I am interested in Medicine and Music. I wish to enroll in a BS/MD program, if I am accepted. Either in this case (BS/MD) or a simple pre-med major, would it be possible to double major/minor in music? If so, which institutions may have this?
Thanks!
Premed is not a major. You can theoretically take the premed courses with any major, including music. However, music may have time consuming performance that can complete for your time to study in premed courses to earn the necessary A grades.
Music, by itself, could be a good major for pre-med. Your pre-med course requirements can be fulfilled independently from your major course requirements.
Yep, pre med isn’t a major. If you have take Biomedical Eng or Biology, can you double major/minor in music? Regularly, I know this is possible, but with the requirements for med school, is it possible? If you’re in a pre med track, like at Seton Hall (they had a pre med program), can you double major/minor? I know some schools restrict your classes only to science/math. @merc81 @ucbalumnus
BS/MD programs typically restrict the subject areas that students in the program can major in. You would be extremely hard pressed to find a BS/MD program that permits students to be a music performance major.
If you do go the regular pre-med route, you can theoretically major in anything so long as complete all the pre-med requirements.
D1 had a med school classmate who was a music major (theory not performance, so he didn’t have mandatory performances/recitals/orchestra commitments, just senior recital of his own original compositions). He also had biochem minor (with a 3.9 sGPA). It took him 5 years to complete undergrad.
So music—> medicine can be done. It just isn’t the fastest or most direct route.
If you are serious about the music major, start by looking at colleges that offer a music major. Med school pre-req classes are offered by nearly college and university in the country.
The issue you may face, especially at larger state schools with impacted courses/majors, is that students who have a major outside of the physical sciences may not be allowed to enroll in science-major classes.
What is your home state? Your GPA and SAT/ACT? What are your financial constraints? (Do you need FA to afford college)?
Thanks for answering my questions! I’m in NJ. I’m still in the lowering grades of HS, so I’m still thinking. I am however set on medicine and music for the most part so I’m pretty sure that that will not change. I haven’t taken SAT/ACT yet. FA is something that we must think about, so I guess it does pretty much answer my own question. @WayOutWestMom
For clarity, you can view your intended path mathematically. Your college experience may consist of 32 courses. Of these, ~10 courses would be required for a music major and ~15 more would be needed to satisfy the recommended topics for pre-med. This could allow for a minor in a another field such as biology, but might make a second major difficult if not impossible.
When it comes time to look into colleges, you may want to research those with particularly flexible curricula, e.g., Amherst, Hamilton, Grinnell, Brown, URochester, Vassar, Smith (if female). These schools would allow you the greatest discretion with respect to pursuing your dual interests. Kenyon and Oberlin could be excellent options as well (although Oberlin’s conservatory approach to music education might not be ideal for you).
This website maybe helpful to you. It talks about Music Therapy.
https://www.musictherapy.org/about/quotes/
To be clear, as majors or minors, you would not need to pursue these fields. You would perhaps need to take only three courses in biology, for example, in order to satisfy your pre-med requirements. Chemistry, btw, tends to be the major that most overlaps with a pre-med trajectory in terms of needed courses.
I’m not sure I agree with that. A chem major requires chem (but not biochem; biochem optional), 2 semesters physics, 3-4 semesters math. No degree requirements for bio, biochem, or social sciences.
A bio major requires bio, 4 semesters of chem, 2 semester of physics, 2 semesters math. No degree requirements for biochem or social sciences.
To my eye, a bio major or any of the biology subfields have a slightly better overlap than a chem major does. But the difference isn’t all that major. It’s only 2 classes. YYMV
Since you are in the lower grades of HS, I think you should shadow some physicians or get some medical ECs before you decide on pre-med track, either BS/MD or the conventional route. Most students fantasize their desire to become a doctor but only a small percentage of them actually got through the whole process and become a board certified physician. The process from the first year of HS will take some where around 18-20 years, that is more than double of your current age. So, you should have some hands on experience with a physician before you jump in with both feet. If you have relatives that are physicians, you can start with them, otherwise, you can start with CNA or EMS licensing and get a part time job nearby.
@WayOutWestMom : That statement (reply #8) was based on the requirements of many medical schools for four semesters of chemistry (two general, two organic) but only three for biology (two general, one biochemistry). Looked at from the perspective you chose, the relative degrees of overlap between pre-med and either chemistry or biology would depend on the college used as an example. Some biology programs, for instance, do not require calculus or physics, nor more than one year of chemistry.
Actually, biology tends to overlap almost completely with the pre-med BCPM courses. A typical biology major’s lower level course work includes:
2 semesters of general biology
2 semesters of general chemistry
2 semesters of organic chemistry
2 semesters of general physics
calculus and/or statistics
Among upper level courses, biochemistry may be required or a common in-major elective.
Chemistry, in contrast, commonly does not require biology, biochemistry, or statistics, so a chemistry major would have to add these as electives (though some may be allowed as in-major electives). Also, chemistry majors may have to take harder versions of chemistry, physics, and/or math.
Vanderbilt
University of Florida
Thanks so much @WayOutWestMom @Music&medicinemom @ucbalumnus @artloversplus @merc81 for your responses! II felt each and every one helpful! The reason I’m stressing about/leaning towards a major in one of the sciences. True, you can easily just complete the classes required for med school, but I want to be able to understand and learn more in the sciences to prepare for med school. That’s why I was wondering if in a BS/MD or a traditional pre-med route, you would be able to double major in science (maybe bio) and music. I do have to think about financial aid (we aren’t in the best situation), so I don’t know if this would take into account too much or if the credits would be balanced. If a double major isn’t possible, would a minor be possible? I really want to pursue music after high school and I thought that it might be a good supplement with medicine (such as the article that @raclut provided.
With respect to financial aid, these colleges are among the country’s most well-funded:
I think based on the link I sent you a bachelor’s degree in music therapy with premed classes maybe an good fit for you.
It is not required to major in a science to complete the pre-med courses, although if you major in a non-science subject, you need to put together your schedule very carefully to fit everything in.
Regarding BA/MD or BS/MD combined programs, some things to think about:
A. They tend to be highly selective for frosh admission.
B. They tend to have high college GPA and MCAT requirements to stay in the program and be admitted to medical school without the usual medical school application process. These GPA and MCAT requirements are typically as high as you would need to have a reasonable chance of regular medical school admission.
C. Consider the cost of both the undergraduate school and associated medical school when considering a combined program.
D. The 8 year combined programs are more likely to have sufficient undergraduate schedule space to allow a major in a non-science subject and completion of the pre-med courses.
E. The 7 and 6 year accelerated combined programs are unlikely to have sufficient undergraduate schedule space to allow a major in something other than a heavily overlapping subject like biology or chemistry.
By definition in BS/MD programs you cannot double major. They’re streamlined and intensive.
Music is actually a great major for a premed - music majors have some of the highest rates of med school acceptance. It means being able to demonstrate excellence in two completely different fields. You would need to look at colleges they offer BAs in music with strong science offerings. A college for many musical premeds is St Olaf college since it’s known for both music and science (and reg premed prereqs fold neatly into their distribution requirements).
I think this is an very misleading statement. You can say the same exact thing about math majors, or philosophy majors, or classics majors.
Yes, a higher percentage of people with those majors gain an acceptance than your more typical bio or chem majors, but–and this is the important part–extraordinarily few people with those majors apply to medical school. There is serious [selection bias](Selection bias - Wikipedia) at work