Medical and Professional Schools Office of Career Services Medical Studies Program
Many students plan to attend graduate schools in a subdiscipline of biology, pursuing a program leading toward the Ph.D. or in some cases toward the Master's. WE CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AS AN INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE PRIOR TO GRADUATE SCHOOL. Research at Bates will, first of all, give you a taste of what graduate school will be like. You may find research very exciting, which in turn will strengthen your resolve to attend graduate school; or you may find that you dislike research in which case you could apply this graduate training in some other way. In either case, doing an undergraduate research project will greatly enhance your chances of being accepted into a strong graduate program.
Students applying to graduate schools should realize that in most programs, most graduate students in Biology and in many allied fields receive full tuition waivers and a significant stipend. Stipends can be research assistantships or teaching assistantships and generally are in the range of $8,000-12,000 per year. In addition, repayment of many federally guaranteed loans incurred during your years at Bates may be delayed until completion of graduate school. Thus, financial considerations should not inhibit you from applying to graduate school.
Currently, Bates graduates are enrolled in some of the most prestigious graduate programs in the country including Yale, Cornell, Michigan, Duke, Emory, Columbia, etc. Our graduates are receiving good stipend packages as well. Each year, the Biology faculty will spend one seminar noon luncheon discussing graduate school. You should plan to attend these sessions to ask questions (and earn a seminar attendance credit!). Graduate School information is posted on third and fourth floor bulletin boards.
Medical and Professional Schools
A professional school is one which offers degrees other than the Master's and Ph.D., although many offer the Ph.D. as well as a professional degree.
In the health related fields are programs in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, public health, osteopathy, physical therapy, midwifery, optometry, nurse practioner, physical and occupational therapy, and physician's assistant. Admission to professional schools is highly competitive. This is especially true of medicine and more so for veterinary medicine. Consistently high grades are essential, both within and outside biology. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO MAJOR IN BIOLOGY IF YOU PLAN TO APPLY TO PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS; but there are several required science courses that must be taken prior to application so it is essential to plan carefully. Students interested in these areas should consult with the Medical Studies Program (contact: Professor Lee Abrahamsen; labraham@bates.edu) as early in their undergraduate careers as possible. Applications and recommendations should be filed by March of your junior year. We strongly recommend getting some practical exposure to the health related profession of your choice before applying for two reasons. First, such experience can convince you that you have chosen a field that truly interests you, and second, professional schools see such experience as essential towards making an informed choice about graduate training.
OCS has information about area professionals who are willing to have student "shadows" for various lengths of time. Community service is also a necessary part of the application, so check out volunteering options early.
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