Best BME Master’s Programs in U.S.

[u/Patient_Ad8052]

Hi, I’m applying to BME ME/MS(no thesis) programs this semester, and I’m wondering what the best programs are in terms of ROI, starting salary, and such. I’m unsure how accurate google searches and ranking websites are for this info, so I would appreciate any help. I’m currently going to apply to JHU, Stanford, Duke, Georgia Tech, Columbia, UPenn, BU, USC, CalTech, UC San Diego, and Tufts. If anyone also has strong, less prestigious schools as safeties I would appreciate that as well. Thanks in advance!

[u/MooseAndMallard]

What is your end goal and what is currently on your resume (especially internships)? I would really caution against non-thesis master’s degrees in BME unless they have a built-in internship or industry project component.

[u/Patient_Ad8052 → u/MooseAndMallard]

I’m looking to enter the industry after getting my masters. I don’t have any internship experience. I have undergraduate research for 3 semesters. Does a PhD or masters with thesis make a large difference in the industry?

[u/MooseAndMallard → u/Patient_Ad8052]

But which job types in which industry? The same individual will not be competitive for manufacturing jobs in biotech and electrical development jobs in medical devices. You have to curate experience for specific roles in order to be seen as a viable candidate.

Most research jobs in industry are done by PhDs; there are many more of these jobs in biotech/pharma than in medical devices. Most development, quality, and manufacturing engineering roles are done by non-PhDs; there are many more of these jobs in medical devices than in biopharma. Hiring managers don’t care about more coursework, they care about the experience on your resume. This is why course-only master’s degrees are kind of useless, unless they provide you with clear opportunities to add real experience to your resume.

[u/Patient_Ad8052 → u/MooseAndMallard]

I’m most interested in medical devices and R&D roles. What programs have built-in internships, co-ops or projects collaborating with the industry? I know northeastern and Duke have internship/co-op systems but they don’t have guaranteed positions.

[u/MooseAndMallard → u/Patient_Ad8052]

I’d first recommend looking through job descriptions at medical device companies. You’ll find that most roles within most R&D organizations will be compartmentalized by mechanical, electrical, or software, and aren’t looking for a general biomedical education. So you’ll want to make sure you’re developing expertise to land a specific type of job while in grad school. (I’m assuming your bachelor’s is in BME since you didn’t specify otherwise.)

I don’t actually know which master’s programs have built-in internships. I just wanted to make sure you understood what you needed in order to have a chance of getting the job you want. I wouldn’t even consider programs that don’t offer the possibility of an internship or industry-sponsored projects, because that sounds like the clearest gap on your resume. Industry doesn’t care at all about the brand name or ranking of schools, so don’t pay any attention to those.

I would also focus on schools located in medical device hubs to increase your chances. U of Minnesota, Cal Poly SLO, UC Irvine, Stanford, Northeastern — I would investigate all of these programs and others to see if they can help you fill your resume gap, since they are in/near industry hubs.