I want to pursue PhD in fields where I can contribute to medicine such as biomedical/bioengineering or material science that focus on biomaterial. However, my undergrad experience is far from it. I have been in alloy chemistry lab and nanofiber lab, and neither are exactly related to medicine. Will this work against me? Or do the admins look at only the fact I do have research experiences?
@paul2752 - If you are interested in my son’s path to graduate school, read here. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/2053985-thank-you.html#latest
My son’s summer research program in Germany was very solid, but concerned carbon fiber for aerospace applications. It has nothing to do with modeling plasma for space propulsion and other applications, the research area he wants to study in graduate school. His second research project his first semester this year concerned laser measurement of plasma, which is closer, but still not what he really wants to study. So based on just one student, I would guess that you should be fine, especially if you can get some research experience in the biomedical area between now and your application. I’m assuming that you will be applying next December/January, so you have plenty of time.
FYI, my son will graduate with a 3.8 average. He was also fortunate enough to be able to work with and take classes from professors in his field with solid connections, who were willing to write strong recommendations. At many top aerospace engineering programs, he would not even have been exposed to plasma propulsion or other applications. Also, his GRE was very good (168 V/165Q/6W) but not spectacular. He took it cold and didn’t want to spend any more time on it. So this is consistent with what several others with far more knowledge have said. Grades and research are far more important, along with recommendations and your personal statement. You don’t want to tank the GRE, but don’t stress out trying to get a perfect score. It wouldn’t make up for other weaknesses.
Good luck!
uhm…the perfect score is 170 for each section. That is VERY good!.
Thanks for the words of encouragements.
It actually depends on how far your work is from what you’re intending to do.
Carbon fiber for aerospace applications and modeling plasma for space propulsion are not the same area, but they are both within physics and specifically applicable to aerospace engineering. The details would be different but the general methodologies and approaches and underlying foundations have commonalities.
Similarly, a developmental psychology professor will very often take someone who has done their research experience in experimental or social or clinical psychology. Again, the approaches, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies are similar (more similar than the physics/engineering example above). But someone who only had anthropology experience, even if they were working on the same topic areas, would be less competitive because the foundations are different.
My guess is that alloy chemistry and nanofiber is close enough to the kind of work you want to do that it’ll “count.” It’s still materials science broadly speaking, even if it’s not biomaterials specifically. Biomedical engineering/science/ biological materials sciences tend to be pretty interdisciplinary fields.
Most grad programs in physical science/engineering love interdisciplinary work. Any serious research experience is seen as a big plus, and your being open minded to working in a subfield different from your undergrad work is an advantage, not a detriment. And once you get started on your graduate research, you’ll find that breadth of experience only adds to your creative potential in the lab. Just make sure to highlight in your personal statement that you’re passionate about the biomaterials field, and why.
Oh, I do like interdisciplinary work. It really helps coming with fun and wild ideas 