Possible ways to increase my chances of getting into Berkeley Bioengineering Masters Program?

AuraObscura
Mon, 13 Jul 2015 04:46:41 +0000

Engineering refers to the use of engineering principles–mathematical and quantitative approaches–to solve problems. In other words, it refers to the things that engineering majors (such as mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, or chemical engineers) learn–statics and dynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, solid and structural mechanics, chemical process design and optimization, polymer science and materials engineering, electricity and magnetism, electronics, optics, photonics. The tools engineers use include math such as multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations, and programming and using CAD software, among other things. “Genetic engineering” is not engineering in this sense. The use of the word “engineering” in “genetic engineering” is more akin to the dictionary definition of “engineering,” and really has nothing to do with engineering in an academic or professional sense.

In academia, engineering research–though it perhaps tends to skew towards the practical, and towards design–may be just as “theoretical” and “abstract” as in biology. The main difference in engineering tends to be the approach, which tends to be more quantitative and methodical in nature.

A molecular biologist is not an engineer, but the transition from biology to bioengineering or biomedical engineering is a relatively smooth one compared to, say, biology to electrical engineering. I myself got my BS in Molecular/Cell Biology and am currently working on my MS in Mechanical Engineering. The best thing you can do is what you mentioned in your first post: take the requisite math/physics/engineering courses and do well in them.

However, perhaps more importantly, you need to do a lot more research on what “bioengineering” and “biomedical engineering” are and how they differ from molecular biology/biochemistry/genetic engineering. You really shouldn’t be aiming for a graduate program in anything unless you know what it will entail and how it will help you achieve your goals.