The BME program at UVA is challenging but rewarding. You won't simply master a body of knowledge. You'll learn how to apply this knowledge for both discovery and invention.
Biomedical engineering has become increasingly data driven and is inherently interdisciplinary and collaborative. The undergraduate program at UVA embodies these trends, preparing graduates to make valued contributions from the very start of their careers.
After-graduation planning begins early in the 2nd year. That’s when you start setting in motion the events and opportunities that will make it possible to achieve your goals after graduation. Let's consider three paths to three common after-graduation outcomes: 1) Getting a Job, 2) Getting into Graduate School and 3) Getting into Professional School (including Medical School). Of course, these are not your only options! But a decade of exit data shows these are our students' most frequent outcomes.
Internship, Research (UVA or elsewhere), NSF REU, or a job that uses STEM skills.
What to do during your third year
Research or design for credit.
What to do the summer after third year
Internship.
What to do during fourth year
Send resumes and cover letters. Interview.
Considering a masters degree?
There's a wide range of specialized masters degree programs available that are designed to prepare you for a private sector career. For example, UVA's 15-month BME-ME degree is focused on biomedical product and process design.
Research (if you're thinking PhD, you will most likely stay the summer in your UVA lab). Talk to your mentor and other advisors about schools and programs and individual faculty to target for graduate admissions.
4th Year
Take GREs (if needed), apply to graduate school, and interview with graduate programs.
Gap Year
If you are planning on a gap year, and you are following this path, then for your gap year, you will be competitive for a post-bac research position at UVA or another institution or for a job as a professional research technician in a lab (UVA or elsewhere). BUT if you are anticipating getting a job in industry during your gap year, then you must combine your strategy with our advice in the "Job (and Undecided)" path.
Take Biochemistry. Interview with medical schools.
Gap Year
If you are planning on a gap year, and you are following this path, then you will be competitive for a gap year position that is intended to increase your clinical or public health exposures. If you have also combined this path with the advice in the "Graduate School" path, then you will also be prepared for a post-bac research or professional researcher position. But if you are planning an industry job in your gap year, then review the "Job (or Undecided)" section sooner rather than later. The Medical School Path is not what we recommend for a position in industry. This is one reason we suggest that you take your MCATs as soon as feasible, that you get realistic about your GPA, and you get a handle on you overall chance of medical school admissions. There are multiple paths to medical school, and a strategic gap year is one. But if a gap year
Industries surrounding medical imaging, medical devices, bioinstrumentation, software, orthopedics, tissue & cell engineering, diagnostics, drug discovery, pharmaceuticals, genomics, bioinformatics and more.
Universities, hospitals, and academic and medical research institutions, teaching, government, defense, consulting, services, and sales.
FDA/Regulatory Affairs, US Patent Office, financial services, business development, and marketing and consulting firms working with healthcare and investment groups
Entry level job titles include Manufacturing Engineer, Quality Engineer, Clinical or Field Engineer, Project or Product Engineer, Staff Engineer, Researcher (in a hospital, university, military or government laboratory), Software Engineer, Sales Engineer, Management or Marketing Trainee.