degree in biomedical engineering does, plus more. They “prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers who will advance bioscience and biotechnology,” and students have access to many of the best engineers in the world, including those who are currently pursuing field-defining projects and research.
Stanford University — Stanford, California
Students in the Bioengineering major in the Schools of Engineering & Medicine at Stanford are enabled “to embrace biology as a new engineering paradigm.” Students in the program take courses in science, math, and engineering, and are able to apply to a Coterminal program that allows students to earn a master’s alongside the Bachelor’s. There is also a Biomedical Computation major, which trains students in the data side of biomedical engineering, and many graduates go on to graduate school or medical school, with others going into biotechnology, medical device design, and more.
Georgia Institute of Technology — Atlanta, Georgia
The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering is a unique partnership between Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering and The Emory University School of Medicine. This means twice the resources in one place. Students earn a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, and research through the program into biomaterials, biomedical robots, cardiovascular engineering, and more has resulted in clinical therapies and medical innovations.
Columbia University — New York, New York
The Biomedical Engineering degree at Columbia is available through the college of engineering, and students spend the first two years of the program immersed in the fundamentals of the sciences, engineering, math, and biology. The final two years of the program are spent in in-depth intensive biomedical engineering work, and all graduates have the breadth and depth to excel in the workforce. All seniors take a two-semester capstone, in which students work as teams to tackle real-world issues using their budding biomedical expertise.
University of California – San Diego — San Diego, California
There are nearly 600 students in the Bioengineering program at UCSD, which offers a BS in Bioengineering with tracks in Bioinformatics, BioSystems, and Biotechology. The mission of the program, which is in the Jacobs School of Engineering, is to educate leaders, to drive innovation, and to benefit society. Students applying to UCSD should note that demand for the bioengineering program exceeds capacity, so you must list your intended major in your application to the university.
University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Penn Bioengineering is one of the oldest bioengineering departments in the country. Students are challenged to “think like an engineer, act as a world citizen,” and the physical proximity of the engineering and medical schools on Penn’s urban campus, which are within a city block of each other. Students have two degree options — Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Bioengineering and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Biomedical Science — and the Global Biomedical Research Program puts theory into practice.
Duke University — Durham, North Carolina
Students interested in studying biomedical engineering at Duke have access to a major in Biomedical engineering along with four different double major options: BME + Civil & Environmental Engineering, BME + Computer Science, BME + Electrical & Computer Engineering, BME + Mechanical Engineering. Students go on to work for major tech companies, pharmacology companies, and go on to top graduate and professional schools.
Rice University — Houston, Texas
The Department of Bioengineering at Rice prides itself on “training the next generation of leaders in the field.” Students in the BS in Bioengineering benefit from small classes and top-notch lab facilities, and there is a partnership program with Baylor College of Medicine, the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program, which is aimed at students who are extraordinary academically and in character. Houston is a growing “biomedical and technology industrial base,” so students also have access to top-tier internships and job opportunities.
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor — Ann Arbor, Michigan
Students pursuing a Biomedical Engineering degree from the University of Michigan are amongst many of the best. “This is where,” they say, “some of the toughest problems in medicine get solved,” and they mean it. Students are prepared to go into the biomedical industry, or on to graduate or medical school, and also have access to the Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Studies (SUGS) program, which offers a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology and then a MSE in Biomedical Engineering. There are also extensive summer internship opportunities and co-ops for on-the-job experience.
Biomedical engineering brings physicians and engineers together to save lives. Students who study biomedical engineering and bioengineering can pursue careers and research at the forefront of the field, shaping the future of medicine globally.
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