What should my major in college be to be a psychiatrist?

Question

I will be a Senior in high school next year and I have already taken psychology classes at school. I want to pursue a career in psychiatry and I know that I have to got to medical school, but what do I need a bachelors in before I move on to graduate school?

Answer 1

Biology or chemistry are probably the bes--if you get good grades in science. You could probably major in psychology.

Answer 2

Psychiatry is a medical specialty - you'll need to earn a medical degree at an accredited medical school, and then continue on for additional years of specialty education in psychiatry. If you'll be applying to medical school, you will need an undergraduate transcript that is very strong in the sciences. You'll need a full year of inorganic chemistry (with lab), a full year of organic chemistry (with lab), biology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology and physics. Less obvious, but frequently required preparatory courses are a year of English composition and communications and psychology. The more advanced science courses, the better - when you get the basics out of the way, you can look at advanced biology classes like immunology, parasitology, genetics and pathology. It's a long academic road to a psychiatry degree. You'll need to complete your four year bachelor's and 4 years of medical school AND then continue on for another 4-7 years of training in psychiatry. It's also a very expensive career path - the average medical school student leaves school with more than $80,000 in educational debt. Fortunately, psychiatrists are very well compensated - according to salary surveys cited by the US Department of Labor, most earn $180,000 a year, or more. I hope that helped! Good luck!

Answer 3

Psychology, pre-med track.
or Psychology with a biology minor.

Answer 4

I do not know if I understood your question correctly. You need to have an M.D. before you become a psychiatrist.