Biochemistry major I need advise on picking a minor

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a biochemistry major seeking advice on selecting a minor that would be beneficial for graduate school applications and overall knowledge enhancement. The potential minors considered include Philosophy, Physics, Math, and Computer Science, with a focus on their relevance to fields like biochemistry, biophysics, bio-engineering, and nanotechnology.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that a minor in Mathematics would be highly beneficial, citing its utility in various scientific fields and its positive impact on graduate school applications.
  • One participant emphasizes the importance of applied mathematics, noting that many biochemists lack a strong background in this area.
  • Another participant mentions the practical value of a Computer Science minor, especially for those interested in computational biology or bioinformatics.
  • A participant who minored in Mathematics during their undergraduate studies reflects on the usefulness of math courses in their PhD research, indicating a preference for applied math over pure math.
  • Some participants express concern that a Philosophy minor may not be viewed favorably by graduate programs, despite personal interest in the subject.
  • A later reply indicates a decision to pursue both Math and Philosophy as minors, suggesting a blend of interests despite differing opinions on their utility.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the value of Mathematics as a minor, with multiple viewpoints on the relevance of Philosophy and Computer Science. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best choice among the minors, as personal preferences and perceived utility vary.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the limitations of their experiences, such as the challenge of balancing course loads and the varying importance of different subjects depending on individual career paths.

Who May Find This Useful

Undergraduate students in biochemistry or related fields considering minors, as well as those interested in the intersection of science and philosophy.

daviddee305
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Biochemistry major... I need advise on picking a minor...

I'm a sophomore majoring in 'Biochemistry & Molecular Biology'. My plan is to pursue a PHD in the bio-sciences (biochemistry, biophysics, bio-engineering) or maybe Nanotechnology.

Between Philosophy, Physics, Math, and Computer Science, which minor would be most beneficial in terms of knowledge, and would look best on my grad school application?

Personally, I would like to minor in Philosophy, but I'm afraid it will look useless on my grad school app, especially if I go the direction of bio/nano-tech.


Any recommendations or comments are appreciated. Thanks...
 
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You can never take too much math.
 


Fellow biochemistry major here. I myself am minoring in mathematics for much the same reason as what BoundByAxioms said. I also think that the logic learned through more advanced mathematics will help no matter what field you enter.

A computer science minor would, of course, have quite a bit of practical value in a general sense.
 


I'd vote for applied math, if that's an option. Lots of biochemists, and chemists in general, are lacking a strong applied mathematics background. Plus, math always helps getting into grad school because it's a great tool to have, regardless of what your research will be in eventually.
 


I would also vote for math. Computer science if you are interested in computational biology or bioinformatics.
 


As an undergrad, I majored in biochemistry and minored in math. I'm now a PhD student in biophysics, and I think that the math courses I took as part of my minor were some of the most useful and interesting courses I took in my undergrad. I definitely wish I took more applied math courses (I took mostly pure math courses) as I now am trying to learn some of the applied math that I skipped over in order to do my research. The pure math courses, however, were still extremely useful as they made some of the advanced p-chem courses (quantum mechanics, stat mech) much easier and made certain concepts in biochemistry/biophysics (for example, x-ray crystallography) much easier to understand.

It probably would have been useful for me to take more computer science and programming classes as an undergrad, but given a limit on the number of classes you can take as an undergrad, it's definitely easier to take the math classes and pick up the programming on your own than the other way around.
 
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thanks for the feedback everybody, looks like it'll be math...
 


I think you made the right choice. I'd recommend you take differential equations and linear algebra at the very least. I'm a math and biology major, who is also taking a lot of chemistry, and math has made all of my science classes much easier. Also, as more of a side note, taking a lot of math classes seems to impress people, too.
 


For now I am a biochemistry major and planning to minor in both math and philosophy.
 

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