About the Year II programs. Someone told me that there's going to be an information-type thing with booths set up and such. When will that be happening and what type of info does it provide?

I can't quite remember when they had the booths set up but it was in Hamilton Hall last year.

Basically you walk around and talk to academic advisors or professors and ask them any questions you might have. They also have tables set up where they hand out flyers with some information on the programs - what mark you should aim for to get accepted, what careers the majors could lead to, what the main focus or objectives of the programs are (i.e. whether the programs involves thesis work in 4th year, etc.) and some contact information if you have more questions.

It was in february I believe. Programs fair or whatever in Convocation Hall.

That's an idea.

Does staying in Life Sciences mean you just...stay in Life Sciences until year IV? And then that's it?

Thanks for the advice thus far.

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

That's an idea.

Does staying in Life Sciences mean you just...stay in Life Sciences until year IV? And then that's it?

Thanks for the advice thus far.

There's Life Science and Honours Life Science. In either case you have to be admitted into the second level of these programs. There are requirements you must satisfy. I believe people who don't get into any programs get into "Science" or something like that...

Well yeah, I was thinking Honours Life Science...sorry if I wasn't specific, it's usually just a given in my head.

And originally I was thinking of Chemical Biology, so in terms of the grades I should be okay for Life Science (I don't think it's as hard to get into as Chemical Biology, correct?)

In terms of the courses, I believe I satisfy most of the second year programs' requirements.

If you don't mind, I can see you're in Honours Molecular Biology and Genetics - can you briefly explain what that's like? Lab, research, difficulty compared to other science courses, etc. You don't have to tell me everything lol, but just in general if you're happy you went in that field.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by banjobee

Biochemistry 2L06. It's in the teaching labs in HSC and though it emphasizes research, you get the chance to work with recombinant DNA, express it into a protein with a mutation in it and analyze it (PCR, SDS-PAGE, etc.). It gives you laboratory skills that a lot of other courses don't offer and the professors really guide you.

That sounds amaaazing! Is that course open to everyone, or only if you're on the program?

The Average neeed to get into Honours Life Science is not as high as the average neede to get into the Chemical Biology program. They only took 30 people this year with most people averaging above a 9, where as Honours Life Science, I believe, the average required to gain admission was a 6 and above.

Considering that Chemical Biology is smaller, it's also more competitive to get into (But this may be as a result of the a smaller number of people applying, so there is more than one just factor.)

You're more likely to gain admission to Honours Life Science than you are to other Honours programs like Honour Bio, Biochemistry, and so forth and Specializations within the different faculty.


As for the question about Biochem 2L06, it is for biochemistry students only (and the 10 who are currently in the Health Science Biomedical Specialization).

But fear not, alot of different Programs offer Full Year 'Lab and Research Methods' courses, I know Psych does and i heard Life Science is implementing one too but im not quite sure.

So can someone help explain the difference between getting a major and, say, two minors, versus a second year specialization? If you don't choose to go into a second year specialization, is that what you do? (A major and up to two minors?)

And thanks for the information so far.

A major would be the main subject of study you undertake. For example, some majors in science as as follows:

Biochemistry
Chemical Biology
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Core Biology
Life Sciences


There are other majors within biology as well that I haven't listed here. If you pursue your degree as an honours, you would study your major for 4 years opposed to 3.

Certain programs such as biochemistry also have "specializations" . This means that within the major, you also have certain courses you take related to your specialization. It essence, you could say that within your major in the faculty of science, this would be your "major" within your major.

However, you don't have to take on a specialization if you don't want to. For example (I'm only using biochemistry as an example because I know it best), in biochemistry there are two major specializations - Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, but you can also just stay in core without a specialization.

Not all programs have specializations either. In Molecular Biology and Genetics, and if I'm not mistaken Chemical Biology as well, there are no specializations. You would just have your major. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong about this.

As for minors, you take a certain number of courses with your electives to gain a minor. You can minor within most if not all science programs as long as you fill the requirements for the minor. I believe it's somewhere around 18-24 units in that subject area.

For example, in biochemistry, aside from your major and specialization, you can minor in biology - based on the required courses for biochemistry, you only need to take 3 more biology courses to gain a minor in that so to some people it's worth it because it would only take up 3 of their electives.

For other programs, you might have to use more of your electives. If you are applying to medical or graduate school, a lot of the times you'll need to use your electives to fullfill other pre-requisite courses so it's important you make sure you have enough elective spaces to take the required courses as well as enough space to complete your minor if you want to do both. You could also take summer school to fullfill them.

What's the difference between Biochemistry and Chemical Biology?

Biochemistry is more biology based. You study the structure and function of DNA and proteins for example, and use laboratory skills to express the proteins, find mutations, etc.

Chemical biology emphasizes the relations between physical chemistry and biology. For example, using mathematical algorithms to decipher the confomational affinities of enzymes to their cognate proteins.

If you major in biochemistry or chemical biology, you're still required to take some core courses from the other major. I had to take chemical biology this year and it was somewhat a continuation of general chemistry but more with a biophysics approach.

I think somebody could explain the difference better than me but I hope this sort of helps.

Originally Posted by banjobee

A major would be the main subject of study you undertake. For example, some majors in science as as follows:

Biochemistry
Chemical Biology
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Core Biology
Life Sciences


There are other majors within biology as well that I haven't listed here. If you pursue your degree as an honours, you would study your major for 4 years opposed to 3.

Certain programs such as biochemistry also have "specializations" . This means that within the major, you also have certain courses you take related to your specialization. It essence, you could say that within your major in the faculty of science, this would be your "major" within your major.

However, you don't have to take on a specialization if you don't want to. For example (I'm only using biochemistry as an example because I know it best), in biochemistry there are two major specializations - Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, but you can also just stay in core without a specialization.

Not all programs have specializations either. In Molecular Biology and Genetics, and if I'm not mistaken Chemical Biology as well, there are no specializations. You would just have your major. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong about this.

As for minors, you take a certain number of courses with your electives to gain a minor. You can minor within most if not all science programs as long as you fill the requirements for the minor. I believe it's somewhere around 18-24 units in that subject area.

For example, in biochemistry, aside from your major and specialization, you can minor in biology - based on the required courses for biochemistry, you only need to take 3 more biology courses to gain a minor in that so to some people it's worth it because it would only take up 3 of their electives.

For other programs, you might have to use more of your electives. If you are applying to medical or graduate school, a lot of the times you'll need to use your electives to fullfill other pre-requisite courses so it's important you make sure you have enough elective spaces to take the required courses as well as enough space to complete your minor if you want to do both. You could also take summer school to fullfill them.

Biochemistry: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALEN...nt/pg1469.html
Biology: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALEN...nt/pg1470.html
Chemistry: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALEN...nt/pg1471.html
Life Sciences: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALEN...nt/pg1954.html

There are more... http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALEN...nt/pg1466.html

Molecular Bio and Genetics is part of the biology department.

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

That's an idea.

Does staying in Life Sciences mean you just...stay in Life Sciences until year IV? And then that's it?

Thanks for the advice thus far.

Also, remember that pretty much every year, you have a chance to switch programs, although you likely don't want to switch around too much just for convenience sake. In other words, just because you enter a program in Level II does not mean you are not allowed to switch programs.

If you're not totally sure what to go into, you should stay in Life Sciences for at least one more year. If you find you like Biology or Chemistry or whatever better, you can talk to the Faculty of Science to change majors for next year. Better to go from a broad major to a narrower one!