Few questions about Engineerng MD/PhDs...

[DeadCactus]

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Hey all,

I had a few questions about Engineering MD/PhDs and hope we had a few (or at least a few people who know a few) around to provide an answer.

1) Does it generally take longer to complete an MD/PhD program in Engineering? It seems like fewer classes would overlap and thus extra coursework would add time.

2) I've seen quite a few programs in Biomedical Engineering. Is it possible to do PhDs in other forms of Engineering but with a focus on Biomedical Applications?

 

[meowkat444]

Hi,

I'm not exactly applying in the field, but I have run into lots of people on the interview trail who are. You are right that generally the engineering kids have to take many more classes (i.e. 3-4 for "traditional" ph.d. to 10-14 or something for engineering). I don't know that that necessarily translates to longer time-to-degree, but it can't help.

I ran into a few places where people were interviewing for electrical engineering (Stanford comes to mind.) I'm sure there are others.

Anyway, I hope someone more informed chimes in as well 🙂

 

[physicsnerd42]

Hey all,

I had a few questions about Engineering MD/PhDs and hope we had a few (or at least a few people who know a few) around to provide an answer.

1) Does it generally take longer to complete an MD/PhD program in Engineering? It seems like fewer classes would overlap and thus extra coursework would add time.

2) I've seen quite a few programs in Biomedical Engineering. Is it possible to do PhDs in other forms of Engineering but with a focus on Biomedical Applications?

1) Not necessarily. The coursework requirements are greater for an engineering PhD, but other requirements are somewhat less. Also, med school can help more than you think. I'm doing my PhD in BME and medical school takes my course requirements down from 10 to 6 (one year of classes vs. two).

2) Some schools will allow you to do this. At Dartmouth, for instance, you can do a PhD in anything the school offers if you're in the MD/PhD program (physics, environmental science, EE, ME, MCB, Pharm-Tox, etc. --> whatever you like).

 

[Zmoney12]

1.) I think this really depends on the school. At some, yes because you have to take more classess and TA, etc. At others (I think GT), BME kids tend to finish earlier becasue they aren't required to do 3 lab rotations. So overall, my impression after interviewing at a number of different places is that it is pretty school/department dependent.

2.) I don't know a lot about this but my guess would be a lot of places would be willing to think about this. Alternatively, you could get your degree in BME and work with someone on a very EE heavy project. There are many things in BME that are almost exclusivly EE or have a major EE component (imagining, neuronal stuff).

I'm in the process of interviewing for a lot of BME programs so PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[PBandJ]

1) As others have said, it depends on the school. At my school, having the MD classes takes my required BME courses down from 12 to 6, so that's a great help. But, most of my MD/PhD classmates in more "traditional" science fields only have to take 3 or 4 required classes.

2) Plenty of schools are flexible enough to let you do your PhD in what you want to do it in. UIUC especially comes to mind, since they have people doing PhDs in all sorts of non-traditional fields. When I went to interview there, I was interviewing for a PhD in MechE.

If you're in a more restricted program that only allows you to do BME, BME can still be very flexible in that you can focus your coursework and research toward EE or MechE while still ending up with that BME degree.

 

[Sinfekl]

Currently debating between joining immuno or BME at my school.

While BME may or may not have more coursework (as others have said, its school dependant), engineering PhD's generally take less time in lab cause things move faster. The rule of thumb is, the more time spent on a computer and the less time waiting for cells/mice to grow, the more stuff you can get done. Also, engineering research is generally more rational and less empirical, less chance you'll spend a year only to find out you essentially have zero data.

But the only way to really know for sure is school specific. Go to a program function and see how many 8th-9th years you find in engineering.