As of this semester, the Cal State Long Beach College of Engineering is offering a new undergraduate Biomedical Engineering degree.
Although the degree was not offered at the time, a biomedical department was introduced in 2016 so courses could be made available to those interested in becoming a Biomedical Engineer student.
“We look at what the needs are,” said Burkhard Englert, interim chair of biomedical engineering at CSULB. “We know the Irvine region is number one for employment in biomedical engineering.”
According to Englert, the high employment rate in Southern California made it an easy decision to offer the new degree.
“We noticed there is no CSU in Southern California that has a standalone biomedical engineering program,” said Englert. “There is a huge demand and an opportunity for our students to take advantage of.”
A degree in Biomedical Engineering can lead to professions that develop technology to aid in rehabilitation such as prosthetics, to conducting research of stem cells and how it can be used as a medical treatment.
According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2016, California has the highest employment level of Biomedical Engineers than any other state. Additionally, California accounts for over 20 percent of all Biomedical Engineering jobs in the United States.
The Biomedical Engineering department already has close to 80 students that are a part of the program and over half of them are freshmen.
“We expect the number to go up,” said Englert. “We have very motivated and excited faculty members and are really happy we can offer this degree.”
Natalie Arevalo is a student in her senior year majoring in electrical engineering with an option in biomedical engineering but wishes the degree was available sooner.
“I think it’s great because it wasn’t really a degree before,” said Arevalo. “It sucks that for us that didn’t come in this catalog year we can’t take that degree, it’s not an option for us.”
Even though Arevalo was not able to major in Biomedical Engineering, she believes it’s good that the option now exists.
Assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering Perla Ayala echoed a similar sentiment on the new degree and the field of biomedicine.
“I think the future is very exciting,” said Ayala. “There’s going to be a lot of development in this area.”