Is Psychology a Good Major for Med School?

Improved Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking is a skill that's useful in almost every career, including medicine. It generally involves:

• asking questions
• defining a problem
• examining evidence
• analyzing assumptions and biases
• avoiding emotional reasoning
• avoiding oversimplification
• considering other interpretations
• tolerating ambiguity

As psychology is a field that is always changing and requires heavy research, it naturally helps students develop their critical thinking skills. One study, published in the American Psychological Association's Society for the Teaching of Psychology in 2020, showed that students greatly increased their critical thinking skills from the beginning to the end of their psychology degree.

Strengthened Research Skills

Because psychology is a research-based field, students will strengthen their research skills and methods as they proceed through the program. This includes:

• searching for specific information
• paying attention to details
• taking effective notes
• time management
• problem-solving
• communication

Research skills are essential to both medical students and doctors. Medical students need to be able to research to complete their coursework, while doctors need research to diagnose and treat patients properly.

Understanding of Human Behavior

Psychology is a field devoted to understanding human behavior and the mental processes that drive that behavior. As a result, psychology students leave their programs with a strong understanding of these concepts.

While medical doctors often focus on the physical, understanding why people behave the way they do can benefit their practice. Understanding human behavior can help physicians accurately diagnose and treat their patients and improve patient outcomes.

Reinforced Communication Skills

Communication skills are essential for nearly every profession. However, these skills are indispensable for doctors. Psychology majors fine-tune their communication skills. Because psychology students understand human behavior, they also understand how to communicate with people. They'll comprehend what communication methods work best and how to reach people where they're at.

Greater Sense of Empathy

Sometimes, doctors get so focused on the medicine that it can be easy to forget that every patient they treat is a person with their own lives and struggles. A degree in psychology can help reinforce empathy, which can help ground physicians. By understanding humans, you'll be able to empathize with what patients are going through. This can lead to better patient care and better patient outcomes.

Which Doctors Use Psychology the Most?

While an undergraduate degree in psychology can be helpful for any field of medicine, it's especially so for psychiatrists and neurologists.

Psychiatrists

Psychology and psychiatry have a lot of overlap; both study mental functioning. Psychology students focus on how social factors, like family and romantic relationships, affect how the mind functions. Psychiatrists focus on how your body, brain chemistry, and certain pathogens influence your functioning.

Psychology programs cover core aspects of psychology, including developmental and clinical psychology. This knowledge is key to a successful career path in psychiatry. It can also make you a more effective psychiatrist, as you'll understand the social and biological factors contributing to mental functioning.

Neurologists

Neurologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists deal with issues affecting the human mind and brain. However, neurology goes further than that, focusing on neuroscience and the entire nervous system, including the spine and nerves.

While neurologists are more likely to focus on neurological disorders and conditions, such as Alzheimer's, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease, understanding psychology can be a great advantage. With a basic understanding of psychology, neurologists will comprehend exactly how neurological conditions affect mental processes.

FAQs About Psychology Majors and Med School

Below, we've answered some frequently asked questions about psychology majors and medical school.

Is a BA or BS in Psychology Better for Med School?

A Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science in psychology are good when applying to medical school. The important thing is that you have enough electives to take pre-med prerequisite courses, and BA degrees usually offer more electives.

Medical school prerequisites usually include biological and physical science courses like:

• biochemistry
• general chemistry
• organic chemistry
• physical sciences

Some colleges and universities offer pre-med tracks that help you ensure you take all the pre-med courses you need.

Does Majoring in Psychology Prepare You for the MCAT?

In some ways, psychology does prepare you for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), a requirement for medical school admissions. It can be helpful for the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior and the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) portion of the test.

The pre-med science courses you take as part of your admissions requirements will also help your score. These will benefit the sections of Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems and Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.

Does Majoring in Psychology Improve My Chances of Getting Into Medical School?

Majoring in psychology doesn't necessarily improve your chances of getting into medical school over any other major. Medical school applications are usually more focused on your GPA, MCAT scores, letters of recommendation, and prereqs than your pre-med major.

Generally speaking, no one pre-med major has a clear advantage over another. It would seem obvious that biology and chemistry majors would do the best, but the undergraduate majors with the best MCAT scores and highest GPAs are in math and statistics. However, the difference isn't huge, and as a result, no best major will get you into medical school.

What Percentage of Psychology Majors Get into Medical School?

The Association of American Medical Colleges tracks data for medical school students but does not look at psychology specifically. According to the most recent data, of the 4,844 social sciences students who applied to medical school in the 2023-2024 year, 2,094 made it in. That's about 43%.