<p>I don't know the U.S. system very well, but as far as I understood, "grad school" is the main preparation to your profession - and therefore many choose a variety of undergraduate degrees that may be even unrelated to their future profession.</p>
<p>I know someone who studied Chemistry and German at undergraduate level, and is now doing Law Grad School, which is something unthinkable of in Italy/Europe (here, if you want to be a Lawyer, you must to a Bachelor+Diploma (=5 years) in Law).</p>
<p>As far as I gather, in the U.S. you can even do Medical School in Grad School, whereas here in Italy, everything must be started at undergrad level.</p>
<p>But now I have some questions...</p>
<p>1.
It seems easy to do a Bachelor of Science (see above: Chemistry) and then enter Grad School of something in the social/human sciences.
Even in Europe, one can study Aeronautical Engineering at undergrad level, and then do a Master of Business Administration.
However, I have personally never seen a switch of fields from social to natural sciences, e.g. from a Bachelor in Economics/Law/International Relations to a grad school in Medicine, or other natual science-related courses.
Is that possible in the U.S.A.?</p>
<p>2.
Could I, as an international student, do a Bachelor of sth. like Psychology or Neuroscience in Italy and then do grad-school in Medicine in the U.S.A.?</p>
<p>3.
If question 1. had a positive answer, could I do a Bachelor of sth. like Economics or Anthropology here in Europe and then do grad school in Medicine in the U.S.A.?</p>
<p>P.S. I would appreciate if you know a link/website that shows which grad schools one can to apply to with which undergrad degrees.</p>
<p>To question # 1, yes you can do a B.S. in chemistry and then go to grad school and for something else (example: psychology). You will take the GRE exam, submit your application. You may have to take additional courses to fulfill the pre-requisite requirements of the upper level psychology courses. (I have a Bachelors in Business administration, got a Masters in Educational Psychology, now pursuing a PhD in psychology). </p>
<p>The example of going aeronautical engineering and going for an MBA is totally feasible because admission to most MBA programs are contingent upon having some work experience under your belt as well as you undergrad GPA and GMAT scores. As it would be very unlikely to go straight from undergrad to a MBA program, after working a few years, it is totally doable.</p>
<p>As far as getting a Bachelors in economics and going to medical school, that is also a feasible option as you can basically "major" in anything you want and still attend law/medical school. However, medical schools require you to have good scores on your MCAT, which means that you must be grounded in Chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and physics. Many students choose to go to school, major in what ever they want and then take a post-bac year in a pre-med program (example: JHU, Columbia, NYU, there are many post bac programs) then take the MCAT and apply to school.</p>
<p>Many people study different topics in their undergrad and grad careers. Usually, they are similar subjects - one wishing to go into natural science or engineering grad school would pick a science or engineering undergrad (not necessarily the same one)</p>
<p>At my university it is impossible to start medicine or law as an undergrad major - you must pick another field, usually a similar one. People wishing to go to medical school often study biology, biochemistry, biophysics, neuroscience, etc., and prepare for medical school by taking the appropriate classes and exams.</p>
<p>It should be considered a major thing to switch fields dramatically - going to undergrad in one area, and doing grad in a totally different one. If you manage to gain admission, you would probably have to complete a large amount of prerequisite work before beginning on your real grad study. </p>
<p>It is entirely possible, however. One of the foremost physicists and mathematicians working today, Edward Witten, majored in history as an undergrad and recieved his PhD in physics, and is now at princeton. It should be noted though that his case is somewhat exceptional and not typical.</p>
<p>I know next to nothing about medical school admissions, but most graduate programs that I'm familiar with leading to a master's degree explicitly require little more than an appropriate linked bachelors(=undergrad) degree; obviously they would have additional standards over that, however.</p>
<p>I am a current medical student whose degree was in Sociology. Another poster on this board is entering medical school in the fall and his undergrad degree was in Econ. I have friends in my med school class who majored in: history, polisci, Spanish, International relations, News-ed, art history, and music. Also the post-bac programs mentioned are not used by the majority of med school applicants. Usually are made of individuals with glaring holes in their applications, are URM in medicine, are foreign students looking to get into a US med school, or have been rejected 2-3 times previously. </p>
<p>I have a friend who graduated in Chemical Engineering and is entering an MBA program in the fall.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your replies! Wow, you all have very interesting cases!</p>
<p>So, in theory it IS possible - in the U.S. at least - to major in a humanistic/social science subject and then proceed towards a natural science related career.</p>
<p>sybbie, did you have to do any test to be admitted to the Master in Educational Psychology course? What other Masters could you have chosen?</p>
<p>I didn't even know that premed courses existed...</p>
<p>jbusc, obviously, he's also an interesting case... but not all are geniuses unluckily. What I fear in doing the "great change" is actually whether I will be able to adapt to totally new basics. It is a quite common notion that scientific laws take longer time to be "automatized" in our memory than... "market laws". Maybe that's also why many [natural] scientists are more flexible in working in finance, banking, politics and such stuff, than business people manage to become high researchers or rocket scientists (apart from the founder of M-theory, obviously).
Or maybe we're just too influenced by these stereotypes that nobody dares such a change?</p>
<p>Bigredmed, did you consider medical school before or after deciding to major in Sociology?
Your post obviously surprises me; do you know - more or less - what kind of motivations and musings your med school friends followed before deciding to become doctors?
Maybe there's a similarity between my and their thought processes, and I'm curious about them. :)</p>
<p>One thing my conscience speaks against doing this kind of switch is the job/career market. It may be realistic for an undergraduate in Geology (natural science) with a Master in International Affairs or Business Administration (social science) to get a good placement in business/international industry; since he has a good scientific background, and more applied mathematical and reasoning skills.
But will the same apply the other way round?
Will hospitals care about how specialized a doctor is in politics and economics? Will the NASA enroll an engineer with good business and diplomacy skills to become an astronaut?</p>
<p>For me, I wanted to be a doctor since I was three years old. It's been the one overarching constant my entire life. Sociology was an interest that developed in HS after doing a longterm group project. Since I was aware that I didn't need to be bio or chem for medical school, it was easy to pick, and I stayed with Sociology for all four years-never once considering a change. I just made sure I took the appropriate pre-med courses (1 year of bio, gen chem, organic chem, and physics, a smattering of other courses like a year of english, and a semester of calc).</p>
<p>I know that one of my good friends who was PoliSci, didn't decide to go to med school until her junior year of college. I don't remember the precipitating event. Other people were like me and knew that they wanted to go to medical school, but didn't like the idea of a lot of science that wasn't going to be relevant to the process and what they would learn in Med school.</p>
<p>As for the last two questions. Hospitals won't necessarily care that you know alot about politics or econ, but there are positions that the combination of an MD and that knowledge could be valuable. Research into the economics of medicine is hot right now, and a person with such a background would be important for lobbying or research purposes. Hospitals have a lot of political concerns so the same would apply for someone with that background. I've found that my sociology background has helped in understanding patients and their motivations.</p>
<p>As for the astronaut thing: To be a Mission specialist you need at least a college degree, but nearly all MS's have a PhD or MD. You also need at least three years of related experience in that field. The other requirements are physical fitness and "intangibles". What is important to realize is that becoming an astronaut is amazingly difficult. A call for applicants will regularly bring in 10000 applications, of which maybe 400 will be interviewed, and only 20 selected. Astronauts really are those "all-american" type of individuals who are just great at everything they do: very intelligent, athletic, leaders, good communicators, creative, and determined. So yes, being a engineer, but having the people skills to work with many different types of people is a valuable skill set.</p>
<p>EDIT TO ADD: By the by, I was a counselor at Space Camp (Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center's Future Astronaut Training Program) for a summer, so I do know what I'm talking about as far as astronaut selection goes</p>
<p>While did my Ed Psych degree through the Steinhard School of Education at NYU. While I did not need GRE scores for admission in to the program I had GRE scores from my previous graduate program (the degree in ed psych was my second masters) I did have to take additional psychology courses to fulfill pre-requisites my graduate psychology courses. At the time I did a degree in ED psych because at program offered couses that correlated to my classes work. Because I was involved in employing training & developing eductional programs and initiatives my focus was on how adults learn, adult education and work place learning. Since the time I got the degree, NYU has changed it ED Psych Program. </p>
<p>I had to take the GRE a second time (scores had expired) for the PhD program.</p>