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Years of School to Become a Pediatrician

Becoming A Pediatrician

By Vincent Iannelli, M.D., About.com

Updated: March 5, 2006

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by Kate Grossman, MD

Q. I am a high school student doing a report and was wondering how long it takes to become a Pediatrician? How many years of school do you have to attend?

After graduating from high school, a student that wants to become a Pediatrician must finish:

  • four years of college
  • four years of medical school
  • one year of a Pediatrics internship
  • two years of a Pediatrics residency
So that adds up to about 11 years of school and training to become a Pediatrician.

It is important to note that during your internship and residency years, while you are still learning, you are not really in school and are getting paid for your work.

As an alternative, you could apply for an accelerated college/medical school program, which can compress those eight years of school into just six or seven years.


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