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Pharmacology Or Caps For Undergrad Major


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Not in either, but here at UBC caps is an honours degree so that extra time for the degree was a deterrent to a few people I know. However on the flip side if you have a general interest in biomedical research then a caps degree would allow you to get that research experience with your honours thesis.

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Not in either, but here at UBC caps is an honours degree so that extra time for the degree was a deterrent to a few people I know. However on the flip side if you have a general interest in biomedical research then a caps degree would allow you to get that research experience with your honours thesis.

There isn't any extra time required to do the honours degrees of CAPS or Pharmacology at UBC.  You just take a few extra courses, including a thesis. 

 

The deterrent was probably that they couldn't get into the programs because they simply take so few people(20 for CAPS and similar amount for pharmacology). 

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There isn't any extra time required to do the honours degrees of CAPS or Pharmacology at UBC.  You just take a few extra courses, including a thesis. 

 

The deterrent was probably that they couldn't get into the programs because they simply take so few people(20 for CAPS and similar amount for pharmacology). 

Well I know of quite a few pre-CAPS & pre-pharmaco (ie second years in the majors) that switched into integrated sciences because they'd rather not deal with the workload of the two programs. I mean for those dead set on med, doing either major isn't taking the path of least resistance, given the volume of content they throw at you in the courses & the amount of time you spend writing lab reports.

 

OP, The general consensus is that Pharmacology has a harder third-year than CAPS, and the opposite is true for fourth year.  

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Well I know of quite a few pre-CAPS & pre-pharmaco (ie second years in the majors) that switched into integrated sciences because they'd rather not deal with the workload of the two programs. I mean for those dead set on med, doing either major isn't taking the path of least resistance, given the volume of content they throw at you in the courses & the amount of time you spend writing lab reports.

 

OP, The general consensus is that Pharmacology has a harder third-year than CAPS, and the opposite is true for fourth year.  

True, but almost everyone who comes out of those programs are very well prepared for further studies(and most end up in med/dent/research). And its not a unknown phenomena, that the faculty like to make sure their students come out with decent averages from the program. Combination of dedicated students and faculty that want their students to do well. 

 

As for volume...well, wait till medical school..

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There isn't any extra time required to do the honours degrees of CAPS or Pharmacology at UBC.  You just take a few extra courses, including a thesis. 

 

The deterrent was probably that they couldn't get into the programs because they simply take so few people(20 for CAPS and similar amount for pharmacology). 

the calendar says caps is 132 credits so not much more time but you still have to do more and it might not be necessary if all you want is just a degree.

 

as a side note for my curiosity, what is harder to get into, caps or pharmacology? My general sense is that caps is harder to get into.

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the calendar says caps is 132 credits so not much more time but you still have to do more and it might not be necessary if all you want is just a degree.

 

as a side note for my curiosity, what is harder to get into, caps or pharmacology? My general sense is that caps is harder to get into.

 

Historically, Pharmacology has had higher cutoffs than CAPS. It's not a substantial difference though, and the cutoffs do fluctuate a bit from year to year depending on the strength of that year's applicants. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was in CAPS a few years back and I can confirm that 3rd year was pretty lax but 4th was definitely a lot harder.

 

In 3rd year, I was able to maintain a decent GPA, have a social life and keep up with 4 ECs that were on the higher end of time commitment. It's mostly because there is not much work throughout the term. It's mostly lab reports from a biochem lab and physiology lab + a midterm from CAPS 301 (Quiz) and CAPS 390.

 

I pulled a stupid and decided to take on more ECs in 4th year, which was not a good idea because class presentations and the honors thesis (10-20 hr per week) will take up a lot of your time, depending on what organism you work with. In the end, I think it really depends on how well you can focus and get things done when it comes to crunch time, whether you'll be successful in CAPS.

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you can do integrated sciences and integrate pcth and caps - this allows you take the core courses from both programs while not having to take the labs in either program (saving you a lot of time and allowing you to take on more ECs in both 3rd and 4th year). There's a lot of flexibility with the program you set and it can pay off quite well. This was my major so feel free to pm me if you have any questions 

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