Msc. (taught) Biomedical Engineering in the UK?

Hello everyone :biggrin:

. I'm new to the forums and I'd really really appreciate it if I can get some advise for my postgraduate study. I'm interested in applying for a Msc. Biomedical Engineering programme. I have been following up the ratings posted by Times Online and picked up the top 50 schools to search for my major. Unfortunately, hardly 13 schools are offering the program out of the top half. Most of them have either a very high entry requirement or the fee is too high. Therefore my final list has come down to the following universities:

University of Surrey
University of Dundee
University of Keele
Queen Mary London
University of Aberdeen

I had two more on the list, namely Warwick and Brunel but I really doubt if they would accept me with my overall GPA (2.2) which converts to be Lower Second Class Honors in the UK system, as I can comprehend.

I have never been to the UK, so I have absolutely no idea about how employment and graduate prospects vary with different universities :frown:

. Keele has offered to give me a place in Msc. Biomedical Engineering. There are a few problems, however, which if someone can sort out for me , I'd be grateful.

1) Guardian.co.uk has sparred a very negative rating for the University of Keele. To start with, it doesn't even exist in their ratings. Other than that, upon searching for the university, I came across many remarks posted by the Guardian people pointing out the flaws in administration of the University. Plus many departments closing down and many professors being laid off wasn't a unhidden fact. Plus the relations of the University with authorities ( including firms ) has been declared to be poor. I guess it straight away means that lesser job prospects for graduates.

2) Surprisingly, they exist in world rankings. I checked out a couple of websites and surely they have a decent ranking in the world. But Guardian doesn't rank it. Surprising for me.

3) TimesOnline has rated Keele to be 41st this year. It hit me with a surprise because Guardian, being an equally reputed website, did not consider it worth recognizing. Furthermore, it has been rated better than universities like Brunel, Dundee, and City. I mean the rest of the universities have different ratings on both websites but hardly any university is absent from one and present on the second.

3) I need to know the job prospects of graduates from Keele University. To be honest, I've worked very hard to raise funds to be able to pay for my tuition fees . And if I end up at a school which after graduation leaves me stagnant with minimum job prospects, it would be a big loss for me :s-smilie:

.

4) The job prospects for graduates of Keele? How are they :biggrin:

? I am looking to start work as soon as I graduate, therefore I'm interested in knowing the market for Keele graduates.

I haven't really seen Keele's name in fliers, websites and I wonder why that is. Could anyone guide me to a reliable source to answer my questions ? I'd be very grateful.

I know its a long long LONG post but its something I need to know from people who have information, meager as it may be, regarding prospects of Keele graduates. Furthermore, if any good universities could be suggested, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you.

Reply 1

azgardezi

Nothing personal against anyone. :smile:

Reply 2

movingbeyond

hi ,
i have the same dilemma as you. i too have applied to university of surrey, dundee,strathclyde and brunel and i m not able to zero down on ny one . Kindly give me some details as to have u have narrowed down to university of strathclyde. :confused:

Reply 3

azgardezi

Hi there,

I had Keele and Strathclyde as my final options. The reason being that the course outlines for both these universities was what is really required off a Biomedical/Bioengineering program. But my final choice was the University of Strathclyde. There was a reason why I chose Strathclyde over Keele. Keele, even though its got an amazing outline for the Biomedical Engineering course, isn't really well established when it comes to the industry. Half of their staff didn't even know if the degree they offered was recognized locally by the NHS, let aside internationally. Furthermore, another important factor that really ticked me off when it came to Keele was the fact that they had no clue where their graduates were working in the UK. Also, Keele has a name for its Biomedical Sciences but as I asked around people in the UK, Keele does not have a recognizable profile when it comes to Biomedical Engineering, although its one of those universities that has been rising fast in the local rankings.

Strathclyde's advantages are many, as I see them. Glasgow, being one of the major cities in the UK, means that there would be much more chances of securing a job/ internship in comparison to a small town like Keele. Secondly, Strathclyde has an established profile internationally (established 1796) and is known globally.Globally ranked in the top 300 (270 i think) and its engineering also in the top 300 (247 approximately) , it has an edge over Keele which is way below at 900. For a person coming from abroad, it's pretty hard to convince my folks to pay for a university that has no name what so ever. Strathclyde's Biomedical Engineering department was much better in answering every query I had. As in they have information about each and everything they have mentioned in the course outline. And yes, they know what fields their Bioengineers would end up in and where. Their course outline is more towards medical engineering than medical science, unlike Keele. At the end of the day we aren't qualifying to be Medical doctors are we, we are supposed to be engineers.

Dundee is more inclined towards Biomechanics.I didn't opt for universities in London and Manchester due to overwhelming personal expenses I would have to pay.

Reply 4

ipshigupta

hello ... i wish to apply for a msc in biomedical engineering in the uk .. which are the best universities for this course .. also how difficult is it to get into oxford since i have a good score in my graduation and funding is not an issue .. how popular is this course and also wat are the job oppurtunities after doing it ? also if someone could guide me as to whether an msc degree is equivalent to a us mse degree ?

Reply 5

ciby

i have applied for msc biomedical engineering in following universities :
university of surrey
university of sussex
university of ulster
queen mary university

and which would be the good university for me to study and also temme the universities which give us good placements .
and i hv also applied at university of nottingham (msc bioengineering)
iam bit confused in choosing the univs , can u help me out in finding the good univs in which i can get placements and would hv a good future ????

Reply 6

saths

Hey guys, I was looking at ur posts. I was wondering wy yu nvr considered doin msc medical engineering at university of leeds. Isnt that a gud university? Wy was this particular univ avoided? N how are the job prospects for dis field in the uk?

Reply 7

saths

N if yu 'v an offer at oxford, dont think twice. Just go for it..

Reply 8

kingkhan

Original post by ipshigupta

Entrance chances @ Ox for biomed. eng.: very competitive

reputation: 100% recognition around the globe

Job prospects: my ex.gf had biomed degree from ox & she was doing well.

I got UC-offers in biomed. eng., and maths-comp-fin. @ Oxford, for biomed. eng. my telephonic interview took over 1 hour, main questions were about complex modelling, and imaging. And that was because of my academic background in applied maths & comp. sc.