Does the field of research matter?

[Babooshka]

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Hi,

I'm a freshman. I want to do philosophy research, I'm only going to take the basic pre-med req classes so I don't want to get into any hardcore scientific research in fear of getting mired in the technicalities. Is that worse than biological or scientifical research for adcoms? Is it worse for getting into an MD/PhD program?

👍 thanks

 

[Jeffy]

Hi,

I'm a freshman. I want to do philosophy research, I'm only going to take the basic pre-med req classes so I don't want to get into any hardcore scientific research in fear of getting mired in the technicalities. Is that worse than biological or scientifical research for adcoms? Is it worse for getting into an MD/PhD program?

👍 thanks

If you like doing philosophy research and it interests you, do it. Don't fret about what adcoms wanna see and try looking like everyone else. In fact, unique stuff like that can be really beneficial to you.

 

[bewitched1081]

i think it does matter, esp for md/phd. the adcoms are mostly composed of faculty members that do research in biomedical related fields. if they can understand and relate to your research it could give your app a significant boost. i did research in a field outside of the biomedical sciences and i dont think any of my interviewers understood what i did. even though my research was siginficant enough to be published in major journals, it may not have seemed very interesting or important to others.

 

[synapse lapse]

I'm a phil major also...but I did research in biochem. what type of phil research are you going to do? I think that if you want to get a PhD in a science field that you should do science research, but that if you want a PhD in another field, this is not neccesary. I don't know what research opportunities are out there in phil, especially as a freshman. What will yu be doing, and in what area of phil?

 

[Jeffy]

Woah, glazed over the md/phd part the first time. You can still do phil research, but realize that at some point you're gonna have to do some science research. Didn't mean to confuse things there. But like Bewitched said, md/phd adcoms do look for very specific things and have a very competitive applicant pool to pick from. So, good scientific research, ESP. biomedically related topics, will be very important.

 

[Mr. Seeds]

Hi,

I'm a freshman. I want to do philosophy research, I'm only going to take the basic pre-med req classes so I don't want to get into any hardcore scientific research in fear of getting mired in the technicalities. Is that worse than biological or scientifical research for adcoms? Is it worse for getting into an MD/PhD program?

👍 thanks

I'm doing basic science research in genetic engineering. I like it as opposed to clinical research as it better allows for individual autonomy at the ugrad level. In other words, while my research is very different from the clinical research that alot of applicants get involved in, I think (and I may be wrong) that I am better able to design my own experiments, controls, etc., with very little input from the PI. He's a good resource, but I spend most of my time doing my own thing. Thus, I feel that I am personally getting alot more out of it than being some grad student's go-for.

I do think it would be beneficial to give scientific research a try if you haven't yet. I am inclined to believe that it will carry alot more weight with adcoms than philo. Do it for a summer, and see if you like it.

That said, i think it is far more important to do research that you actually enjoy and will get something out of. If you find out that you hate scientific research, then don't do it. You won't get anything out of it, your PI will know you hate it (and thus may not write the most glowing LOR for you), and the adcoms will probably surmise the same. However, I have no idea whether something as soft as philosophy is going to impress an adcom. I'm not familiar with the type of "research" philosophers do, other than writing theses on moral theory and other such topics. I'm a biology major/philosophy minor, so I understand why philo might be an interesting avenue for research, but it might be extraordinarily limiting as an undergrad. If you know its what you want to do, though, then definately go for it. Who knows, it might really set you apart from the carbon-copy pre-med and the adcoms may be really interested in what you did.

As far as the MD/PhD goes, it is absolutely paramount to have scientific research experience (and alot of it). Besides, if you don't like doing scientific research, why would you consider becoming a physician-scientist (other than to hold the coolest freaking title in the whole damn world 😎 )? If you are more interested in ethics or moral theory, consider schools that have MD/MA dual degree programs where you can get a masters in biomedical ethics. Maybe that is more your speed.

g-luck

 

[synapse lapse]

Masters in ethics is useless. Anything other than a PhD in philosophy field is not worth it. Also, people here should note that not all MD/PhD canddates are going for a science PhD. Harvard asks on their secondaryif you are applying concurrently to pulic health and to medical anth doctorates. The point I am making is that he can still do a PhD in a non-science field (i.e. philosophy), in which case this would be fine.

 

[Mr. Seeds]

Masters in ethics is useless. Anything other than a PhD in philosophy field is not worth it. Also, people here should note that not all MD/PhD canddates are going for a science PhD. Harvard asks on their secondaryif you are applying concurrently to pulic health and to medical anth doctorates. The point I am making is that he can still do a PhD in a non-science field (i.e. philosophy), in which case this would be fine.

duly noted. I guess when I think of MD/PhD I automatically think physician-scientist. I forgot that some people actually want a PhD in public health.

Just kidding.