<p>I am planning on double majoring in Physics and Computer Science. My unltimate goal in life is to do theoretical physics and to be on the astronaut catalog, but I'm going to use my Computer Science degree to get a job to help pay for grad school. Anyway, since C/S and Physics have many overlapping classes, mostly math, I was wondering if it would be possible to also minor in Math as well since C/S and Physics are so math heavy.</p>
<p>Doing a physics degree will basically net you a minor in math. You may need to take 2-3 more courses. The other way around all I have to do is take 2 physics courses and I have a physics minor and I’m doing a math degree.</p>
<p>Should be no problem.</p>
<p>As CalDud said, it shouldn’t really require too much extra work to get a math minor. Most minors usually require 6-7 courses or so…and between the physics and CS courses, you’ll have most of them already taken care of. You’ll just have to take a few extra courses.</p>
<p>You don’t pay for a PhD in physics, they pay you a stipend to live on and cover your tuition.</p>
<p>My suggestion is that you major in physics and minor in cs.</p>
<p>If you want to be a theoretical physicist, getting a double major in CS couldn’t hurt, but it probably wouldn’t be as helpful as you think. You’d probably be better off double majoring in physics and math and getting a CS minor (if that).</p>
<p>I am not really big on earning multiple bachelor and/or master degrees when one has interests in two similar areas. It’s better (to me) to cram a hybrid dual major into the same 120 credits.</p>
<p>Having said that, Google “mathematical physics” with the “.edu” domain. There are a few schools that either have degrees in mathematical physics or physics with mathematical physics option. That would give you a blueprint on the courses needed, so you are not wasting credits…especially if you are trying to cram in at least a minor in CS.</p>
<p>As for that CS minor, a group of courses to help you “hit the ground running” for some entry-level software jobs are:</p>
<p>Programming in C++ or Java I
Programming in C++ or Java II
Data Structures & Algorithms
Operating Systems
Computer Networks
Database Systems</p>
<p>Note 1: If the Operating Systems course requires Computer Organization, then add that course (not all schools do).</p>
<p>Note 2: If you have 3 credits free, add in Theory of Programming Languages, which is a core CS course but can be left out when cramming dual majors.</p>
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<p>So you don’t think it would be as helpful as others might make it sound? I’ve questioned this a lot. I’m planning on double majoring in physics and math…and I really want to minor in philosophy. But, many people have suggested that CS would be an ideal minor and that it would be extremely beneficial. </p>
<p>I want to go into theoretical physics…so it seems like a CS minor would be helpful, but I really don’t feel like it’s something I would be that deeply interested in. A philosophy minor on the other hand, is something that would really hold my interest.</p>
<p>I repeat, I suggest majoring in physics and minoring in CS. Why? Every physicist can use programming knowledge and theorists especially use it more (and also make themselves more marketable). I don’t suggest double-majoring in physics and cs because a full major in cs studies things like databases, OSes, networking and some other stuff that a physicist doesn’t really need. The kind of software physicists make would be either tools or simulation (somebody correct me if I’m wrong), it’s a more specialized subset of software engineering. The basics like programming, discrete structures, algorithms, etc. are useful for a physicist. I’m also taking a project course right now where we make a Mario clone, to build my programming/project skills and also it leads into some graphics courses I’m interested in (graphics intersects well with math/physics). But I’m not taking the OS class, or the formal languages class, or any database classes, though these would be considered essential for a CS major.</p>
<p>I recommend a CS minor for all STEM majors though.</p>
<p>As for math, the kinds of high-level fancy math you may need in grad school (especially for theory) isn’t really part of the undergraduate curriculum for math majors. If you really want to take those classes as an undergrad, just take them but don’t bother going for the major. As with CS, a math major takes a lot of material that physicists don’t need. But it’s normal in physics to learn your math in physics classes. Heck, my e&m class was more about math methods (vector analysis and diffy qs) than about actual physics.</p>
<p>How hard do you think it would be to double major in math and physics with a double minor in philosophy and computer science? I’m going to be transferring, so I’ll have my gened core completed…which will help. I’m not opposed to spending an extra year at uni either. </p>
<p>Other people have mentioned that a double major in math and physics isn’t strictly necessary…but I have a very deep interest in mathematics too. There are days where I consider the possibility of even going to grad school for math, rather than physics. That likely won’t be the case, but the thought has crossed my mind.</p>
<p>I second GLOBALTRAVELER’s suggestion, that’s what I’m doing anyhow, learning some object oriented language (I learnt Objective-C and am in the process of learning C++/C#) instead of delving into pure computational theory (which wont score you any cash) will help you to procure the funds you need/want. Just learn a practical language or two. Something like Matlab could be fun as well. </p>
<p>As for the Math/Physics decision, from what I’ve gleamed, it’s more about how rigorous you want to be. A math Major or Minor will likely focus in things like Abstract Algebra, which aren’t exactly applicable (in the most part) to anything other than things like Abstract Algebra. Haha.</p>
<p>I hope you enjoy being an undergrad for seven years.</p>
<p>That’s the way I keep seeing it. I’ve looked at the number of classes that I would have to take to fulfill the double major/double minor that I want to pursue…and it just doesn’t seem realistically possible. It would turn into taking 21 hours per semester…plus 9 hours over summer…and it would probably just get too overwhelming.</p>
<p>That’s where I really run into the conundrum. I really want to double major in both physics and math. I really want to minor in philosophy, because it interests me a great deal…but computer science seems like a more lucrative choice of a minor. </p>
<p>If I took a philosophy minor, I would only have to take like 3 extra classes to fulfill it. I want to transfer to UIUC, and they have three upper level gened requirements. A western cultures course, a non-western cultures course, and an advanced composition course. All of which could be fulfilled with philosophy courses. The advanced composition course I’m going to take is a “space time and matter” hybrid physics/philosophy type course with an advanced writing component. After those three course, I’d only need an additional three philosophy classes to complete the minor.</p>
<p>Computer science would require 6 additional courses, outside of the upper level geneds, so it wouldn’t be as easy to complete that minor.</p>
<p>I keep feeling like I would rather take a philosophy minor, and just pick up the programming on my own, or in grad school. I don’t know though…I guess I’ve still got some time to figure it out before I transfer.</p>
<p>If you want to do theoretical physics, I would suggest majoring in physics, a minor in math, and a few cs courses (possibly a minor). Physicists are much less rigorous with math than are mathematicians, even in exotic theoretical physics which uses notions from areas such as Lie algebra, topology, and differential geometry. Mathematical physics is somewhere in between theoretical physics and pure math).</p>
<p>I’ve considered that possibility too…just majoring in physics and minoring in math, and possibly also minoring in CS or philosophy. But, I really don’t think it would require that much extra work to double major.</p>
<p>I’m transferring from a CC, and I’ll have all of my lower level course work and geneds completed before I transfer. I’ll have 3 additional upper level geneds to take after transferring, plus one more year of a foreign language, but aside from that it will all be coursework in my major. </p>
<p>To complete the physics major at UIUC, I’ll only need 9 additional physics courses, outside of electives. The two additional math courses that I’d need for the physics major would be part of the math major, so they would serve both purposes. To complete a math major, I would have to do 10 additional math courses. There are two CS classes that would be a requirement for both the math and physics majors, but I’ll already have one of them completed before transferring. </p>
<p>So, that makes basically 20 courses within the majors that I would have to take after transferring, aside from electives within the major. Doing a math minor instead of a major would mean 6 courses, instead of the 10 additional courses…so it wouldn’t be a significantly higher number of courses. </p>
<p>If I were to take a philosophy minor, it would require 6 courses, but 3 of them could be used to fulfill the upper level gened requirements for UIUC…so it would only really require 3 additional courses. </p>
<p>So, if I’m seeing things correctly, I could complete my degree within 26 courses after transferring. I’m not really opposed to spending 3 years there after transferring, and I’ll definitely be taking summer classes. If we assume 30 courses, with 2 courses over each summer…I could finish my degree within 3 years and only take 4-5 classes each semester. I could take heavier course loads and complete it even more quickly. </p>
<p>Would it be unreasonable to think this is possible?</p>