My Major: Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical engineer is a great major! It is very versatile and allows for many specialized paths. I chose to pursue Biomedical engineering (sometimes abbreviated as BME) because in high school I really enjoyed math and science classes, AP Biology being one of my favorite classes, and wanted to find a way to combine the two. I stumbled upon the major of BME and never looked back.

I have loved my experience with the major here at USC. Biomedical Engineering here combines high level chemistry and biological concepts with mathematical ideas to solve real world problems. One of the most rewarding things about BME is knowing that the pharmaceuticals,  medical devices, or multitude of other healthcare products that you help to create will have an impact on the longevity of human life around the world. This makes me really excited for job prospects after college.

As a Biomedical Engineering major I have taken two general chemistry classes, and finished all of my three biology classes. I still have to take two semesters of organic chemistry. Other than these classes I have taken two semesters of physics and four semesters of math. Now I am just  finishing out my general education classes and starting to dive into biomedical engineering classes. So far I have taken Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Statistics, and Computational Methods in Biomedical Engineering. I have really loved all these classes, especially computational methods. This class focuses on six biological diseases or processes over the course of the semester and we learned how to implement software in order to analyze these diseases and processes over time. Some examples include intraocular drug delivery, spread of infection in a population, and intravenous drug delivery in order to understand how to design a drug in order to get therapeutic effects on specific tissues in the body. The faculty in the BME department here are great too. They are not only knowledgeable about their field but take the time out to be mentors to students. Did I mention that all of them do really great research and many undergraduate BME’s are working in their labs right now. If you want to know more about the BME faculty be sure to check out our Meet the Faculty Webisode.

I have really enjoyed my time in Biomedical Engineering so far. There are typically three paths that you can specialize in within the major. These are biochemical, electrical, and mechanical emphases within the major. I currently do no have one of these emphases but Steve has an electrical emphasis, check out his blog if you want to know more. I am however trying to do something which no other Biomedical engineer has done before. As a Biomedical Engineering major with no emphasis I have the ability to take 3 technical elective classes in what I want. I have been in close coordination with my advisor to start taking some business related classes so I can have a faux emphasis in Business. Currently I am finishing my first of these electives, a class called Technical Entrepreneurship. Next semester I am taking my other two electives called Engineering Team Management and Development and Regulation of Medical Products. I believe these classes will add to my well-rounded experience as a Biomedical Engineer.

Last summer I had my first internship in the biotech field at Abbott laboratories. It was a lot of fun and I learned so much. It really put in perspective all of the things that a BME can do upon graduation. Whether it is pursing law school, medical school, a research job, graduate school, or biotech consulting, a Biomedical Engineer has the skills to do it all. With a well balanced and versatile curriculum BME opens so many doors upon graduation.

Have a great weekend,

Brenton

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