What Can A Medical Science Degree Be Called?

[stevesmith]

What I mean to ask is what other names can a degree in medical science be called, or listed as.I can't find it under that title. I mean medical science as in a 3 year degree that can lead to a research career.

[CraigD]

Welcome to hypography, Steve! :) Please feel free to start a thread in the introductions forum to tell us about yourself, your interests, experiences, etc.

What I mean to ask is what other names can a degree in medical science be called, or listed as.I can't find it under that title. I mean medical science as in a 3 year degree that can lead to a research career.

While there are some undergraduate degrees associated specifically with medicine, such as a Bachelors of Public Health, almost everyone I know or have read of who works in medical research got their undergrad degree in a less specialized field (though biology and chemistry are traditional “pre med” undergrad degrees, other science degrees, such as physics, are not uncommon. In the past 20 years, I’ve noticed a lot of future medical researchers getting BSs in Computer Science, which given the importance of understanding computers and information technology in the research, IMHO makes a lot of sense.

 

More important than you undergrad degree is your postgrad degree. With the exception of some IT (computer) people, who are pretty low-status in the field, every medical researcher I know has at least 1 postgrad degree, most of them PhDs. Many have MDs, even though they practiced clinical medicine only briefly or not at all. There are a lot of advantages to having an MD in medical research, even though it isn’t enough in itself to qualify your as a researcher in most technical medical research fields.

 

It’s generally good advice to counsel students not to overspecialize in undergrad school when intending to eventually work in a specialized field. Choosing an undergrad program you really like, and can do very well in (ie: have a very high GPA) is, as a general rule, better than choosing one you’ll do less well in that is more aligned with your intended postgrad program and professional career.

 

Lastly, don’t give much credit to advice you get on the internet! – even from hypography, where we try to give good advice, and criticize and punish bad. The best plan, IMHO, is to begin an undergrad program – any major, or no major declared, and talk with faculty and staff advisors about your long-term academic and career goals. In short, rely on professionals.