Finding the Best Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Programs

Biomedical engineering is a rapidly growing field that combines engineering principles with biological and medical sciences to design and create innovative solutions for healthcare challenges. If you're interested in BME or the healthcare industry, this field views the human body as being like a machine, and understanding it in this manner can lead to breakthroughs in anything from cancer research, genetics, prosthetics, nutrition, and surgical techniques. In order to break into this exciting field you will first have to complete an undergraduate degree in this highly-specialized discipline. Along the way, you’ll complete coursework in physics, chemistry, calculus, computer science, biology, and more. This field didn’t even exist a generation ago so post-secondary programs in biomedical engineering are all relatively new and the best of them have top-caliber facilities with the latest technology.

What to Consider When Choosing a Program

Choosing the right biomedical engineering undergraduate program is a crucial step towards a successful career in this dynamic field. Here are some key factors to consider:

Curriculum and Focus Areas

A good starting point when narrowing down your biomedical engineering degree choices is the curriculum offered by each school. Look at the course offerings and areas of concentration to make sure you can meet your end goals. Biomedical engineering is a broad and interdisciplinary field that is constantly evolving alongside advances in medicine, biology, and technology. All these options give you the flexibility to align your education with your passions and professional goals. Many biomedical engineering programs include focus areas designed to enable their students to acquire in-depth knowledge in their specific area of interest. If you have an idea of the type of biomedical engineering you want to study, make sure the schools you are looking at provide a pathway to do so. And if you don’t know which type of biomedical engineering you want to focus on, that’s OK. Most schools will not make you choose right away. The University of Iowa College of Engineering, for example, doesn’t require you to decide until the end of your fourth semester. That way, you can take a variety of courses to see what areas you like best. “Biomedical engineering encompasses a broad range of interests, so make sure the school has the resources to support the track that interests you,” says Kelsey Lyons, a University of Iowa biomedical engineering grad and fourth-year student at Georgetown University School of Medicine. “If you’re more inclined to computer science, make sure your program incorporates coding classes. Interested in product development?

Faculty and Research Opportunities

“If you’re interested in the electrical engineering aspect of biomedical engineering, you should look at the school’s electrical engineering department to see if it is robust - or to make sure there is such a department at all,” says Kim “Avrama” Blackwell, professor and departmental executive officer of biomedical engineering at the University of Iowa. Zoom out a bit and view the institution as a whole and look for undergraduate research opportunities available across campus.

Experiential Learning

And while you’re at it, ask this question: Does the institution have a medical center on campus? If so, the opportunity for valuable experience grows exponentially.“Having a high-ranked medical campus gives you opportunities to interact and engage with professors and doctors in a variety of fields,” says Josh Atcher, director of academic advising and student support in the University of Iowa College of Engineering. “You can get involved in labs; you can get internships; you can have some really great experiences. You can put what you're learning in the classroom into practice. That gives you a very competitive edge in the job market and helps you figure out where you want to go after graduation.”“At Iowa, our medical school and health sciences campus is a 15-minute walk from the College of Engineering - not a 30- to 45-minute drive,” Blackwell says.

Direct Admission

Direct admission is another factor to consider. Some programs allow you to apply directly into the biomedical engineering major, which allows you to hit the ground running. (Often you can enter as an undecided engineering major and choose biomedical later, if you would rather test the waters.) Direct admission can increase the community feel of a program - since you’re given a seat right off the bat, you don’t have to look at the students around you as cutthroat competitors. Instead, you can spend these collegiate years strengthening one another as you work toward your academic and professional goals. Look for that “community over competition” vibe in your programs of choice, whether they have direct admission or not.

Top Biomedical Engineering Programs

In order to rank the best undergraduate programs in biomedical engineering, we analyzed institution- and program-level data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics as reported by IPEDS, salary and other outcomes collected by PayScale and College Scorecard, and peer assessment data collected through a number of different college rankings systems and surveys, including our own. Here’s a quick preview of the first ten Biomedical Engineering institutions that made our list. All of the schools profiled below have stellar reputations in the field of biomedical engineering and commit substantial resources to undergraduate education.

Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

Academic Highlights: Boasting an enviable 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio and with close to 80% of course sections possessing an enrollment under 20, face time with professors is a reality. That presents a phenomenal opportunity to learn directly from a group that includes four Nobel Laureates, four Medal of Science winners, and two recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Fitting for America’s first research university, 70% of JHU undergraduates complete a research experience while working closely with a faculty member. Annually, Johns Hopkins University grants about 175 degrees to those majoring in Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology, which is the institution’s most popular major.
Professional Outcomes: Ninety-four percent of recent graduates successfully land at their next destination within six months of exiting the university; 69% of graduates entered the world of employment and a robust 20% went directly to graduate/professional school. The median starting salary across all majors was $80,000 with top employers including Amazon, DCPS, Deloitte, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon.

Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)

Academic Highlights: Being a large research university, the student-to-faculty ratio is a less-than-ideal 18:1, leading to some larger undergraduate class sections. In fact, 51% of courses had enrollments of more than thirty students in 2023. On the other end of the spectrum, 9% of sections had single-digit enrollments. While not all of your professors will know you by name, there are plenty of ways that motivated students can strike up meaningful faculty-student relationships, with nearly 50% collaborating on research with professors at some point during their undergraduate career. Fifty-two percent of Tech students have gone abroad by the time they graduate, with a growing number electing to complete internships in a foreign land rather than academic coursework.
Professional Outcomes: More than three-quarters of recent grads had already procured employment by the time they were handed their diplomas. You will find graduates at every major technology company in the world. Recent employers include Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Capital One, and Apple. The median salary of the Class of 2023 was $84,000, with recent grads settling mostly in the Atlanta metro area.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Academic Highlights: Undergraduates pursue one of 58 majors and 59 minors at this world-class research institution. The student-to-faculty ratio is an astonishing 3-to-1, and even with a substantial focus on graduate programs, the class sizes are intimate. Over two-fifths of all class sections have single-digit enrollments, and 66% of courses contain fewer than twenty students. MIT is known for having one of the best formalized undergraduate research programs in the country. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) operates year-round and helped connect 93%+ of students to a research experience with an MIT faculty member. With 5 schools, a college, 34 departments, and 44 undergraduate degrees, MIT has plenty to offer the university student.
Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2023 saw 49% of its members enter the world of employment and 43% continue on their educational paths. The top employers included Amazon, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Google, General Motors, the US Navy, Apple, Bain & Company, and McKinsey. The median starting salary for an MIT bachelor’s degree holder was $110,000.

Duke University

Academic Highlights: Class sizes are on the small side-74% are nineteen or fewer, and almost one-quarter are less than ten. A stellar 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio helps keep classes so reasonable even while catering to five figures worth of graduate students. The Undergraduate Research Support Office does great work connecting students with opportunities to conduct research, either over the summer or during the regular school year. All told, more than half of undergraduates conduct research. Two schools at Duke University are devoted to undergraduates: Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and Pratt School of Engineering.
Professional Outcomes: At graduation, approximately 76% of Duke diploma-earners enter the world of work, 17% continue into graduate schools, and 7% start their own businesses. Companies employing multiple Duke grads per year include Google, Capital One, Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Accenture, and a host of other top-shelf corporations in the areas of technology, finance, and consulting. Eventually, 84% of Duke undergraduates will go on to earn an advanced degree One-third of Duke alumni elect to stay in North Carolina. New York, California, DC, and Massachusetts follow in popularity.

Stanford University

Academic Highlights: A virtually unmatched 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio sets students up for a personalized classroom experience and an incredible amount of face time with some of the leaders in their respective fields. Sixty-nine percent of classes have fewer than twenty students, and 32% have a single-digit enrollment. Stanford puts immense resources behind undergraduate research; more than $6.5 million in grant funding is allocated each year to support roughly 1,100 student research projects. Stanford offers students seven schools under the university, which include Business, Earth Sciences, Education, Engineering, Humanities and Science, Law, and Medicine. Undergraduates must complete at least 180 units.
Professional Outcomes: Stanford grads entering the working world flock to three major industries: business development, engineering, and education. Among the companies employing the largest number of grads are Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA, and OpenAI. A sizable number of newly minted Cardinals dive into the world of entrepreneurship. San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles were the top three US destinations for recent grads.

Yale University

Academic Highlights: Yale offers 80+ majors, most of which require a one- to two-semester senior capstone experience. Undergraduate research is a staple, and over 70% of classes-of which there are over 2,000 to choose from-have an enrollment of fewer than 20 students, making Yale a perfect environment for teaching and learning. Undergraduate research is a staple of the Yale academic experience; university-wide, undergraduate research fellowships are awarded to over 100 freshmen each year. Yale offers students seventy possible majors, which must be declared by sophomore or junior years, but students are always welcome to change.
Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduating, 58% of the Yale Class of 2023 had entered the world of employment and 19% matriculated into graduate programs. Hundreds of Yale alums can be found at each of the world’s top companies including Google, McKinsey & Co., Goldman Sachs, Meta, and Microsoft. The mean starting salary for last year’s grads was $89,622 ($141k for CS majors).

Washington University in St. Louis (WashU)

Academic Highlights: WashU admits students into four schools, many of which offer nationally recognized programs. The university has a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and 66% of classes have fewer than 20 students; over one-quarter have single-digit enrollments. The Office of Undergraduate Research helps students land opportunities to research alongside faculty, primarily in the summers. At Washington University in St Louis, the most popular majors students study are Computer Science, Experimental Psychology, and Mechanical Engineering.
Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2023 sent 65% of grads into the workforce and 23% into graduate and professional schools. Companies employing the highest number of WashU grads feature sought-after employers such as Boeing, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Mastercard, Capital One, and Bayer. Of the employed members of the Class of 2023 who reported their starting salaries, the median salary was $85k.

Rice University

Academic Highlights: Boasting a student-to-faculty ratio of 6:1, Rice offers a spectacularly intimate learning experience. Class sizes are ideally small with 66% containing fewer than 20 students and a median class size of only fifteen. Undergraduate research opportunities abound with approximately 70% of graduates participating in academic research during their four years. Those experiences are open to freshmen through the Century Scholars Program and to all underclassmen through the Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program. Each year, Rice University grants about 158 degrees to those studying Computer and Information Sciences, General, the school’s most popular major.
Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduation, 88% of recent Rice grads have found careers or a graduate school home. Companies that employ many recent grads include Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Google, and Accenture. Over four hundred alumni work at Baylor College of Medicine, and over 200 work at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Across all majors, the average starting salary is $89k.

University of California San Diego (UCSD)

Academic Highlights: There are 140+ undergraduate majors offered at UCSD, and all students join one of eight undergraduate colleges meant to forge flourishing communities within the larger university. While 26% of course sections are held in larger lecture halls and contain 50+ students, 42% of undergraduate courses sport an enrollment under 20. At the University of California-San Diego, the most popular majors students study are Cognitive Science, Anatomy, and Computer Science.
Professional Outcomes: Employers of recent graduates included Amazon, Boeing, EY, KPMG, Morgan Stanley, Oracle, Qualcomm, and Tesla. More than 1,000 current Google employees are UC San Diego alumni, and Apple, Meta, and Microsoft all employ 500+ each. The median early career salary is $70,000 across all majors, placing the university in the top 10 public universities in the country.

University of Michigan

Academic Highlights: There are 280+ undergraduate degree programs across fourteen schools and colleges. Michigan sports a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and 18% of classes contain 50 or more students, but a solid 53% of classes offer a more intimate experience with fewer than 20 students. The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program draws in 1,300 participants each year who partner with 800+ research mentors. For students in all academic programs at Michigan, study abroad opportunities are taken advantage of at high rates.
Professional Outcomes: Within three months of graduating, 89% of LSA grads are employed full-time or in graduate school. The median salary across all majors is approximately 70k. Top employers include PwC, EY, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Citi, Bank of America, and Capital One. Within six months, 93% of engineering grads are employed (average salary of $99k) or in grad school.

University of California - Berkeley (Cal)

Academic Highlights: More than 150 undergraduate majors and minors are available across six schools. Undergrads will encounter a mix of large lectures (20% of sections contain more than 50 students) and tiny, single-digit enrollments in seminar-style courses (21% of sections contain nine or fewer students). Plenty of undergraduate research opportunities exist, with many facilitated by the Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholarships; 48% of students participate in research during their time at Berkeley.
Professional Outcomes: Upon graduating, 53% of Cal’s Class of 2023 had already secured employment, and 17% were headed to graduate school. The median starting salary was $94,000 across all majors. The school is the number one all-time producer of Peace Corps volunteers.

University of Pennsylvania (Penn)

Academic Highlights: 90 distinct degrees are available across four schools. The university boasts an exceptional 27% of courses with an enrollment under ten and 58% with an enrollment under twenty-quite an achievement for a school of Penn’s massive size. It also offers multiple ways for undergrads to conduct research, whether through independent studies or working side-by-side with faculty members. The university publishes 12 distinct journals featuring original undergraduate research.
Professional Outcomes: 76% of Class of 2023 grads were employed within six months of graduating, and 16% were in graduate school. Employers hiring the greatest number of 2023 grads included McKinsey & Company, Penn Medicine, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Goldman Sachs. The median starting salary for all graduates is $100,000.

Northwestern University

Academic Highlights: The quarter system allows students to take four courses at a time rather than the typical five. Even so, the academic demands are intense, and Northwestern students work hard for their grades. The university has a phenomenal 6:1 student-faculty ratio, and a spectacular 39% of class sections have nine or fewer students enrolled; 76% have fewer than twenty enrollees. Faculty receive generally favorable reviews from undergraduate students and are rated as being highly accessible outside of the classroom. At Northwestern University, the most popular majors students study are Econometrics and Quantitative Economics, Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia, and Computer Science.
Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduating, 70% of the Class of 2023 had found employment and 25% were in graduate school. Employers include Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Deloitte, McKinsey & Co., and Salesforce. Across all majors, the average starting salary was $77k.

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)

Academic Highlights: Sporting a 9:1 faculty-to-student ratio, the university does a nice job keeping classes on the small side, with 48% of course sections capped at nineteen and only 14% of courses having fifty students or more. An exceptional 86% of students have the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research as the school places heavy emphasis on experiential learning. The same goes for international experiences. Case Western has a high rate of undergraduates who elect to study abroad; 38% spend a semester in a foreign land. Unlike many schools of its ilk, CWRU has a single-door admission policy.
Professional Outcomes: Fifty-five percent of 2023 CWRU graduates head into the world of professional employment upon receiving their diplomas; only 4% were still looking for work six months after leaving the university. More than half of the Class of 2023 enjoyed a starting salary of at least $75,000. The employers of the greatest number of graduates included Amazon, Microsoft, Deloitte, and Raytheon.

Cornell University

Academic Highlights: Classes are a bit larger at Cornell than at many other elite institutions. Still, 54% of sections have fewer than 20 students. Introductory courses sometimes take place in larger lecture halls, so 24% of courses have an enrollment of more than forty students. Undergraduates do give their professors generally high marks: 88% report being satisfied with the instruction they have received, 48% report completing a thesis/research project, and 53% conducted research with a faculty member. At Cornell University, the most popular majors students study are Computer Science, Hotel/Motel Administration/Management, and Labor and Industrial Relations.
Professional Outcomes: Breaking down the graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, the largest school at Cornell, 63% entered the workforce, 26% …

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