Do you need a traditional science degree to be a strong applicant?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

philosonista

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
353
Reaction score
194
Hi, SDN --

Long story short, I used to be only a philosophy major, and am now staring down a fork in the road between an added General Science BA or Chemistry BA. I wouldn't mind having a lengthy BS in, say, Computer Science. But I've tried a lot of career paths in my undergraduate career, and it'll require six years in undergrad for these degrees alone. Those two degrees are the fastest I can scrap together.

I much prefer General Science because the requirements are so diverse. I get to take things I like and I believe to be useful, rather than take chemistry courses for which I have little interest (I.e. Neuroscience, programming, etc).

But my advisor has said twice now, "The caveat of a General Science degree is that you are not fit for graduate school -- only medical school."

This makes little sense to me. As long as I fill my degree with "legitimate courses" -- like opting for Calculus I and II instead of an easy math sequence, for example -- and take courses that are useful for my graduate school interests -- taking programming for future work in a neuroscience lab, for example -- what does it matter?

Opinions?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Major does not matter as long as you have the pre-reqs needed for your graduate department.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Major does not matter as long as you have the pre-reqs needed for your graduate department.

+1. I got a BS in psychology, half of my research experience was in a psychology lab, and it hasn't seemed to hinder any part of my application process. It's important to know your research and know it well. As long as you have the pre-reqs, you should be fine!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
K, interesting.

Have interviewers asked in-depth questions about your social science research to the same degree they have your science research? I ask because I do sociology research and philosophy of science "research" (AKA: Will have a co-author published article).

Thanks for the response!

+1. I got a BS in psychology, half of my research experience was in a psychology lab, and it hasn't seemed to hinder any part of my application process. It's important to know your research and know it well. As long as you have the pre-reqs, you should be fine![/QUOTE
 
I think, for me, it's a little hard to compare questions asked, simply because my most independent research project was animal behavior/bench work. So, I probably talked about that experience most, but I also had the most to say about it. I don't think they avoided any part of my research or preferred to ask questions about one type of research, though. Are you interested in a more traditional phd, or a social science phd? I met quite a few people on the interview trail interviewing with an anthro, public health, epi, and even a sociology phd in mind. There are many options open to you. There is a lot of good advice on this forum about how to make your application competitive, and a big part of that is longitudinal research experience that you can speak about clearly and thoroughly, imo. Hope that helps!
 
I'm confused. Are you trying to do a bench science MD/PhD or a social science MD/PhD?

Neuroscience. Purely neuroscience.

My follow-up question is mainly directed at my curiosity as to how ADCOM's would gauge one's humanities/social science research? Would they take it as a positive indication of one's abilities as a researcher, science and otherwise, or only for the humanities/social research?

I wouldn't stop doing the research that I am if the answer was no. I also work in a bio lab. I do the other research out of interest. I'm just curious how ADCOM's would view it.
 
Neuroscience. Purely neuroscience.
This doesn't really answer the question. You can easily do a PhD in neuroscience that is strictly at the bench or completely social science. For better or worse, the former will be better received in the former setting than the latter.
 
This doesn't really answer the question. You can easily do a PhD in neuroscience that is strictly at the bench or completely social science. For better or worse, the former will be better received in the former setting than the latter.

Bench research.
 
Would they take it as a positive indication of one's abilities as a researcher, science and otherwise, or only for the humanities/social research?

Only for humanities. Some will get confused like I did about your intentions.

I'm just curious how ADCOM's would view it.

In a neutral way overall I'd surmise. You'd be better off focusing yourself at the bench, but if you have sufficient and ongoing bench experience I guess some non-bench research won't hurt anything.
 
Only for humanities. Some will get confused like I did about your intentions.



In a neutral way overall I'd surmise. You'd be better off focusing yourself at the bench, but if you have sufficient and ongoing bench experience I guess some non-bench research won't hurt anything.

I'm hoping it is viewed at least neutrally! The subject matter is science-related, and I do and will continue to have plenty of bench experience. My social science work is in the gender gap in STEM, and my humanities work is in mental illness and philosophy of science, primarily.

Thank you, Neuronix. :) Always a pleasure to have your input.
 
Hi, SDN --

Long story short, I used to be only a philosophy major, and am now staring down a fork in the road between an added General Science BA or Chemistry BA. I wouldn't mind having a lengthy BS in, say, Computer Science. But I've tried a lot of career paths in my undergraduate career, and it'll require six years in undergrad for these degrees alone. Those two degrees are the fastest I can scrap together.

I much prefer General Science because the requirements are so diverse. I get to take things I like and I believe to be useful, rather than take chemistry courses for which I have little interest (I.e. Neuroscience, programming, etc).

But my advisor has said twice now, "The caveat of a General Science degree is that you are not fit for graduate school -- only medical school."

This makes little sense to me. As long as I fill my degree with "legitimate courses" -- like opting for Calculus I and II instead of an easy math sequence, for example -- and take courses that are useful for my graduate school interests -- taking programming for future work in a neuroscience lab, for example -- what does it matter?

Opinions?

I don't think a science degree is a must-have. Back in the dark ages, we had someone in our program whose undergrad major was history. (I believe he did two years of research at the NIH between college and med school so his research background must have been solid.)

Specifically on the chemistry degree, I actually double-majored in chemistry and philosophy myself (that was in the time of the dinosaurs) and in retrospect I don't think the chemistry was a very efficient use of my time. The major was full of these intensive laboratories that took hours and hours and tons of credits. I think the chemistry major had something like double the credit-hours of the philosophy major, and the lab stuff was all very classic chemistry techniques that didn't end up being useful in any way later on. Obviously YMMV on requirements at your institution.

But why do you need to do two majors anyway? Why not just do the philosophy major and take multiple upper-level science courses to show you can handle the work? Math, neuroscience, and programming are all very good things to take, and I wouldn't suggest you crowd them out by taking 10 more credits of analytical chemistry labs. You could also use the extra time to pad your bench research, which will probably be more useful for MSTP admissions than a second major.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Thank you, all. I cannot tell you the sigh of relief I feel in knowing that a General Science degree is okay and, alternatively, I can just take a bunch of neuroscience-relevant classes instead of double majoring.

Whew.
 
Top