I believe there should be more than just 3 practical courses for this program to be ready for the industry. Practical courses help with having a better understanding of what to do in the industry, how to handle the position, what to do in these positions, and what different kind of positions are in the industry. Academic courses are also important and there should be a higher percentage of courses in that area, but practical courses should be increased to more than just 3. I believe having more access to practical courses will help benefit students in being prepared when they go out and look for jobs. Academic courses definitely build a better foundation for the future but practical courses are what get you started in the industry.
Having more practical courses helps students not to feel like they’re entering a new place and finding themselves again to see what they like. Even though biomedical engineering is a broad industry, there are many academic courses that allow you to choose which industry you would prefer to go into, and you have many more options in these courses to pick from. The academic courses are broken down into different concentrations to help you figure out which one you want to go into, but you do not have the same flexibility in the practical courses. I believe the NJIT curriculum is good the way it is because the fact that it should require you to take at least one practical course to help the students succeed in the industry better. I also believe it shouldn’t be considered an elective because you learn valuable material that can be applied anywhere in the biomedical engineering industry.