Studies & Degrees in Pediatrics
Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that cares for infants, children and adolescents. Spain's official training programme defines it as the medicine of the whole period of human development, from conception to the end of adolescence. A pediatrician is a doctor who has completed a medical degree and then several years of specialist training in a hospital.
In most countries pediatrics is not a first degree. Students begin with medicine and choose the specialty afterwards. Some medical universities, for example in Ukraine, list pediatrics as a training specialty of its own alongside medicine.
What students learn
Medical students meet pediatrics in the clinical years of the medical degree, usually through a hospital rotation. Specialist training goes much further. The Spanish programme develops two areas side by side: clinical pediatrics, and social pediatrics and public health. It covers three kinds of work:
- Preventive pediatrics: the care of healthy children and adolescents, including growth, development and vaccination
- Clinical pediatrics: continuous medical care for children and adolescents who are ill
- Social pediatrics: the child, healthy or ill, in relation to family, community and environment
Trainees also learn to talk with families and carers. NHS Health Careers notes that a pediatrician works closely with them and with other health professionals, in hospital wards, emergency departments and outpatient clinics.
Qualifications and levels
The route differs by country.
- Spain: the bachelor's degree in Medicine (Grado en Medicina) has 360 ECTS credits. The specialty of Pediatrics and its Specific Areas (Pediatría y sus Áreas Específicas) then takes four 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 complete a bachelor's degree and four years of medical school. Residencies last from three to seven years depending on the specialty; the pediatric residency at Saint Louis University, for example, lasts three years. Pediatric surgery is a separate path: general surgery training plus a two-year fellowship
- United Kingdom: after medical school, doctors complete a two-year foundation programme. Specialty training in paediatrics then takes a minimum of eight years, according to NHS Health Careers
After general training, many pediatricians continue in a subspecialty. New York University states that more than half of its pediatric residents go on to a fellowship in fields such as pediatric cardiology, developmental pediatrics or neonatology.
Where to study it
The directory lists 24 active schools for pediatrics. The United States has nine and Ukraine has three. Other countries with a school include Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, India, Nepal, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
Examples in the United States are Stanford University, Yale University, New York University and Saint Louis University. Yale's Department of Pediatrics runs a pediatric residency, a pediatric neurology residency and a combined medicine and pediatrics residency, and states that its graduates are prepared for both primary care and fellowship training. Third-year residents at New York University can choose an international health elective abroad.
Elsewhere, the directory lists the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Mexico, the University of Calgary in Canada, Utrecht University in the Netherlands and University College Cork in Ireland. Bukovinian State Medical University, in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, names pediatrics among the specialties in which it trains.
Medical degrees and residencies are normally taught in the language of the country, because trainees talk with children and their families every day. Before enrolling abroad, students should ask the health authority of the country where they plan to practise how it recognises a foreign medical degree and a foreign specialist title.
Careers
Pediatricians work in hospitals, health centres and private practices. According to NHS Health Careers, they can also specialise or carry out research in areas such as diabetes, neurodisability, nutrition, gastroenterology or public health, and teach medical students.
In the United States, physicians and surgeons held about 862,800 jobs in 2025, of which 42,200 were general pediatricians, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. It projects that employment of physicians and surgeons as a whole will grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035. All US states require a licence to practise. These figures refer to the United States only.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a medical degree to become a pediatrician?
Yes. A pediatrician is a doctor. The usual route is a degree in medicine followed by specialist training in pediatrics.
How long does it take to become a pediatrician?
In Spain, the medical degree of 360 ECTS credits plus four years of residency. In the United States, four years of medical school after a bachelor's degree, plus a residency that lasts three years at Saint Louis University.
What is the difference between a pediatrician and a pediatric surgeon?
A pediatrician provides medical care to children. A pediatric surgeon operates on them and trains first in general surgery, then in a pediatric surgery fellowship.
Can a pediatrician specialise further?
Yes. Examples of subspecialties are pediatric cardiology, neonatology and developmental pediatrics. They require additional training after the general pediatric residency.