Psychobiology major

[Psycho Doctor]

Anyone know what someone can do with this? My gf says she can do research with this; I can't really see it being for her. How would she go about getting internships or what does she need to do? I can just see her getting out and working in McDonalds. Keep in mind she's rather shy and is not a go-getter.

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[PineappleGirl]

Wow, I've never even heard of this as a major.

She might be better off doing a straight up psych or straight up bio major or perhaps a double major. It might be something kind of cool and interesting to minor in or take some classes in, but it doesn't seem like the most marketable of majors.

 

[gujuDoc]

Wow, I've never even heard of this as a major.

She might be better off doing a straight up psych or straight up bio major or perhaps a double major. It might be something kind of cool and interesting to minor in or take some classes in, but it doesn't seem like the most marketable of majors.

We don't have this major where I'm at, but I've heard it can be found in places like Boston where a former coworker went to school at.

I would assume something research related is the best sorta thing you could do with that if you do not choose to go into a health profession or other professional or graduate program.

 

[Thundrstorm]

My school had a psychobio major. I don't see any reason to assume that this major would limit options; it really only expands one's options. The way it worked at my school was similar to the way biochem worked. It was a joint degree, and thus it included nearly every class required for each of the separate majors (in this case, psych and bio), plus a few overlapping courses (psychobio, advanced psychobio, research methods, etc.). I would think that this major would be fine for medicine, counseling/therapy, psych or neuro research, genetic counseling, lots of things. It always seemed like a cool major to me.

As far as internships, it depends what she wants to do. She would likely have an advisor in both departments, and could ask them about professors at her college or nearby institutions that might be conducting research that's of interest to her.

 

[unfrozencaveman]

I think this is more applicable than you would think. At Penn we had a similar major called Biological Basis of Behavior. It was pretty popular, and I know a few people who went into business, and no less than a ton of people that went into research or medicine.

I for one, majored in History of Science and Math- which are entirely unhelpful, and worked in management consulting after graduation. The people at my firm are from all kinds of degree backgrounds..

Frankly, I think having a "marketable" major is worth less and less these days, and pursuing your interests outside of a projected career path is not detrimental.

This may also be why I'm 26 and just applying to medical school now. Anyway, stop bossing your girlfriend around. 😉

 

[Psycho Doctor]

My school had a psychobio major. I don't see any reason to assume that this major would limit options; it really only expands one's options. The way it worked at my school was similar to the way biochem worked. It was a joint degree, and thus it included nearly every class required for each of the separate majors (in this case, psych and bio), plus a few overlapping courses (psychobio, advanced psychobio, research methods, etc.). I would think that this major would be fine for medicine, counseling/therapy, psych or neuro research, genetic counseling, lots of things. It always seemed like a cool major to me.

As far as internships, it depends what she wants to do. She would likely have an advisor in both departments, and could ask them about professors at her college or nearby institutions that might be conducting research that's of interest to her.

i don't want her to stay near her college; it's not near me 😀

but thanks for all the advice....from everyone

She considered doing medicine..a psychiatrist, then spoke with one and thought it would be boring. She does not want to do counseling. She started as a psych major but switched to psychobiology because it was more research/medicine related. I think she went into psych to begin with b/c she loves the classes but i don't think she has a clue anything about anything after school.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I think this is more applicable than you would think. At Penn we had a similar major called Biological Basis of Behavior. It was pretty popular, and I know a few people who went into business, and no less than a ton of people that went into research or medicine.

I for one, majored in History of Science and Math- which are entirely unhelpful, and worked in management consulting after graduation. The people at my firm are from all kinds of degree backgrounds..

Frankly, I think having a "marketable" major is worth less and less these days, and pursuing your interests outside of a projected career path is not detrimental.

This may also be why I'm 26 and just applying to medical school now. Anyway, stop bossing your girlfriend around. 😉

hahaha i'm not bossing her around I'm trying to help her. I just don't want her getting out and either being miserable or not getting a job and then wanting to immediately get married and have babies 😱

can you tell me what your friends who went into research do...where do they work and how did they go about getting these jobs?

 

[DrBowtie]

Is Psychobio another name for neuroscience?

 

[VPDcurt]

Is Psychobio another name for neuroscience?

I'm not sure but I don't think so. Neuroscience is much more involved with the structural and functional aspects of the brain and its neurons, whereas (I'm assuming) Psychobio is more concerned with thought patterns/behavior and less with structure.

PS - Who the hell knows.

 

[amnesia]

It's probably like astrophysics... I guess you can do something with it.

 

[greendot]

Is Psychobio another name for neuroscience?

I'm a Psychobiology major, and the core of the major is essentially neuroscience. We focus a lot on neuro physiology, a bit on neuro anatomy, and a bit on psych stuff (behavior, etc.).

 

[MaryWrathers]

Anyone know what someone can do with this? My gf says she can do research with this; I can't really see it being for her. How would she go about getting internships or what does she need to do? I can just see her getting out and working in McDonalds. Keep in mind she's rather shy and is not a go-getter.

-Get a Ph.D. or M.S. and become a researcher
-teach at the university level

 

[Trunion]

At the University of Miami they have their undergraduate neuroscience program has two options...psycho and neurobiololgy. Both require high SATs and grades to get into and both are sort of pre-med programs. The psychobiology has a lot more psychology course as you would imagine but the neurobiology is really tough requiring some advance bio courses and labs.

 

[deuist]

Psychobiology is basically neuroscience for psych majors---almost like a undergraduate major in psychiatry. Your girlfriend can indeed do research with such a degree, but she'll be stuck to universities and will not have many career options outside of academics.

 

[every1blowz]

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[unfrozencaveman]

Here's two serious questions:

1. What can you do with an anthropology major?

2. In your opinion, what is the most "useful" major, i.e. the one you can find the most jobs with if you do not get into medical school?

The reason I ask this is because my major is anthropology, but I hear it's basically useless....

Again, can you beat History of Science? I still got a pretty sweet job after undergrad.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Is Psychobio another name for neuroscience?

no, they aren't synonymous but people with psychobio majors often go into things related to neuroscience

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I'm a Psychobiology major, and the core of the major is essentially neuroscience. We focus a lot on neuro physiology, a bit on neuro anatomy, and a bit on psych stuff (behavior, etc.).

hey there. I assume you're planning on going to med school, or why else are you here 😛 but for those who don't, want can you do with a psychobiology major?

 

[Psycho Doctor]

-Get a Ph.D. or M.S. and become a researcher
-teach at the university level

she said she doesn't want to teach, but perhaps do research. I think she'll be bored. How does she get involved with research?

 

[AznDoc]

psychobiology as a major depends upon the institution and the amount of leeway that is allowed within the major. my cousin was a psychbio major and she did a lot of stuff with cognitive psych, physiology/neurobiology, and stuff. unless you plan on going to med school with it there are probably 2 options: 1. grad school with an emphasis on your choice of psych (social, neuro, cognitive, etc.) which eventually leads to research and maybe teaching in academia or 2. pharm or private industry where you do applied research on psychopharmacology. there are probably more options but it all depends on the person and what they decide to do with it.

 

[Dr2010]

for us at ucla psychobio is the typical pre med major, everyone and their mother is psychobio

 

[Shredder]

Anyone know what someone can do with this? My gf says she can do research with this; I can't really see it being for her. How would she go about getting internships or what does she need to do? I can just see her getting out and working in McDonalds. Keep in mind she's rather shy and is not a go-getter.

make pseudo drugs for pseudo psychiatric lunatics

 

[pagemmapants]

for us at ucla psychobio is the typical pre med major, everyone and their mother is psychobio

Deg to Biffer. It's Physiological Science.

 

[anystream]

It's probably like astrophysics... I guess you can do something with it.

at my school you can do a concentration in astrobiology (yep, life in outer space)...how the HELL is that useful? college is funny because advisors will encourage you to pursue whatever you are interested in, without ever telling you might have trouble finding a job

from watching my friends post-graduation, i would say business, environmental science and engineering majors have the best luck finding something well-paying and relevant to their majors.

to the OP, maybe your girlfriend should get involved in research now and see if she likes it. research really isn't for everyone, and if her major just preps her for a job in reesearch, she might want to reconsider

 

[veridisquo]

My school had a psychobio major. I don't see any reason to assume that this major would limit options; it really only expands one's options. The way it worked at my school was similar to the way biochem worked. It was a joint degree, and thus it included nearly every class required for each of the separate majors (in this case, psych and bio), plus a few overlapping courses (psychobio, advanced psychobio, research methods, etc.). I would think that this major would be fine for medicine, counseling/therapy, psych or neuro research, genetic counseling, lots of things. It always seemed like a cool major to me.

As far as internships, it depends what she wants to do. She would likely have an advisor in both departments, and could ask them about professors at her college or nearby institutions that might be conducting research that's of interest to her.

This is true.

I'm a psychobiology major (the concentration is on neuroscience. courses include neuropsych, neurobio, neuroanatomy, biological basis of behavior, psychopharm, developmental neurobio). I chose it initially (when I was a freshman) because I didn't want to be a biology major like everyone else (before I knew I was interested in bio) or a psychology major because I have no interest in a lot of the related theories.

I want to be a psychiatrist and am interested in mental health, the brain, development of the mind, etc. (pretty much all aspects of psych from a biological perspective)

This degree has only given me more opportunities. It fits perfectly between psychology and biology. I actually decided to also major in biology since it would only require 15 more credits (so I can actually graduate with two degrees in four years if I utilize summer semesters). Instead of my knowledge being limited to one discipline, I have a thorough understanding of biology, psychology, and neuroscience.

Obviously I want to go to medical school, but if I didn't, I could easily end up in a graduate program in neuroscience or psychology (or biology using my biology degree). Does your girlfriend have any interest in mental health, psychology, etc.? If not, this degree probably isn't a good choice when you consider the jobs most of these people are aiming for (psychiatry, clinical psychology- not therapists, social workers, etc.).

Eta- I just wanted to add that I think for premeds interested in becoming a psychiatrist, psychobiology is the perfect major. 😎