Do I necessarily need to learn programming from taking it in school or can I just learn myself over the summer or when I have spare time?

Originally Posted by J.Clouseau

Do I necessarily need to learn programming from taking it in school or can I just learn myself over the summer or when I have spare time?

No. That's the great thing about programming. It's probably the easiest subject to learn outside of school. You can check out sites like edx, coursera, udacity, the Khan Academy and even w3schools (only web programming) to learn programming. There's also a tutorial for pretty much everything on YouTube. That said, there's definitely some value to taking it in school since you're forced to do it and deal with deadlines, etc.

Originally Posted by J.Clouseau

Do I necessarily need to learn programming from taking it in school or can I just learn myself over the summer or when I have spare time?

The question is not can you but will you. I find people are like "i will do this" and never ever get around to it

Originally Posted by qwerty91

The question is not can you but will you. I find people are like "i will do this" and never ever get around to it

This is (unfortunately) incredibly true.

As far as talking to profs not really . I wanted to go to Carleton /uottawa for the electrical and mechanical eng program but settled on Mac for elec and bio .
Big problem about trying to increase enrollment is they are limited by the health sci course we have to take ( that department doesn't want too much students like 40/program )

If I don't want to go to medical school or graduate school, is it still prudent to pursue a degree in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering?

You don't really need to take a course in programming before coming into engineering. It will help but it's not necessary because they don't expect you to know how to program, so they teach it all to you. I didn't even really know what programming was going into first year but I liked it so much I decided to go to ECE.

Also, no you don't have to go to medical school or graduate school. However, most biomedical firms look for people with a masters degree. It may not always be the case but it usually helps and it doesn't require a lot of extra time (around 2 years, I think).

Originally Posted by AvacadoLover

If I don't want to go to medical school or graduate school, is it still prudent to pursue a degree in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering?

Well, what *do* you want to do? That's what really makes a difference. If you want to do something biomedical engineering-related then of course it's a good option regardless of whether or not you want to do med school.

Besides, it's not like med school is even a major route for people in elec & biomed.

I didn't include grad school there because as spark said, a lot of places look for a Masters and while you can probably find a job without one, you will likely be better off with a Masters. I find that a lot of people who do Masters degrees don't do it because they want to do grad school, they do it just so they can get the jobs they want. Many people see it as a small time commitment for a good payoff in the end. Also, it's still early, you have no idea whether or not you'll change your mind later on.

Even if you're hell-bent on not doing grad school for whatever reason, what do you do want to do after you finish school matters far more than what you do not want to do, when deciding whether or not it's a good idea to do elec & biomed.

What is the difference between a M. Asc and a M. Eng? McMaster only offers the M. Asc for biomedical engineering right?

Originally Posted by J.Clouseau

I am kind of confused, I thought getting a master's degree was considered "grad school?"

Masters degree is considered a graduate program. B.Eng (bachelors degree in engineering) is an undergraduate degree.

Originally Posted by J.Clouseau

What is the difference between a M. Asc and a M. Eng? McMaster only offers the M. Asc for biomedical engineering right?

M.Eng is "masters degree in engineering"...basica lly you take some graduate courses in engineering for a certain time and then you work on a project.

M.A.Sc. is "masters of applied sciences"...you also take few graduate engineering graduate courses and then you do research for a certain amount of time. You also have to work on a thesis in this program.

I am not entirely sure, but yea i think biomedical only has the M.A.Sc program.

Originally Posted by J.Clouseau

McMaster only offers the M. Asc for biomedical engineering right?

For some reason i can't edit my post :| Anyways, yep i was right! Biomedical only offers M.A.Sc.

http://msbe.mcmaster.ca/graduate/requirements.html

For what reasons would one want to choose one over the other?

Originally Posted by J.Clouseau

For what reasons would one want to choose one over the other?

Tough question, it's up to the person and their preference. If i was to do grad school i would choose the M.Eng program simply to avoid having to deal with a thesis. I think the M.Eng would be a great program for me because i get to take some graduate eng courses and then work on a project.
If i wanted to do a Ph.D afterwards i would choose the M.A.Sc. because it's a "research" program and would prepare me for the Ph.D.
Again, it depends on what you like and what you want to do with it later on.

Actually there is an M.Eng option for Biomedical at McMaster but it's specifically Electrical and Biomedical Engineering

http://graduate.mcmaster.ca/prospect...c-and-comp-eng

I think that an M.Eng is going to help you get a job in a Biomedical firm but an M.A.Sc is for the people that want to continue with research in the field and maybe get a PhD.

I don't know too much about this thought.