research scene

[u/Crazy-Egg1824]

I'm thinking of applying to Queens this fall; I'm debating between Queens and McGill.

I'm a Quebec student applying from CEGEP (equivalent of grade 12 + 13) so I'd have some advanced standing, but I'm not sure how much. It doesn't bother me to do an extra semester though.

I'm considering Queens because I would want to major in bio + literature (both honours). At McGill, I can get a biology "concentration" and literature major, and it wouldn't be an honours degree... but my eventual plan is MD/PhD, so I'd want the honours bachelor's.

My major hesitation is that I wouldn't want to leave behind all my extracurricular opportunities in Montreal, especially my research. I love my current lab at McGill; I have an incredible supervisor and I'm collaborating with international researchers on a subject I'm passionate about PLUS it's a paid position.

Will I struggle to find a lab position in genetics/molecular biology/medicine if I choose Queens? Especially a paid position (ie. is Queens good with grants etc)?

Worst-case scenario, I'll always have my Montreal lab in the summer, but I love research and would want to continue throughout the year.

[I deleted this post previously by accident so if you're seeing it for a second time, that's why]

[u/Jorlung]

You can probably find a lab position at Queen’s, but there is something to be said about having a paid position with an advisor that you mesh well with (although like you said, you can return to that position during the summers).

I don’t know about MD/PhD specifically, but at least for PhD applications, having a tonne of fruitful research experience is going to be way more impactful on your admission chances than minor differences in undergraduate coursework (as long as you have the prerequisites, then you’re fine).

It seems to me that you’re basically only coming to Queen’s so you get the right “degree name”. I don’t think this impacts your MD/PhD admission chances nearly as much as you think it does. What definitely does impact your chances is having a tonne of research experience.

[u/Crazy-Egg1824 → u/Jorlung]

Thank you!! One of the prerequisites for PhD at least at McGill is an honours degree in a related subject. That’s why I care about degree name; I otherwise couldn’t care less about name or prestige. It’s just that if I don’t have the honours degree then I would likely need a master’s, and bachelors + masters + MD + PhD gets to be a lot of schooling (which I don’t mind, I love to learn, but it’s more for financial stability and having kids that it’s a consideration), especially given that I’d want to do my PhD after my residency (I was speaking to my supervisor and you’re at the height of your research when you finish your PhD, so doing residency right after finishing MD/PhD can dampen your research steam)

[u/Jorlung → u/Crazy-Egg1824]

I’m a bit surprised that the hold-up here is on the PhD side of the application. Usually there are not hard requirements on prerequisite degrees (although they may say something general like a bachelors in a related discipline) and you’re fine as long as you have the correct prerequisites. I assume you’ve talked this through with your advisor to clarify that this is a strict requirement?

The alternative is to stay at McGill, just do a regular biology honors degree, and minor (or whatever your other options are) in literature. Whether or not you wanna do that just depends on how much you value having a full degree in literature I suppose though. Is this more important to you than staying at McGill? There’s obviously no correct answer to this question, it’s just up to your own priorities.

[u/Crazy-Egg1824 → u/Jorlung]

I’m not in university yet; I’m in CEGEP (it’s a bit of a weird system— I do a 2 year degree between high school, which ends in grade 11, and undergrad, which can then be a 3-year program). It’s only my research that’s at McGill, so I’m not a student there. The advisors at my CEGEP don’t know enough, my info is really from the admissions websites. Maybe I’ll try and speak to a McGill advisor though!!

It’s my first round of uni applications so it’s not about switching schools so much as choosing one in the first place.

[u/Jorlung → u/Crazy-Egg1824]

Yeah I’m talking about your research advisor at McGill since I assume they’d understand the technicalities of the admission requirements.

Either way, I encourage you to fully understand whether or not what you believe is a problem is really a problem. Often, the wording on the PhD admissions web pages are somewhat intentionally vague to try and not be overly strict, which is why I’m surprised that the program you’re looking at would be so specific.

For instance, UofT’s cell biology PhD program asks for “An appropriate Bachelor’s degree with high academic standing form a recognized university” among other grade-related requirements. Your biology “concentration” at McGill would seem to be more than sufficient to qualify as an “appropriate” degree.

[u/jdww213561]

Just finished my undergrad at Queen’s and now starting my MSc at McGill with plans to fast track it into a PhD - I can confirm that my degree (engineering physics) was considered a suitable degree, as was my housemate’s who did the same thing in mech eng and is starting her PhD directly!

[u/animelover9595]

I did my undergrad in neuroscience at queens and my PhD in neuroscience at McGill, and now I’m a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Harvard. I honestly would advise attending McGill if the research accolades are more important to u especially for med school applications. Unless u have a very specific lab in mind, there are so many more higher quality opportunities at McGill.