Studies & Degrees in Surgery
Surgery is the branch of medicine that treats injuries, diseases and deformities by operating on the body. A surgeon is a doctor who has completed a medical degree and then several years of supervised specialist training in a hospital. No shorter route leads to the operating table as a surgeon: surgery is a postgraduate specialty, not a first degree.
The subject also covers a second, shorter path. Operating theatres depend on surgical technologists and assistants, who prepare the room and instruments and help during operations. Many of the schools listed here teach that vocational route.
What students learn
Medical students meet surgery during the clinical years of the medical degree, with courses in anatomy, surgical pathology and rotations in hospital surgical departments. Specialist training then takes place on the job. Residents learn to assess patients, decide when an operation is needed, carry out procedures of growing difficulty under supervision, and manage care before and after the operation.
Students on surgical technology programmes learn aseptic technique, instrumentation, surgical procedures, anatomy and microbiology, according to the College of Southern Idaho, which teaches an associate degree in the field.
Qualifications and levels
The route to becoming a surgeon differs by country.
- Spain: the bachelor's degree in Medicine (Grado en Medicina) has 360 ECTS credits, which universities teach in six years. The specialty of General and Digestive Surgery (Cirugía General y del Aparato Digestivo) then takes five years of residency, according to its official training programme
- European Union: basic medical training must comprise at least five years of study and 5,500 hours of theoretical and practical teaching
- United States: students first complete a bachelor's degree and then four years of medical school. Surgical residencies last a minimum of five years, according to the American College of Surgeons; general surgery takes five years, and fields such as pediatric surgery add two years of fellowship
- United Kingdom: after medical school, doctors complete a two-year foundation programme. Specialty training in general surgery then takes a minimum of eight years, according to NHS Health Careers
Surgical technologists and assistants in the United States typically need a certificate or an associate degree. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that many community colleges and vocational schools offer accredited programmes. Graduates of the associate degree at the College of Southern Idaho are eligible for national certification testing.
Where to study it
The directory lists 59 active schools for surgery. The United States has 32, Spain has four and the United Kingdom has three. Canada, Ukraine, Ireland, Italy and Mexico have two each.
Most of the schools listed in the United States are community and technical colleges, such as Lansing Community College and Greenville Technical College. This is the kind of institution that usually teaches surgical technology; the College of Southern Idaho, for example, offers an associate degree in it. Universities with medical schools, such as Stanford University and Yale University, are listed as well.
In Spain the directory lists the Universidad de Navarra, the Universidad de Cádiz, the Universidad de Alcalá and the Universidad de Málaga. The Universidad de Navarra teaches its six-year medical degree in Pamplona in Spanish and English, with 200 places, and offers medical students a surgical diploma (Diploma Quirúrgico) with theoretical and practical surgical subjects and training in its simulation centre. In Ireland, the Department of Surgery at University College Cork is responsible for undergraduate surgical education at the university.
Medical degrees are usually taught in the language of the country, because clinical training means talking to patients. Students who plan to practise in another country should check how that country recognises a foreign medical degree before they enrol.
Careers
NHS Health Careers describes ten main surgical specialties, among them cardiothoracic surgery and plastic surgery, with further specialisation within each. In the United States, subspecialisation means a fellowship of one to three years after residency.
All US states require physicians and surgeons to hold a licence. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of physicians and surgeons will grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, and that employment of surgical assistants and technologists will grow 5 percent in the same period. These figures refer to the United States only.
Frequently asked questions
Can I study surgery as a first degree?
No. Surgery is a specialty that doctors train in after the medical degree. The first step is always a degree in medicine.
How long does it take to become a surgeon?
In Spain, six years of medical school plus five years of residency in General and Digestive Surgery. In the United States, four years of medical school after a bachelor's degree, plus a surgical residency of at least five years.
What is the difference between a surgeon and a surgical technologist?
A surgeon is a doctor who performs the operation. A surgical technologist prepares the operating room, arranges equipment and helps the surgical team, and typically trains through a certificate or an associate degree.
Will a foreign medical degree let me train as a surgeon in another country?
That depends on the country. Each one has its own rules for recognising foreign medical degrees and for admission to specialist training, so the health or education authority of the destination country is the place to ask.