So, I'm looking over the Bio Specs (Genetics and Physiology particularly) and trying to figure out what to do. I'd like to specialize, but the thesis work involved in a major sticking point right now. It's not that I don't want to do it, but I'm worried about what it will do to my cGPA. My plans for after uni are applying for med and (considering how that goes) maybe going for a graduate degree. As you can see, both of those plans stop and end at the GPA (more or less). Which really, really sucks.

Basically, I have a couple of questions to throw out there. I don't know a lot of upper years personally, so here it is, on the forum.

-Would you say a thesis is a good idea, or is it just going to be a lot of pain and suffering (no matter how interesting it is) for little gain in the case of marks being a major concern?
-Comparatively, how difficult is a spec as opposed to the core? Essp. the two I listed about. My planned Core has quite a few courses in common with the phys spec.
-How much does a spec matter, in reality? Notably in the job market.
-If I go full core, my plan is to have two minors. Any opinions on minor^2 vs Spec?

-On an unrelated note, anyone ever turned a minor into a second major (ie, coming back for years 5, 6, maybe 7 to fill it out)? It's another option I'm looking at down the road.

Here's my two cents...

I'm a fourth year physiology student (as is the user "Jay") so I am sort of in the midst of my thesis. It certainly is quite a bit of work but I would say it's an interesting experience participating in what I believe to be meaningful research. You should choose an area that you are interested in exploring (no point in spending an entire year studying something you don't like!). If you're not so into research at all, then scrap it...it's okay; it's not for everyone.

Of course, I would agree that if you do not do well in your thesis, it will hurt your cGPA badly since it is weighted at 9 units. On the flip side though, if you have a good supervisor and/or your experiment works well (you don't have to get great results to get a good mark), you will have a strong 9 unit weighting right there! Doing a thesis also teaches you more about a specific part of your subject in a more hands-on way. It also may give you a good reference. If you are thinking about a graduate degree, a thesis would be a very helpful experience.

As for difficulty for the physiology specialization, I would say it's a good deal of work, but not impossible to do well in. It's a reasonable challenge that you should be willing to work for. The program is pretty specialized though, so many people switched into Bio (Core) after my third year. Also there is a lot of animal physiology (rather than human), unless you take Kin courses, so beware. If you're not really certain about the specialization, I would recommend being in the Bio (Core) program so you have the option of doing a thesis. I guess you could also do that as a Life Sci student too though.

Specializing probably doesn't give you that much of an advantage in the job market. I believe that in the end you are a biology student like all the other biology students, to be honest.

I don't think it's possible to do two minors, nor is there really a point. I have one minor. I don't think you can even declare two minors but you could try...? People have definitely turned their minors into second majors.

Thanks for the input.

I think you can get two of them - I have room for it, and I don't remember reading anything that says you can't. I'll check later.

I'm pretty much going to agree with the above, but my research area was Kinesiology and my specialization was in math.

The specialization makes absolutely no difference...it's simply a nice added bonus to have, since if you're interested in whatever specific area of your program, you'll likely take lots of relevant courses and then push yourself above and beyond to take courses which interest you.

The thesis is lots of work, and isn't exactly a "GPA booster." Although to be honest, it's unheard of anyone doing a 'bad' thesis, with the exception of doing an incomplete thesis...But it's a great experience and if you're interested in a specific topic/subject, it's a great way to gain some exposure and do something interesting (as opposed to taking 3 courses which you may not be interested in, just to meet your 120 unit quota). The research can look good however, if you're applying to graduate studies (ie. research positions, but not things like med school), since you can put your thesis details on grant applications.

Haha, I did my research on purses.

LOL, like how their weight affects shoulder muscles or something?

Where do you guys come up with topics? Seriously.

Hey Brit,

Sorry for the super late response. As nh999 mentioned, I'm also a physiology student. In terms of the actual course load of the program, it's fairly heavy (taking 3U03, 3P03, 3ZZ3 at the same time). Of course, it's possible to do well in this program as long as you're willing to work for it.

Doing a thesis is very time-consuming. There are many different types of projects ranging from clinical to wet-lab research. From my clinical friends, there's a lot of issues trying to get your own projects started because of ethics approvals and collaborating physicians not making time to see you. I'm currently doing a wet lab (mostly real-time PCR and Western blotting). This stuff makes you gain an appreciation for lab work and all of the effort that goes into published research papers. It's very time consuming as the first step of Western blotting can start at 9:30 in the morning and end at 3-4 in the afternoon. Throw classes into the mix and it can be frustrating to 'start' and stop experiments constantly.

Nevertheless, I think that doing a thesis provides many valuable skills. Not only practical hands-on research, which is hard to come by at McMaster, but a development of critical thinking skills. I didn't know much about muscle physiology (due to course conflicts with 3ZZ3 and Kin 2C03/2CC3); however, I'm learning about it in a practical problem-based manner. If you want to do grad school, you should definitely do a thesis.

I am currently 'minoring' in psychology, but if things fall through I'll end up doing a second degree (B.A. Psychology) for a year. It's important that if you plan on doing this that you don't declare your minor on your grad card.

Originally Posted by Jay

I am currently 'minoring' in psychology, but if things fall through I'll end up doing a second degree (B.A. Psychology) for a year. It's important that if you plan on doing this that you don't declare your minor on your grad card.

hey.. just to clarify ... if you declare a minor when you graduate, then you cannot complete a second degree program in the same subject of your minor? Thanks.

Doing a thesis could help you in regards to med app only if you get published, then it will be something significant, other than the fact that you might get a great reference letter.

As to turning your minor into a major. If you declare your minor after your first degree, you must do 2 years to turn your minor into a major with Hon. But if you don't declare it, you have the option of doing 1 yr (w/o Hon.)

Research is seen as a plus for med school.

For research intensive american med schools it is almost an unwritten requirement.

Phys spec is really not that different from core bio.