Postgraduate Study

1. Postgraduate Study BIOE 1010 Professional Development

2. So you really love taking classes … • Majority of BioEs continue coursework with some form of graduate study • Necessary to get ahead in many jobs • Many options available – med school, grad school, business, law, etc. • Keep an open mind (and pay attention …) • Many students change their minds about what they want to do • Just ask the graduating seniors what they plan on doing after graduation today vs. 2 – 3 years ago We bring life to engineering!

3. Why medical school? • Required to practice medicine as a licensed M.D. or D.O. • Both M.D.s and D.O.s can perform surgery and prescribe medication • D.O.s typically use chiropractic or holistic methods for diagnosis and treatment of disease • Perform basic or medical research in academic or industrial setting • Health care administration and public policy We bring life to engineering!

4. Medical school prerequisites • Complete the following courses • One year of Biology • One year of Physics • One year of English • Two years of Chemistry through Organic Chemistry • Take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) • Volunteering, extracurricular activities or work experiences (industry or research) We bring life to engineering!

5. MCAT • Standardized test (like ACT/SAT) • Day long (8 hr) test with the following sections • Verbal reasoning (comprehension, evaluation, etc) • Physical sciences (physics, chemistry & math) • Writing sample (grammar, logical thought, etc) • Biological sciences (molecular, cellular and human biology; organic chemistry) • 15 points / section + separate writing score • http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm for more information We bring life to engineering!

6. AMCAS application • Uniform application for medical school admission • Can apply to many schools with one application • Over 100 schools use AMCAS application • Includes all OH & MI medical schools • You should still check with individual schools for any additional application requirements • Ex: MCO may request secondary application with recommendation letters We bring life to engineering!

7. AMCAS application • Biographical information • Essay (one page limit) • Why you have selected the field of medicine • What should medical schools know about you that is not mentioned elsewhere in the application • Special hardships, challenges or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits • Explain significant fluctuations in your academic record not mentioned elsewhere in the application • Post-secondary experiences – jobs, volunteer positions, awards, extracurricular activities We bring life to engineering!

8. AMCAS application • List schools attended • Request official transcripts - use AMCAS form • List all post-secondary courses you enrolled in regardless if credit was received • GPA calculation – includes transfer credits and repeated courses! • See http://www.aamc.org for more details • Instructions for students applying for Fall 2003 admission are already available • See http://www.ada.org and http://www.adea.org for dental school admissions information We bring life to engineering!

9. What to expect in medical school • First two years are spent in class 8 hours per day, 5 days per week • First year courses are basic sciences • Biochemistry and cell biology • Anatomy, histology and immunology • Neuroscience and physiology • Clinical skills, ethics, etc. • Second year courses are medical sciences • Pathology, pathophysiology, pharmacology • Take Part I of Board Exam after second year We bring life to engineering!

10. What to expect in medical school • Last two years are spent in the clinic • Clinical rotations are full-time positions • Include nights and weekends on call • Required clinical rotations in third year • Medicine, surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry and obstetrics/gynecology • Elective clinical rotations in fourth year • Apply for residency and take Part II of Board Exam We bring life to engineering!

11. Life after medical school • A minimum of three years spent in residency to receive further training in an area of specialization • Take board exam for your area of specialization • Can do fellowship after residency, usually for research or extreme area of specialization • Then earn the big bucks and play golf every Thursday (yeah, right …) We bring life to engineering!

12. Financial considerations • Money should not be your primary goal in becoming a physician • Medical school is expensive • First real paycheck comes 7 years after graduating from college • Requires substantial commitment and desire to become a practicing physician • Money should not be obstacle to attending medical school • You can repay much of the debt when you are a resident We bring life to engineering!

13. Why business school? • To learn management principles for supervising employees • To understand the business aspects (such as finance and marketing) of product development • Many engineers obtain M.B.A.s to pursue management positions in larger corporations We bring life to engineering!

14. Business school prerequisites • Required coursework varies by school • Your engineering education should be sufficient for most schools • You may need an economics course • Take the GMAT exam • Industrial experience (co-op or full-time) is desirable We bring life to engineering!

15. GMAT • Half day long (~4 hr) test with the following sections • Analytical writing • Quantitative reasoning • Verbal reasoning • Complex scoring - total scores range from 200 – 800 • See http://www.gmac.com for more information We bring life to engineering!

16. Business school courses • Typically a 1 ½ - 2 year program • Curriculum varies widely • Investigate coursework before you apply • Core courses • Accounting, finance, marketing and management • Elective courses to specialize in one of the core areas listed above We bring life to engineering!

17. Why law school? • To practice criminal law • To practice civil law • To work on patents for new products • To work on legal and tax issues for corporations • Law school results in a J.D. degree We bring life to engineering!

18. Law school prerequisites • A bachelor’s degree in just about any program • Take the LSAT exam • Standardized application – LSDAS • See http://www.lsac.org/ for more information We bring life to engineering!

19. LSAT • Half day long (~4 hour) test with the following sections • Reading comprehension • Analytical reasoning • Writing sample • Score ranges from 120 – 180 • See http://www.lsac.org/ for more information We bring life to engineering!

20. Law school courses • Typically a 3 year program • Core courses • Contracts, property, constitutional law and criminal law • Electives for specialization • Business, civil, criminal, labor, estates, patents, family, property and tax law • Must take state bar exam to obtain license to practice law We bring life to engineering!

21. Why graduate school? • To specialize in a technical area • Allows you to do more technical work • May help you advance in your job • To do research in an academic or industrial setting • Grad school results in a masters degree or a Ph.D. We bring life to engineering!

22. Graduate school prerequisites • Varies with each program • Many programs require the GRE exam • Two sections: Verbal and Quantitative • Also have engineering subject test • Scoring ranges from 200 – 800 for each section, 200 – 1000 for subject test • See http://www.gre.org/ for more information We bring life to engineering!

23. Graduate school curriculum • Courses vary by program and school • Two types of masters programs: coursework intensive and research intensive • Research intensive masters program may require a thesis • A PhD program is research intensive and requires a thesis We bring life to engineering!

24. How do I decide on a graduate program? • Talk to the experts • Students in various programs • Professionals in your area of interest • Advisors and counselors • Visit schools, hospitals, etc. • If the classes look interesting, the work probably will be too! We bring life to engineering!

25. Timeline for graduate study • This is a general timeline to apply for graduate study • Take home message – start thinking about this at least a year before you graduate • Not much time and effort required • Can always apply now and decide not to enroll later • Easier than not applying now and deciding you want to go later • Assumes graduation in Spring of 5th year • April of 4th year – take the applicable standardized test(s) • Summer of 4th year – retake test(s) if needed • Fall of 5th year – obtain recommendation letters if needed • Fall of 5th year - send out applications to various programs • Fall of 5th year – apply for scholarships if applicable • Spring of 5th year – interview and select program to enroll in We bring life to engineering!