What specific schooling is required to become a psychiatrist?

Question

I'm in high school, and trying to plan out my future schooling! So far I've discovered that to become a psychiatrist, one should major in a subject of their choosing in their first four years of college, then go to medical school for the next four years to beome an actual doctor. Then a residency at a hospital for about 3 years...is this information correct? I was considering majoring in Psychology at a university that's close to my home before going off to medical school. Would that be a wise choice or is it better to focus on a more scientific subject like biology? Thank you for any insight!

Answer 1

Technically, you can major in anything before medical school -- as long as you take the pre-med courses.  I believe that it is always wise to take more than the minimum required, so I would suggest majoring in biology and chemistry -- and taking a number of electives in psychology.

Psychiatry residency programs usually take four years.