<p>How hard it is to double major in EE and Physics at MIT? Is that something someone who is pretty good in Math and Physics can succesfully manage?</p>
<p>I am very interested in Physics. But, at the same time, I like some parts of Electrical Engineering and would like EE to be one of the majors for undergrad. </p>
<p>I am very serious about continuing on to grad school and doing a Ph.D. But, as of now, I feel like doing my graduate studies in Physics though I want to do EE for undergrad.</p>
<p>How hard/easy would it be for EE undergrads to get into MIT's Physics Ph.D. program? To keep the option of Physics Ph.D. open, would it be better for me to double major in EE & Physics?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>There’s not much overlap, but you might want to consider the flexible physics option (8B). </p>
<p>Define “pretty good”? This seems to mean different things to prefrosh and MIT students :P</p>
<ol>
<li>Do you want to be REALLY good at one subject, or average at 2? That’s the usual question I ask to a lot of freshmen aspiring to double major. Of course, a few MIT students manage to be awesome at both of their majors, but they are definitely rare.</li>
</ol>
<p>Now, having said that, it is definitely doable to double major. If you plan carefully, a double in EE and physics should not require you to take more than 5 classes a semester (if you do 8B + EE), assuming you plan to come in with a few ASE’s. However, the dilemma you will face is not what you CAN do, but what you SHOULD do. A double major will definitely limit your chances to take advanced coursework in your major. While many of your classmates will take grad-level coursework, you might have to defer it and complete core coursework in the other major (which might or might not be totally exciting to you).</p>
<p>My advice to you is treat freshman year as if you were going to double major, and at the end of the year, ask yourself that question again. What is most likely to happen is that you will find out either physics or EE appeals to you better, and you will end up majoring in one.</p>
<p>This is a good strategy supposing you do the EE/physics => physics switch. You will end up being a physicist with some EE coursework in your back, which is INVALUABLE.
God knows how many physics majors come in J-lab not knowing how to operate an oscilloscope or build reliable filters.</p>
<ol>
<li>About keeping options open: I don’t think it’s a good enough excuse to double major, simply because it is much easier to just do one major very well, and add onto that a focus area in the other major.</li>
</ol>
<p>Hope it helps.</p>
<p>^^^ This is excellent advice!</p>
<p>The only thing I’d add is that the MIT physics department very rarely accepts MIT undergraduates for the Ph.D. program in physics. My daughter just graduated in physics and will be going to Harvard – her advisor told her that she will benefit from experiencing a completely different department/research project. Most of her friends in the department did not even bother applying to MIT for this reason. On the other hand, if you end up wanting to go on in EE, you won’t have a problem, since the EECS department encourages MIT students to apply. </p>
<p>You don’t need a double major. A physics major from MIT with a bunch of EE courses will look appealing to an engineering firm, if that’s what you end up wanting to do. But a physics major with a double major in EE and very little research experience will hurt you if you want to go on to graduate school in physics. Gaining that research experience takes time and commitment.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. Based on your comments and some additional information I collected, I now feel that double majoring won’t be a good idea in my case. I am leaning towards doing my undergrad in EE, but taking quite a few physics courses along the way. With that, it does seem that I can still enter Masters/PhD program in Physics, if I so decide at a later date.</p>
<p>You don’t have to worry about PhD level work yet. When you go to grad school, the fine lines between different subjects blur. You’ll be working on nonlinear optics, atomic molecular and optical physics etc…, not just physics or EE. </p>
<p>You’ll find out that for grad schools, EE majors who end up physics work can still do a PhD in EE. It’s just they’ll have a physics topic for their theses: there’s a cute overlap area between EE & physics for original research.</p>