How to Become a Surgeon

Surgeons play a critical role in medicine. They lend their specialized expertise to various diagnostic, preventative, and restorative procedures. You’ll need a bachelor’s degree, medical degree, and surgical residency to become a surgeon.

Skill-wise, you need dexterity, physical stamina, attention to detail, and problem-solving to succeed in this occupation. Learn more below about what surgeons do, what you need to know about becoming a surgeon, and the steps you need to take.

Becoming a surgeon takes least 13 years. Required steps include completing a four-year bachelor’s degree, a four-year medical degree, and a minimum five-year residency requirement.

Other steps, like AP or honors classes in high school, gap years, and fellowship experience, differ depending on the student. Explore the academic and clinical requirements for becoming a surgeon below.

If you know you want to become a surgeon this early in the game, you should consider high school AP courses in subjects like chemistry, biology, and physics. If you can devote your time and effort to additional AP courses, AP anatomy or AP physiology would be helpful. Though challenging, they often are worth it because AP students can opt out of some similar introductory college courses.

Becoming a surgeon requires a bachelor’s degree. You can enroll in your school’s pre-med program. If your school does not have a pre-med program, you can still earn the credits you need to qualify for medical school.

Aspiring surgeons need a bachelor’s degree with required STEM and an English course. Required courses may include:

Because surgeons need many science courses, many pre-med students major in a scientific field, such as biology, chemistry, or human physiology. You could major in a social science like public health or psychology instead, as long as you fulfill the prerequisite requirements for medical school.

Hands-on exposure through internships, shadowing, or volunteering in a healthcare setting is necessary to test-drive your chosen career. Additionally, medical schools only consider applicants if you have practical experience.

Taking a “gap year” between completing a bachelor’s program and starting a medical degree can build personal character and develop maturity and professionalism. Students should inquire through their bachelor’s program about potential medical assisting, critical care, or clinical internship placement after graduation.

To go to medical school, you must first take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). The exam tests the skills of aspiring med students across four core concept areas:

The MCAT contains 230 multiple-choice questions and takes just over six hours to complete. You should take the MCAT the year before you plan to apply.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) administers the test from January through September. AAMC also offers MCAT prep books and MCAT prep courses.

Once you take the MCAT, you can apply to medical school. Medical degree programs take four years. They train students in broad medical skills, introduce them to a variety of specialties through clinical rotations in their third year, and help students gain hands-on experience in their desired specialty.

The next step in becoming a surgeon is attaining your medical license. Though licensure is Step 6, the process actually begins while you’re still in medical school.

Medical students often take Step 1 of the exam(s) when they begin their clinical rotations, sitting for the exam the summer between their second and third years of med school.

Each state has their own rules for licensure, but many have a limited medical license that residency students can apply for directly after getting their residency match. This limited license allows practice under supervision.

While you’re not expected to have your medical license when your residency starts, you’ll need one by the time you conclude the residency. Once you know your residency match, your program may have its own licensure path. The two most common licensing exam pathways are the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensure Examination (COMLEX). DO students take the (COMLEX). Both are similar in structure, but the COMLEX also includes osteopathic manipulation questions.

Both licensing exams are composed of three steps:

USMLE fees are hefty. Step 1 and 2 are both $1,000, and Step 3 is $925 (scheduled to go up to $935 in 2025).* The COMLEX is $730 per exam.

You can take each step a limited number of times. For instance, If you have attempted a step four or more times and do not pass, you are ineligible to apply for any other steps in the USMLE sequence. You must pass Step 3 before applying to any State Medical Board

*There will be extra steps and fees if you’re a graduate of a medical school outside the United States.

Most surgeons complete a general surgery residency after they finish medical school. “Residency is where you learn the specialty that you decided to go into,” said board-certified general and colorectal surgeon Dr. Kyle Eldredge. “How long it is depends on which residency you go into. For general surgery, it’s five years.”

Some specialties like obstetrics start their surgical residency in their specialty. Accredited surgical residency programs cannot require residents to work more than 80 hours a week. An important thing to keep in mind is that programs in surgical specialties can apply for an extension to increase the weekly limit to 88 hours.

To get into a surgical residency program, you’ll participate in an algorithm-like process that matches you to a residency program. Most students begin applying to residencies in their final year of medical school, but the American Colleges of Surgeons recommends you familiarize yourself and start some steps of the process in your third year. A residency helps surgeons refine their acute operating skills and on-the-spot decision-making abilities. Surgical residencies last a minimum of five years, unless you go into dental or eye surgery.

A fellowship helps surgeons gain experience in their chosen surgical specialty. Hospitals offer fellowships in surgical specialties like orthopedic, plastic, cardio-thoracic, and neurological surgery.

“The fellowship is the more specialized version of general medicine or general surgery,” said Eldredge. “The fellowships are different lengths: Colorectal surgery is one year; cardiac surgery is two years. Cardiothoracic surgery is three years; plastic surgery is three years. So my training ended up being a total of six years. I could have just done my five years of general surgery, finish, and become a board-certified general surgeon. Instead, I decided to do specialty training, which is what a fellowship is.”

Candidates can apply directly to some colleges or search for fellowships through an agency like the Fellowship Council.

Board certification is regulated by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and includes 24 medical and surgical specialty boards. While surgeons may be able to get a job as a board-eligible surgeon, most reputable employers require surgeons to become board certified in a timely manner after they finish residency.

When applying, surgeons must provide detailed documentation of their training and operative experience. Additionally, the director of their training program must also attest to their surgical skills, ethics, and professionalism. If the application is approved, the surgeon may take the required exam for certification for their board.

The ABMS sets the eligibility criteria that physicians must meet to take certifying examinations in their specialty. To qualify, surgeons must meet the following requirements:

While college costs vary by school, students spent $9,680-$38,770 on undergraduate tuition and fees at four-year colleges in 2021-22, according to the NCES. If you get your bachelor’s degree on campus rather than online, you could pay an average total of $15,550-$43,950 in room and board over four years.

Students must pay $335 to register for the MCAT before applying to medical school. Applying to medical school in 2024 requires an initial $175 application fee and $45 per additional school.

Once enrolled in a medical degree program, students at public colleges paid an average of $40,493 in first-year in-state tuition, fees, and health insurance for the 2023-2024 school year, according to the AAMC. Out-of-state students paid an average of $64,473 to attend a public university.

Across the spectrum of medical specialties, the top six highest-paid medical specialties are all surgical specialties. Among the top-paid surgical specialties, neurosurgeons are the top earners and also have the longest residency.

This graph shows the average compensation and does not necessarily include production bonuses and variations due to experience, patient population and geographical region.

Aspiring surgeons spend between 13-18 years meeting the requirements to practice surgery in their desired specialty. You must complete a four-year bachelor’s degree and four years of medical school. You would also spend at least five years in a residency program. Then, if you want to specialize further, you must complete a fellowship of 1-3 years.

It may take you longer to become surgeons if you take one or two years off between your bachelor’s and medical degrees to accumulate field experience.

The American College of Surgeons recognizes 14 surgical specialties:

Surgeons may also focus on performing open, robotic, or minimally invasive surgical procedures. They may operate in a large medical facility or hospital or an outpatient clinic, depending on their specialty.

Many aspiring surgeons gain healthcare experience after graduating from a bachelor’s program and before applying to medical school, but they officially begin hands-on medical training in the final two years of medical school. Here, they participate in clinical rotations with various medical specialties and complete internships, or supervised training with attending surgeons.

Upon graduating with a medical degree, aspiring surgeons enter into at least five years of surgical residency, where they practice under the supervision of an attending surgeon. Residency may include preparing patients for surgery, acting as “first assist” during operations, and providing post-operative care. Fellowships can offer 1-3 years of additional specialized surgical experience.

Note: The insights on this page were reviewed by an independent third party compensated for their time by BestColleges. Page last reviewed October 17, 2023.