Are SMP degrees useful outside of Med School?

[IWant2BeADoctor]

If you get a SMP degree say at GeorgeTown yet don't get accepted to Med School would it still have other applications?

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[Law2Doc]

If you get a SMP degree say at GeorgeTown yet don't get accepted to Med School would it still have other applications?

No. It's pretty much a degree you get to make yourself marketable to med schools. If you are looking for a fallback, a masters in hard science would be more valuable in terms of non-medicine, science oriented jobs. But those programs do not cater to premeds and don't really have a reviewable track record of getting students into med school.

 

[Nasrudin]

If you get a SMP degree say at GeorgeTown yet don't get accepted to Med School would it still have other applications?

About as useful as tits on a boar. That's what makes it a gamble. An expensive one no less.

 

[NonTradMed]

The SMP is like a masters level bio degree geared specifically for premeds who want to go to med school. I don't think it's helpful in comparing it to a bio masters degree, but it's still advanced coursework in biology so an employer will probably take it as that. However, I would not do an SMP unless I think I have a good shot at med school. It's not worth the time and effort (as compared to NOT having an SMP and doing something nonmedical).

 

[1Path]

No. It's pretty much a degree you get to make yourself marketable to med schools. If you are looking for a fallback, a masters in hard science would be more valuable in terms of non-medicine, science oriented jobs. But those programs do not cater to premeds and don't really have a reviewable track record of getting students into med school.

I pretty much disagree with this entire post.

First, the SMP at Georgetown is an advanced degree in Physiology which IS a hard core science, so you would be more competitive for jobs for having completed it, especially in the Pharmaceutical Industry. For example, the difference in salary between a person with just a BS and a person with a Master's degree is at least 15K, depending on if you have any other lab type experience.

I have a Master's in a hard core science (Chemistry) and while my programs didn't "cater" to premeds what ever that means, I managed to get accepted to med school in 2000 due in large part to having completed this degree at a top school.

What does this mean? It simply means that what you "do" with your advanced degree is ENTIRELY up to you. You can "spin" it into a competitve app to med school or a job. BOTH options will require a certain amount of busting of the arse.

 

[imrep1972]

1Path, you are absolutely right about spin.

However, spin is an intrinsic quality of the person holding the degree, not of the degree itself.

In and of itself, the SMP Masters is good for:

1. Med school
2. Teaching (HS or Com College level)
3. Pharm/medicine industry consultant/sales rep

and that's about it. You're definitely *not* going to get any sort of research position based on this degree alone.

I pretty much disagree with this entire post.

First, the SMP at Georgetown is an advanced degree in Physiology which IS a hard core science, so you would be more competitive for jobs for having completed it, especially in the Pharmaceutical Industry. For example, the difference in salary between a person with just a BS and a person with a Master's degree is at least 15K, depending on if you have any other lab type experience.

I have a Master's in a hard core science (Chemistry) and while my programs didn't "cater" to premeds what ever that means, I managed to get accepted to med school in 2000 due in large part to having completed this degree at a top school.

What does this mean? It simply means that what you "do" with your advanced degree is ENTIRELY up to you. You can "spin" it into a competitve app to med school or a job. BOTH options will require a certain amount of busting of the arse.

 

[1Path]

You're definitely *not* going to get any sort of research position based on this degree alone.

Last year, I took a class last with a guy from G'town's program that did exactly that. Did he spin it, was his Mom an MD with connections? Who knows?

However, spin is an intrinsic quality of the person holding the degree, not of the degree itself. .

This goes with out saying. No one thing gets anyone, anything in the real world of employment. That's pretty much a given.