I'm curious as to what level II program the most recent level I science people are going to pick and maybe your main reason the program won you over.

I have been torn between Chemical Biology and Biochemistry for oh so long. Hoping to look for some new perspective!

You should start us off.

What are your opinions on the two and which are you leaning towards?

Leaning toward chemical biology, because of its focus on chemistry.. but I'm a bit nervous about the workload.

Though biochemistry might more easily lead into a career of some kind, or that's my impression so far, without having to do more school. From the people I've talked to so far, chemical biology graduates seem to choose professional and graduate school afterwards.

What have you decided on?

Originally Posted by particle

Leaning toward chemical biology, because of its focus on chemistry.. but I'm a bit nervous about the workload.

Though biochemistry might more easily lead into a career of some kind, or that's my impression so far, without having to do more school. From the people I've talked to so far, chemical biology graduates seem to choose professional and graduate school afterwards.

What have you decided on?

I'm in the same situation as you (undecided).

Personally I'm leaning towards Biochemistry just because when I look at all of the courses, I don't see anything that doesn't interest me. When I look at some of the Chemical Biology courses, I don't see myself enjoying them. (Albeit this is only for a few of the courses, the majority of the program seems very interesting)

That being said, I switch back and forth between the two almost every day.

There is a lot more overlap then I would have initially thought. I didn't think that BIOCHEM 2B03/2BB3 would be required for Chemical Biology but they are.

I have decent advice to offer to you guys as a Biochemistry student but I say you should find out on your own. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology are very different even though there are overlapping courses. (it is widely agreed on that Chemical Biology is a pretty damn hard program)

I'm not saying this because I'm biased towards biochemistry. Frankly, it all depends on what you want to do after undergraduate. Work, professional school, graduate school, etc.

FAQ:
Why should you go into biochemistry?
Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences offers great educational and research experience in the fields of biochemistry. The majority of your studies and works revolves around theories and applications of proteins and nucleic acids. THIS PROGRAM IS HEAVILY BASED ON RESEARCH!! If you hate research, this is not the program for you. There are lots of labs where you will get a chance to do your own research projects and get your feet wet in the academic world (this includes surfing pubmed pretty much everyday, it's my home page).

Should I go into biochemistry if I want to get into medical school/other professional schools?
No. You don't have to be in any specific program at all to get into medical school.

What jobs can I get with an undergraduate B.Sc Biochemistry degree?
You can work in labs, academia, related industries, research and all sorts of biochemistry related jobs but much more options (and income) become available to you if you have a Masters or PHD obviously. (see scce site for more details on jobs)

If you have any other questions feel free to ask them and I'll try my best to answer them.

As far as I know about chemical biology, the majority of students in my year dropped out of chemical biology and changed programs after 2nd year so...that just gives you an idea of how difficult it is.

OP is correct such that chemical biology is a lot more chemistry favored.

So did people in chemical biology end up switching into biochemistry? Or they did go into something else?

I understand that I should go find out for myself, but it's not really until you try it do you realize what all of it really means. For example, "research-based" is very vague to me. It's been hard trying to imagine what I'll really be feeling or doing.

I'm hoping to apply to pharmacy school after second year, but I need something to fall back on which I'm planning is work after undergrad.

Choose Biology, because it is always bi-winning.

P.S. Ashton Kutcher =/= Charlie Sheen =(

hey sintos mind telling me about how the biology program is, im deciding b/w bio, bio w/ physio, and bio/psych

im not that much into the third option but i know the first 2 are very similar and i can shadow physio spec second year for the most part.

im just worried about the job opp after undergrad, ive been asking as many bio ppl as i can find about what they are doing after and so far about 80% think med school, 10% grad school, and 10% unknown, so i was just wondering what you plan on doing


ps... if anyone else is in one of those programs , esp bio or bio w/ physio can you tell me how those programs are and what you plan on doing after undergrad...thanks a lot

Originally Posted by particle

So did people in chemical biology end up switching into biochemistry? Or they did go into something else?

I understand that I should go find out for myself, but it's not really until you try it do you realize what all of it really means. For example, "research-based" is very vague to me. It's been hard trying to imagine what I'll really be feeling or doing.

I'm hoping to apply to pharmacy school after second year, but I need something to fall back on which I'm planning is work after undergrad.

Many switched into biochem or life sci. There were a ton of posts about this around this time last year, if you search you should be able to find them.