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Psychiatry Carrer Change

Hi there!

I'm a registered Psychiatrist in my country, Brazil. I consider applying for a Humanities Master degree to study Philosophy of the Mind and the influence of social factors in mental disorders. However, I don't have any formal background in Philosophy, although I participated in a phenomenology study group for over 3 years.

I only found one course I think I could get accepted: Philosophy of Medicina e Psychiatry at King's College London. However, even for this one I'm not sure if my credencial would enough and the odds are even worst for a scholarship.

My Medical school grades would be equivalent to a 2:1 and my Psychiatry grades would be equivalent to a high 2:1.

To you guys know any other programs that would accept such conversion? For most of the other universities I looked up, the humanities programs asked for a undergraduate in the subject.

Best,
Original post by lucashortencio
Hi there!

I'm a registered Psychiatrist in my country, Brazil. I consider applying for a Humanities Master degree to study Philosophy of the Mind and the influence of social factors in mental disorders. However, I don't have any formal background in Philosophy, although I participated in a phenomenology study group for over 3 years.

I only found one course I think I could get accepted: Philosophy of Medicina e Psychiatry at King's College London. However, even for this one I'm not sure if my credencial would enough and the odds are even worst for a scholarship.

My Medical school grades would be equivalent to a 2:1 and my Psychiatry grades would be equivalent to a high 2:1.

To you guys know any other programs that would accept such conversion? For most of the other universities I looked up, the humanities programs asked for a undergraduate in the subject.

Best,


Only you can work out what degrees suit your very specific academic interests. If you have experience in the field and foreign qualifications email the unis and see if they will consider you or what you can do to make yourself eligible for the course.
Original post by alleycat393
Only you can work out what degrees suit your very specific academic interests. If you have experience in the field and foreign qualifications email the unis and see if they will consider you or what you can do to make yourself eligible for the course.


Thanks! I will e-mail the unis.
The philosophy department at Bristol university is strong on philosophy of medicine and I believe the masters is a conversion course (my friend did an MA there after a classics degree and specialised in philosophy of medicine). I also recommend looking into medical anthropology - I studied it at UCL and really enjoyed it, and there's a psychiatrist on the faculty and some modules it sounds like you'd be interested in (although I'm sure there are other unis that offer suitable courses as well).
Original post by laebae
The philosophy department at Bristol university is strong on philosophy of medicine and I believe the masters is a conversion course (my friend did an MA there after a classics degree and specialised in philosophy of medicine). I also recommend looking into medical anthropology - I studied it at UCL and really enjoyed it, and there's a psychiatrist on the faculty and some modules it sounds like you'd be interested in (although I'm sure there are other unis that offer suitable courses as well).


Thank you for your advice. I will e-mail them for more information.
You may want to look generally into universities which allow their medical students to participate in e.g. intercalated years in medical humanities, history and philosophy of science and so on. These probably have departments which are used to taking students from both sides of the area and can cater to those needs. UCL springs to mind, although I'm sure there are others.

As above though, it is sort of down to you as to whether you will be able to cope with the different styles of academic inquiry. If you are reading in the relevant areas of philosophy already and reflecting critically on what you've read, then that's a start at least :tongue: Philosophy in general entails quite a lot of reading and writing, and especially writing originally rather than just restating what others have said (even more so at the postgraduate level)

If you're interested on social influence on mental health, you may find a medical anthropology course as above (particularly that details psychiatric elements) or more generally a psychology programme quite appropriate. The philosophy route will be somewhat more abstract, and the philosophy of mind contends a great deal metaphysical elements and aspects of the philosophy of language and logic, as I understand, than directly applicable things. The other two areas may be of more immediate relevance, particularly if you would like to apply what you're learning to psychiatric practice (i.e. less armchair academia, more social research methodology). Sociology may offer some similar opportunities to medical anthropology and psychology, through a slightly different viewpoint.

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