UNC science program gains prestige

Biomedical engineering may not be the most common major at UNC, the program could increase its prominence this year by becoming nationally recognized.

Undergraduate program director Richard Goldberg said the department is in the early stages of joining Duke University and N.C. State University as schools with biomedical engineering programs that are accredited by ABET, formerly called the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.

Goldberg said the program will not change but will become more well-known due to an elevated status.

“The main thing that it buys us is credibility,” Goldberg said.

He said department leaders had not pursued accreditation in the past because of the red tape universities must go through.

“It’s just an involved process that requires extensive documentation and coordination,” he said.

Goldberg said though UNC’s program is not as extensive as N.C. State’s, having UNC Hospitals on campus creates more research opportunities.

Goldberg said 184 students declared their major as biomedical engineering as of Sept. 1. He said accreditation could increase the amount of biomedical engineering majors at UNC.

Senior biomedical engineering major Veronica Fleck said despite its lack of accreditation, UNC’s program adequately prepares its students with the skills needed to enter the workforce.

But she said access to job opportunities is a hurdle, a sentiment echoed by senior Shruthi Rajan.

Rajan said she chose UNC’s program over N.C. State’s due to easy hospital access. She said many N.C. State students commute to UNC to do research. But she said it is easier for students there to find jobs.

“They definitely have the manpower and resources such as career fairs that target engineers and a lot of cool design labs that we don’t have the resources (for) here,” she said.

This summer, Rajan interned at the electronics company Siemens, but said unlike other majors at UNC, biomedical engineering students do not have much support when looking for jobs.

Rajan, who is co-president of UNC’s Biomedical Engineering Club, said members have formed committees which are aimed at closing this gap.

“If you go to the Steele Building, they don’t really know much about our program so we have sort of a mentoring committee that is composed of students that help underclassmen,” she said.

Rajan said she hopes the efforts of the club will level the playing field at UNC when it comes to finding jobs.

“When I came here I knew biomedical engineering was one of the hardest majors on campus,” she said. “And the kind of course work we do, the kind of time and the effort that we put into our four years, it’s really unfair that we don’t get the kind of resources that Kenan-Flagler gets.”

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