Amy
What are potential undergraduate degrees on the career path to a premed track?
I am interested in being a pediatrician but would like to major in something more versatile as an undergraduate degree. #college #pre-med #pediatrics #degree #undergraduate
2 answers
James Garza
James’s Answer
hi amy,
i graduated med school in 1993 and have been a family physician for 20 years.
the simple answer to your question is that you can major in anything you want. anything.
however, many of the pre-medical required courses are also a part of a biology or chemistry degree path. so you tend to see a lot of those degrees in med school. it's just easier to do it that way.
probably half my med school classmates had either a biology or chemistry degree. however, there were all kinds of other degrees. history, liberal arts, engineering, psychology, law, accounting, marketing, kinesiology, and many others. personally, i chose to get a business management degree.
one of the biggest downside to going with something other than biology or chemistry is that it'll likely take you longer to complete all of the required courses. i think i graduated college with something like 170 credit hours which took me 5 years.
if you're looking for a suggestion for a degree, i would ask you to consider a foreign language such as Spanish or maybe sign language. that would go a long way toward communicating with some of your patients.
good luck!
