Changing Fields

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I am going to be a senior in mechanical engineering next year. After I graduate I plan on going to graduate school to get a PhD, however I want to switch fields to Nuclear Engineering and Plasma Physics. I am wondering what my chances of getting into a top school like MIT or UMich will be even though I have a different undergrad degree, and does it matter that all of my research experience is completely different than Nuclear engineering.</p>

<p>My stats (mechanical engineering):
Lehigh University
GPA 3.7
-Member of university's aerospace club
-Working with a professor to model temperature distributions in heat exchangers
-REU at the university of Minnesota.
-Internship at NASA</p>

<p>I should also have 3 very good letters of recommendation but they will all be from mechanical engineering professors.</p>

<p>Next semester I am planning on taking a few physics courses to strengthen my physics background.</p>

2

<p>You definitely have a shot - that’s the good news. The bad news is that admissions to top-5 or top-10 schools is always a bit of a crapshoot - it just depends how well you match up to the school and your competitors. And remember that the top-top schools are very very competitive.</p>

<p>MechE to NucE is not that big a deal, although it would definitely help if you showed some interest by taking some NucE courses in the summer or fall, or if you could get in a summer project in the field. You also need to decide what in NucE you want to research - does any of your MechE help? Going from MechE to plasma physics is a lot harder than MechE to thermal management.</p>

<p>GPA is good, the internship is good, the REU and research are decent, LOR’s are good. What you will really need to show is why you are just now so interested in NucE - why no courses or research before this? You need your LOR’s and SOP to give them a strong reason to believe that you are and will remain committed, and that you are adequately prepared.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the advice. Next semester I was planning on taking two physics courses. Electricity/Magnetism, and Plasma Physics. Unfortunately I will unlikely be able to get any research experience in this field by the time I graduate. My university does not have a nuclear engineering program. </p>

<p>Up until just recently I knew very little about nuclear engineering, but this semester my Intro to Electrical Engineering professor made the class write a paper about any topic we could find somehow related to electrical engineering. I found an article about electric space propulsion using plasmas and thought it was fascinating. After this I spoke to a few physics professors and they told me about nuclear power and in particular fusion and I have been trying to learn more ever since. I have always wanted to do something with alternative energy which is another reason I want to be involved in fusion research. </p>

<p>Is that the kind of thing I would want to talk about in my SOP?</p>

4

<p>Hi everybody! I’m tagging on to this thread because I don’t know how to start a new one (I know… fail.) In response to the original threadstarter, I don’t think the switch from MechE to NucE is going to be as difficult as you think. Both are engineering disciplines and as far as I can see on all of the graduate School of Engineering admissions, they only care that you’ve had a background in <em>a</em> engineering discipline (or related science with appropriate coursework).</p>

<p>Okay, so on that note, we have me. I am a soon-to-be 4th year B.S. Chemistry student at UC Berkeley. I am completing the college’s Materials Chemistry concentration in soft materials (polymers, nanotechnology, biomedical applications). I am also completing requirements for a minor in Bioengineering that is loosely formed around biomechanics, device design, and biomaterials. I realize that I can (and have) made a connection between my major and minor because some areas of BioE are rooted in Chem. But I suppose my dilemma comes from elsewhere…</p>

<p>In high school, I was involved in competitive robotics for four years, mentoring robotics/engineering/math to kids for seven years, hosting regionwide robotics competitions for elementary kids on my own… really really involved. It developed a passion in me for science and technology that no other experience in college has matched as of yet; I also enjoyed being a female in the field and feel extremely passionate about encouraging minorities and young women to pursue the “untouchable” fields. But when I went to college (at Cal, Go Bears!), I majored in Chemistry. It was my favorite class in high school because I was good at it and the applications to world-needs were interesting. I wanted to be someone’s hero basically. It felt natural at the time because I thought I was pre-med. I suppose I also majored in Chemistry (vs. Engineering) because I felt a little insecure about how I would compare to others, like I wouldn’t be able to make it (haha, coming from someone who tells kids everyday that <em>they</em> can do it…)</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, I really love chemistry and enjoy the challenges of mastering this field. I currently do research in polymers (catalysis though… which is not as cool, but it’s an experience with a famous professor in polymers, Jean M. Frechet). It’s research “for the advancement of knowledge”… and I’ve always had an interest in the “discovery and use of new applications.” I’ve also done research with UCSF in the Radiology department designing molecular contrast agents for breast cancer imaging (yay for applications!)… But I grew up with this amazingly inspirational experience in robotics. It defined my passion for science and technology, and gave me visions and goals. My first internship with NASA was a product of my experience, and so too my desire to work them in the future. Every so often over the past three years at Cal, I find myself second guessing my choice of major. I see my friends from high school in engineering, and feel left out. I feel strange mentoring robotics students these days because I feel out of place as a Chemistry major encouraging students to pursue engineering. I mean, nothing really holds me back from being involved, but it just doesn’t feel like my place to do so anymore. Leave it to an engineer. I like the immediate feedback you get working on a prototype design that you just don’t get as quickly in Chemistry (or you do, but it’s not in a tangible sort of way because everything’s on a spectrum or in a flask.) Engineering is serious work, but it also feels like play. But I don’t know if I’m holding on to something that has really exited my life.</p>

<p>The plan was to pursue a graduate degree in Chemistry or Bioengineering doing something along the lines of what I did for UCSF. But I’m also wondering if this is my chance to explore the tasted, yet unexplored like more mechanical engineering and biomechanics.

  • How hard do you think a potential switch would be?<br>
  • Should I delay grad school? To intern, do community college, or take a 5th year at Cal?
  • Can my passion and career/field of study be two different things? Like, be a practicing chemist who in her free time builds robots and inspiring youth in engineering. I imagine by the time I’m out with a PhD Chem I will be a professor in chemistry and have less opportunity to switch fields to Engr. I just feel kinda guilty, like I’m cheating on one field for the other.
  • Is it possible I’m just living in the old days? Just for the record: I’m passionate about Chemistry as well, but the passion has not affected me the same way my past experiences have. But I do fear a switch because it may turn out that studying/researching Engineering is not the same as what doing it i.e. building competition robots.</p>

<p>I know this was long… but thanks for reading! =)</p>

5

<p>StickId - You just need to answer this: can you demonstrate a combination of interest, academic talent, research experience, and compatibility with the professors making the selections? How about in comparison to others?</p>

<p>Your story has a few problems: your recent interest is too new to show whether you will stick with it, and the field is different enough that your level of ability is not well known - will you burn out in a year? What specific area of NucE are you interested in, and how do you compare to other applicants?</p>

<p>I would not worry too much about your SOP right now - concentrate on giving yourself answers to those questions. Take the courses you mentioned and rock them. By hook or by crook get involved with the field of interest and learn where you want to contribute, even if it is just through attending conferences or just reading the literature. Make it clear that you have passion and interest, and show them that you can ace the kind of coursework you will need. It would be great if you could get a NucE prof on your side for a LOR, but it is not essential.</p>

<p>Also, when you write your SOP, blur the timeline a little - you came to school for MechE, became interested in NucE through some other classes, but your school had no NucE program so now you are interested in switching for grad school. Not quite the truth, but a little more reassuring.</p>

<p>I can tell you a little about the plasma science/fusion area - I was trying to get into that at MIT as well. I would avoid connecting it with alternative energy, that is not really a focus. Even assuming you could get cold fusion, the fuel sources are not that ecologically friendly to acquire. The process is more interesting for the basic science than for power generation.</p>

6

<p>Chikaboom - your story really lends itself to a change of fields in grad school, but you are correct that you lack some basic preparation. To answer your specific questions:</p>

<p>No one knows how hard the switch would be - different fields require different talents, and your talent for chemistry does not necessarily correlate to a talent in math and physics. You do have two distinct advantages in applying: you are a woman, and a US citizen (I presume given your story) - both of these will make getting funding a lot easier.</p>

<p>Do not delay graduation for anything less than a great opportunity, certainly not for community college. A double major or an engineering internship might do it - internships are not usually a big help in grad school admissions, but it would show some exposure to the field for your switch.</p>

<p>It is entirely possible (and common) to have a second interest outside your main field - no one will stop you from building robots inyour garage. But the PhD demands so much focus that success will likely require a devotion to your topic, relegating robotics to hobby status. As a chemistry PhD, your professional connections to robotics would be limited to crossovers with chemistry - designing them as chemistry tools, or creating new batteries, for example.</p>

<p>No one can tell you where your interest really lies, and studying engineering is much much harder than practicing engineering (in my experience). Still, if you have retained that interest and connection, I see no reason not to explore it. You certainly do not want a PhD in the wrong field - crossing over in the sciences never takes you completely away from your original area of research.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

7

<p>To op, I wanted mention that Wisconsin also has both great nuclear and plasma program.</p>