• Question: How many years do you have to do in university to become a scientist?

    Asked by anon-288205 on 10 Mar 2021. This question was also asked by anon-290492.
    • Photo: Chris Waller

      Chris Waller answered on 10 Mar 2021:

      Typically most university science degrees are 3-4 years long. You can do additional study to specialise further (eg. Masters degree and/or PhD) which can add another 3-5 years on top of that. That said, although university is a very common path to become a scientist, it is not the only one. There are plenty of vocational and apprenticeship programs aimed at school leavers where you can study and work as a scientist without needing to go straight into university – your school should be able to point you in the right direction if you ask them.

    • Photo: Mohan Sridharan

      Mohan Sridharan answered on 10 Mar 2021:

      Hi Chloe,

      I will answer this question in two parts:

      (i) The number of years you do in university will depend on your choice of scientific discipline and career. For example, I work as an academic/lecturer at a university in the field of computer science. After school, I spent four years as an undergraduate student and then 5-6 years in the US getting my PhD. This qualification is typically required to work as a lecturer but that is not the case for some other scientific disciplines and jobs.

      (ii) You can, however, be a “scientist” in different ways. To me, this title just refers to a desire to explore and understand the laws of nature (or man-made systems). Every child starts out with the necessary curiosity and skills to be a scientist!

      Regards,
      –Mohan

    • Photo: Jess Buddle

      Jess Buddle answered on 10 Mar 2021:

      Hey! Most UK degrees are 3 years long. This will be enough to get a job as a scientist. If you want to be a researcher however, you really need a PhD which is another ~4 years 🙂

    • Photo: Karen Burstow

      Karen Burstow answered on 10 Mar 2021:

      Most science degrees are 3 to 5 years, depending on whether you get a bachelors (typically 3 years) or a masters (typically 4 years) and on whether you do a year in industry (which can count as a year of your degree or be an extra year).

      I did a 4 year Masters course in Chemistry with an integrated year placement, which was a great experience to see what being a scientist would be like!

    • Photo: Claire Price

      Claire Price answered on 11 Mar 2021:

      In the UK, typically degrees are 3-4 years long. Usually 3, but you can do an extra year too and go on placement and do really cool science related things, like work for a company, do science communication, or policy (help make Government rules). If you want to look at something specific (science-wise) then you can then go on and do more degrees like a Masters or PhD.

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