Does it matter what school I get my Master's at?

[Mddrill]

My school has a 5 1/2 year masters program. You do a 4 year bachelors and you can a masters in 3 semesters instead of four. However, my school does not have many professors which specialize in what interests me, and there is another school nearby which has a lot of professors who specialize in what interests me.

Is it worth the extra semester of school to do a program with professors that specialize in what interests me? or does this kind of thing not matter if I'm only getting a masters and not a Ph.D.?

The field is Biomedical engineering and what interests me is applying biomedical engineering to problems in neurology, psychiatry, and psychology.

 

[jedishrfu]

I think it would be wise to go to the school with the more esteemed professors especially since you'll be looking for a job at some point and this esteem can help you win out over other candidates. Also having taken courses from them, you might consider getting a PhD and you will then be well positioned to proceed.

Also Biomedical Engineering is kind a cross-over field and some companies may still be thinking biologist or engineer for their positions and look at you as a half biologist / half engineer candidate when they really want a whole biologist / whole engineer where whole actually means they've had more courses in their respective field than a half would have. The masters should help you in this regard.

 

[Choppy]

Is it worth the extra semester of school to do a program with professors that specialize in what interests me?

Yes.

This is kind of like buying a pair of pants that aren't a perfect fit for you just because they're on sale.

I know it's nice to take advantage of an accelerated program, but if it's not getting you what you want then there isn't a lot of point in doing it. That said you may also have to consider the larger picture. If you need a basic introduction to the biomedical engineering field and this course offers that, and you would have to cover that if you go elsewhere anyway, then it may be worth your while.