Biomedical Engineering

Types of Degrees Biomedical Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many biomedical engineering graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	8,517
Master’s Degree	3,089
Doctor’s Degree	1,096
Graduate Certificate	67
Associate Degree	29
Basic Certificate	13

What Biomedical Engineering Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, bio engineering majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Bio Engineering Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in bio engineering should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Bio Engineering Majors

A major in bio engineering prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Bio Engineering Majors

As a bio engineering major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Biomedical Engineering Major?

People with a bio engineering degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Biomedical Engineers	7.0%	$88,550
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 8,517 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering in 2021, making it rank #60 in popularity. Roughly 52% of the graduates are women, and 48% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of bio engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,600
Black or African American	361
Hispanic or Latino	1,016
White	4,167
International Students	719
Other Races/Ethnicities	654

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Bio Engineering, too. About 8.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Iran

How Much Do Biomedical Engineering Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in bio engineering have a median salary of $55,043 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $47,762 (25th percentile) and $62,176 (75th percentile).

It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to bio engineering.

Salaries According to BLS

Bio Engineering majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $95,090 to $148,970 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Biomedical Engineering

Some degrees associated with bio engineering may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to bio engineering have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	45.7%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	5.7%
Master’s Degree	26.5%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.2%
Doctoral Degree	13.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	5.4%

Online Biomedical Engineering Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 244 schools offered some type of biomedical engineering program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	9	1
Bachelor’s Degree	17	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	171	0
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	129	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Biomedical Engineering Worth It?

The median salary for a bio engineering grad is $113,680 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 185% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,475,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Biomedical Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to bio engineering.

Major	Number of Grads
Mechanical Engineering	46,178
Electrical Engineering	28,844
Civil Engineering	21,388
Computer Engineering	17,987
Chemical Engineering	12,917
General Engineering	11,796
Industrial Engineering	9,072
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	8,001
Systems Engineering	3,904
Materials Engineering	3,415
Other Engineering	2,760
Environmental Engineering	2,759
Operations Research	1,698
Agricultural Engineering	1,472
Engineering Science	1,454
Electrical and Computer Engineering.	1,378
Petroleum Engineering	1,256
Robotics Engineering	1,243
Architectural Engineering	1,012
Engineering Physics	994
Manufacturing Engineering	947
Construction Engineering	878
Nuclear Engineering	864
Marine Engineering	445
Biological Engineering	410
Polymer & Plastics Engineering	360
Geoscience Engineering	325
Mining Engineering	314
Textile Engineering	310
Ocean Engineering	285
Engineering Mechanics	272
Metallurgical Engineering	179
Energy Systems Engineering	138
Biochemical Engineering	109
Ceramic Engineering	94
Surveying Engineering	73
Electromechanical Engineering	45
Forest Engineering	41
Paper Science & Engineering	27
Engineering Chemistry	13

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By UC Davis College of Engineering under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.