Hey guys,

I'm going into my second year of undergrad and that's the time for specialization. I have the option to go into biochem/biomed spec, but I was wondering if there are long term benefits to specialization?

After my undergrad, I do plan on trying medicine, but also am interested in audiology/speech pathology, optometry, and perhaps physiotherapy.

Frankly I am not keen on pursuing research for the rest of my career.
So I was thinking maybe biochem/biomed spec won't be critical for me. And this spec is said to emphasize on wet lab techniques.

But does having a spec influence my chances in any way at getting into the aforementioned career paths? Would it make an applicant 'stand out'?

Or even if I don't specialize and stay mainstream, while committing to research throughout undergrad, would that be considered as highly as an undergrad biochem/biomed spec?

Thanks in advance!
Any help is appreciated!

I'm not sure if you're referring to specialization as the biomedical part, or the biochem part So are your options between biochem and biochem+biomed? Or biochem+biomed and life sci?

For all of the career options you mentioned, you can be successful from pretty much any program, if you plan things right.

What other options do you have for specializations? And if you're not too keen on research, you can do core biochem instead of the biomed specialization starting in third year. Unless it's changed recently, there's no difference between the two in second year, so you could just stay in biomed and then decide at the end of second year.

Biochem + biomed might make a candidate stand out a bit, but I can't really see it being a key factor. Plenty of people have biochem/biomed degrees. There's not really anything special about it...even compared to, say, someone who double-majors in chem and physics - very few people would do that

If you don't like research, then why would you want to commit to it throughout undergrad? Find something that you enjoy that makes you stand out. Also, the more general the program is, the harder it might be to find an opportunity to do research. It's not impossible, but definitely harder. In more specialized programs you gain skills that less people have (so less competition) and also smaller class sizes so you get to know profs more.

I'll also add that even if you want to go into a health care career, research as an undergrad - even if totally unrelated to the field you want to go in to - can be invaluable. It has certainly done wonders for me, and I never would have had the opportunities that I have now if I hadn't done research at Mac. It gives you something to talk about in job interviews, and your project is probably quite unique so it helps you to stand out. Being able to carry a project also shows a lot about dedication, work ethic, initiative, etc, and your supervisor is a great reference (assuming you don't screw up ). But, you can show the same skills even from doing theatre, or volunteering, or anything like that. It depends on your interests and talents.

Originally Posted by dachhs

Hey guys,

I'm going into my second year of undergrad and that's the time for specialization. I have the option to go into biochem/biomed spec, but I was wondering if there are long term benefits to specialization?

After my undergrad, I do plan on trying medicine, but also am interested in audiology/speech pathology, optometry, and perhaps physiotherapy.

Frankly I am not keen on pursuing research for the rest of my career.
So I was thinking maybe biochem/biomed spec won't be critical for me. And this spec is said to emphasize on wet lab techniques.

But does having a spec influence my chances in any way at getting into the aforementioned career paths? Would it make an applicant 'stand out'?

Or even if I don't specialize and stay mainstream, while committing to research throughout undergrad, would that be considered as highly as an undergrad biochem/biomed spec?

Thanks in advance!
Any help is appreciated!

I don't think having a specialization would make you stand out in your case. Since research is not on your radar, then it might not be helpful. Schools generally look at your marks and extracurricular activities rather than your program. Unless you want to go into something specialized such as genetic counselling, then a specialization would help because of the courses you need to take. However, the schools you seem to be interested would require a broad selection of courses such as organic chemistry or 1 year of physics. If you really want to open all of your doors, the best way to go is to go general so you can take all the courses you need. BUT, if you can still take the required courses in specialization, I don't see why not for the spec.

The only downside with the spec is that you might not like the mandatory courses and THAT MAY affect your GPA which you may not want. Wet labs probably won't help you very much since they aren't emphasized in the careers you mentioned.

An upside for spec is that specialized programs tend to be advantageous indirectly because they tend to be small. What I mean is this: it is a small program and you get to know most of the people in your program and feel part of a community. Through this community, you get a network going and that could help with getting information on opportunities and so on. In essence, the spec won't really help on paper, but it may be helpful in other ways which ultimately may support your goal. If you decide to go general, make sure you get involved so you can build a network whether it's a club or social thing.

I don't know if I answered your question or made it more complex. But weigh it down to if you can take all the courses you need to keep your options open and then look at the courses in the program. If the courses don't interest you, the chances of you enjoying it and doing well is not very high.

Best of luck.

Although you don't want to do research all your life, going into second year makes me doubt you have much experience with it. The short answer is that, to make your application standout to professional schools, it is good to have some research on it, preferably a publication (2nd author) if possible. Is it mandatory? Absolutely not, but unless you have other extremely killer extra-curriculars that will set you way apart from other applicants then you should look into doing some research in undergrad. The spec it self isn't what makes you stand out. It's what you do in the spec and courses you take, as well as the skills you learn. Wet lab techniques are great, and aren't essentially part of research. If you get into medicine, you may want to do pathology, which is all lab based involving specimens and anti-bodies.