I’ve read multiple runs on Spider-Man and I still can’t wrap my head around it. This goes all the way back to Amazing Spider-Man #22, where a soon to graduate Peter is reading a book and asks to himself: “I wonder if I should specialize in bio-chemistry or physics?”. That thought balloon set the question for years to come.
In the original Ditko/Lee run, Peter was definitely more of a chemistry guy, constantly being shown amongst lab equipment and bunsen burners. In the Romita/Lee/Conway run he is exclusively shown at Miles Warren’s class, his Biochemistry/Genetics teacher. He also dates Gwen Stacy, who has been stated to be a student who bonded with Peter as Biochemistry majors in supplemental material (Multiple Marvel Handbooks on Gwen). In that same run, Peter keeps getting offered to work at Norman Osborn’s chemistry Lab (ASM #50 and others). Later, in the issues of Marvel Team-Up (#27 and #28) he’s stated to be a physics major. After he graduates college and starts graduate school, he starts his graduate studies in Biophysics at the school’s Bio-physical Sciences Department. He is also stated to have been a physics and biology major (Web of Spider-man Annual 3). But later, they’ll contradict themselves in the same run by having Peter state to Debra Whitman (his then girlfriend) he studied Biochemistry. Later, in the JMS run, Peter becomes a science teacher at Midtown High. He is shown to teach Honors Biology (ASM vol. 2 #55) but usually teaches chemistry, having written his dissertation in radioactivity (Sensational Spider-Man #28). In that same issue, one of his aspiring biology students says that while he teaches biology, he’s not a biologist at heart, to which Peter responds he’s more than proficient in biology.
As of late, Marvel has been very vague with what Peter’s degree was in, showing him to be proficient in just about any facet of science. In the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, he’s education is listed as “College Educated (Science Major), doctorate studies in Biochemistry (incomplete”. The Marvel website states in their characters section his educational background to be “BS in Physics, doctoral studies in Biochemistry at ESU (Incomplete)”. I’d consider it case closed IF that wasn’t word-by-word exactly what was stated in the game “Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions” bio section, making me believe that it was probably put there by a bored employee copy-and-pasting information unto the site, making it unreliable. In the most recent marvel handbook, his education is listed only as “PhD in Biochemistry (under review)” referencing the discovery that he’d “copied” his work from Otto Octavius (in reality, Otto acquired the degree while in Peter’s body). The most recent allusions to Peter’s education can be found in Marvel Team-Up Vol. 4 #1 where Peter says to Kamala Khan “You’re looking at a guy with a graduate degree in Biophysics” and in Spider-Man: Full Circle where he says “I’ve done advanced studies in Physics, Engineering and Biology”.
In other media, Peter has been shown to study Physics (Raimi’s Spider-Man movies), have a degree in Chemical Engineering (Blonde Peter in ITSV) and in the Ultimate Universe he tells Eddie Brock he intends to major in Bioengineering (Ultimate Spider-Man #33) and tells Aunt May he wants to get doctorates in both Chemical and Genetic engineering (Ultimate Spider-Man #111). In Spectacular Spider-Man he’s interning at ESU’s Bio-Genetics lab. In the PS4 game, he has a BS in Biophysics with his thesis being on Neurotechnology. In Life Story he has a degree in Electrical Engineering (Spider-Man: Life Story #2)
All of that being said, realistically, what would Peter’s degree be in? There are many factors to consider, but I am personally inclined to believe it’s in Biochemistry. I am a Biochemistry major myself, so perhaps I’m biased but here’s how I see it: Even when stated to be working in something like Biophysics, Peter is constantly shown doing lab work that is much more in the chemical sciences. His area is definitely biological, but his talents with chemical equipment are well documented and would be needed in order to synthesize his web-shooters. That can also extend to Ultimate Peter, since there are few if any Bioengineering or Genetic Engineering degrees in the US (some colleges list Biomedical Engineering as Bioengineering, that doesn’t count) and Biochemical work is very close to what is shown in those comics.
In the end, that’s what I take away from it. It clear that Marvel doesn’t understand science and uses many terms interchangeably (such as Biochemistry and Biophysics), when they should just have him be some kinda of ambiguous polymath like Tony Stark or Reed Richards (I mean, they’re already cashing in on Peter basically having been a poor man’s Tony Stark in the Slott run and he is Iron Man’s sidekick in the MCU, so that wouldn’t surprise me). I believe the only time they did their research regarding Peter’s degree was in the PS4 games. There, Peter has a degree in Biophysics (thesis in Neurotech) and works making prosthetics with Otto Octavius, with his focus seeming to be on neural networks. Having actually read and considered studying that area, that is actually a realistic job for Biophysics students.
I’d also like to add that since ESU is a pastiche of NYU, they wouldn’t have a biophysics degree. They would however have biochemistry.
I’d also like to hear other people’s opinions on this. What do you think his degree was in?
TL:DR: Marvel doesn’t get science and doesn’t know how to make it relevant, so they make it confusing instead.