<p>I'm currently a philosophy major at the University of San Francisco. </p>
<p>I previously wanted to get into medical school and then do a dual residency in psychiatry and neuroscience. However, after engaging in research I think research / writing / teaching is more appropriate for me. </p>
<p>Ideally, I'd like to get into a neuroscience Phd program, however, like I mentioned, I'm a liberal arts major and have already completed a lot of my credits for my major. </p>
<p>Should I stick with the premed route, but apply to a Phd program and not med school when I graduate? Premed offers a lot of basic, yet challenging science courses--a great foundation for graduate school science, in my opinion. </p>
<p>OR should I do a neuroscience minor, and have a more concentrated field but less basic solid info? I think this route would be A LOT easier, which would be nice but I'm afraid I'll get bored --though I'd be more sane considering the coursework is less. Premed, on the other hand, would be a lot harder but I feel like it would open a lot of doors, career wise. </p>
<p>What do you think would be a better choice before going onto graduate school for science? Any advice is appreciated, thanks!</p>
<p>I personally would look at my MCATs and see how my scores matched up with acceptance rates at programs I would find acceptable. If you are like me then your decision would be easy as my choice was Caribbean med school or PHD… I chose PHD.</p>
<p>All of this being said I personally am very against getting a premed major… It leaves you with very little options if you are like the 62% of us who are not accepted into med school.</p>
<p>This is actually a poor foundation for graduate school science. Graduate school is for you to become an expert in a given subject. Most students have already begun taking grad classes at the undergrad level in their field, in addition to performing research. This is one of the reasons double majors and minors generally don’t matter a whole lot for grad school, unless they compliment your major and intended graduate program very strongly. For example, a physics and math double major is a stronger candidate for a theoretical physics PhD than a physics and sociology double major.</p>
<p>I strongly encourage you to talk to a professor who’s knowledgable about neuroscience and find out exactly which courses you would need. I assume that biology and chemistry are very high on the list of priorities, but pre-med physics may not be as important as more biology and more chemistry. </p>
<p>As RacinReaver said, introductory science courses are a prerequisite for science graduate degree programs but they may not be sufficient. It might be beneficial for you to stay in college for an additional semester or two to strengthen your science background, or to enroll in a “remedial” Master’s program before you apply to PhD programs. I would also encourage you to seek out science research opportunities (preferably but not necessarily in neuroscience). PhD programs make a big investment into their students, and they want to see that you have some idea of what you are getting yourself into.</p>