Which major is best?Answered
I am a 9th grader and I am interested in working in the medical field (mainly cancer research or vaccine research). I was thinking of majoring in biochemistry or neuroscience for pre-med. I was wondering what major is best for those occupations.
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2 answers
Hi @maliqued13!
As an undergrad, your main priority should be getting into med school. Every program has a list of course requirements you'll need to apply, so your choice of major should be a combination of something you enjoy and something that will get you those requirements. You can read more about pre-med and med school requirements here: https://blog.collegevine.com/is-pre-med-a-major/
Biochemistry is a great pre-med choice, then, because it covers the two main clusters you'll need (biology and chemistry). Neuroscience can also work, but I'd pursue that only if you prefer the subject material. Your major in undergrad won't really put you on a "track" to any specialization in med school (you'll start your specialization there), so really your major should just be something that interests you and includes — or gives the flexibility to pursue — the admission requirements for med school.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.
I am not a doctor nor medical student, but I recommend biology or maybe biochemistry. Keep in mind you don’t need a med-related degree to be in that field. I’ve listed some notable cancer researchers/vaccine doctors and their degree (all went to med school, of course) below for reference:
Bert Vogelstein- Math
Anthony Fauci- Classics
Jonas Salk- Chemistry
E. Donnall Thomas- Chemistry, Chemical Engineering
James P. Allison- Microbiology
William G. Kaelin Jr.- Math & Chemistry
Jules Hoffman- Biology, Chemistry
Harald zur Hausen- medicine
Paul Lauterbur- Chemistry
Stanley B. Prusiner- Chemistry
Peter Doherty- veterinary science
Susanna Fletcher Greer- Chemistry
Rachel Commander- Biology
P.S. Some were on a pre-med track.
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Hi! I think majoring in biology (or related majors) is a really good idea if you want to go into the medical field