Student and alumni perspectives on paths into and out of biomedical engineering

Biomedical engineering (BME) has one of the highest proportion of women students of any discipline in Canada, and at University of British Columbia (UBC). Anecdotal evidence, based on instructors' interactions with senior students, suggests that women and gender-minority students in UBC’s BME program might leave engineering post-graduation, at higher numbers and for careers in health sciences/medicine. Our aim was to examine reasons for choosing BME, changes in career goals degree and post-graduation career paths of alumni. We conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with current/past BME students and identified five themes related to pursuing/continuing in BME: Positive and Negative Family Influences; Safety Net of a BME Degree; Dual Identities as Engineer and Physician; Perceived Need for High Grade Averages as a Barrier; and Social Environment as a Factor in Choosing Disciplines. These themes are interconnected, and a combination of themes is needed to explain why students choose to pursue/continue in BME.