<p>Hi! I'm an international student and I want to double major on EECS and Physics. Is this going to be possible? Is it going to be hard? I don't care about spending my summer time studying.</p>
<p>I highly doubt so. Take a look at engineering physics.</p>
<p>SkWz, why do you doubt it is possible? I don’t understand your rationale. </p>
<p>It’s entirely possible. It’s going to be hard simply due to the nature of the physics major and EECS major, but it’s definitely doable if your forte lies in that field. Just keep in mind that the physics major is offered by L&S, which means you need to fulfill the 7 course breadth requirement alongside your physics major requirements. Some of the CoE humanities requirements overlap with the 7 course breadth requirement as well. </p>
<p>As SkWz suggested, there is also an engineering physics major offered by CoE which makes it not nearly as big of a hassle to obtain some physics, but to my knowledge, engineering physics is not as focused on physics as a pure physics major.</p>
<p>I don’t see why not if you are willing to take summer school. It’ll be especially easy if your math background is good enough so you can skip Math 1A/1B.</p>
<p>You could pull it off if you’re talented enough and you come in with enough credits so that you skip most of the intro courses(1A,1B,53,54,7a,7b)/breadth requirements for L&S.</p>
<p>Is there anyone who has done this path that has a sample 4 year plan? I’m going to start the year off finishing mostly EECS requirements and the Physics 7 series.</p>
<p>Has anyone who has done this found what would be the easiest way to satisfy the breadth requirements of COE and L&S?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Edit: I’m only digging this up instead of starting a new one, in case someone, possibly the OP, decided on this path (assuming he was already at Berkeley). Also it was exactly what I was interested in and didn’t want to create a replicate topic since this thread also has some information already.</p>
<p>I have a friend who is majoring in EECS and minoring in physics. You could fall back on a minor if you don’t want those troublesome L&S breadth. Are you more interested in studying physics or gaining a degree with the word physics on it? If it’s the former, I’d say go for minor.</p>
<p>I’m interested in quantum computing and applied physics. I really love physics, and I’m not sure how beneficial having a degree in it would be, but I’d like to take a lot more of it.</p>
<p>I have a good amount of requirements taken already and I figured that I’d be taking a lot of physics anyways and there wouldn’t be many more classes to get a double major.</p>
<p>I’m just trying to see what the added benefit of a double major is, and whether or not that outweighs the additional breadth classes I’d have to take.</p>
<p>If I did shoot for the double major first, I suppose I wouldn’t have to declare the physics major first, so if I end up not wanting/being able to finish breadth requirements I’ll just do the minor. Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>I don’t think that EECS and another engineering major is that bad. If you come in with a lot of AP credits and take about 20 units a semester then it shouldn’t be too bad. EECS doesn’t have a lot of requirements. just 45 units of engineering classes, with 20 units of upper div EECS. So about 7 classes. So if you can finish an engineering degree in 3 years, then use the extra year to do EECS… Or get a life.</p>
<p>Physics is in L&S not COE, so it has extra reqs.</p>
<p>Someone who was on the EECS panel at Cal Day double EECS and Engineering Math and Statistics, but none of the other Engineering majors (Except maybe MSE with Nanomaterials and such) are overly interesting to me (at least for a double major).</p>
<p>It seems like it would be doable with 16 units a semester and 1-2 classes over the summer (well 1 or 2 summers). </p>
<p>I’d like to double major with engineering physics if I felt it was anything like an actual physics major, but it doesn’t seem quite as theoretical.</p>
<p>It should definitely be doable. I came in with not that many AP credits (far less than most of my friends) and am doing EECS and Math (in L&S, not Engineering Math/Statistics), and my current plan has me taking one extra semester (total of 7, no summer classes) and averaging 4 classes per semester (I’ll probably take more, but those are classes I want to take, I wouldn’t have to take them to graduate).
7 course breadth isn’t as much of a pain as people say, you can overlap them entirely with your CoE humanities reqs. It’s an extra hoop to jump through but it’s really not so bad.</p>
<p>You’re only taking 7 semesters with a double major? I’d want to take 8 because I really want to enjoy college for as long as possible, but that is pretty impressive how fast you completed it.</p>
<p>What humanities courses did you take to satisfy both requirements? Thanks.</p>
<p>Oops, sorry! I fail at counting (and I call myself a math major), make that 9 semesters.
The humanities courses I have taken/plan to take are: (Note: The College of Engineering generally changes what courses count for their humanities requirements from year to year, so your mileage may vary)
Classics 28 (COE humanities and L&S Philosophy and Values)
Econ 1 (COE humanities and L&S Social and Behavioral)
Anthro 160AC (AC + COE humanities and L&S Arts and Literature)
Econ 115 (COE series requirement and L&S International Studies)
And pretty much any history course will satisfy another COE humanities and the L&S historical studies requirement.
The only issue I’ve had so far is that I had Classics 28 count for my R&C B requirement for the College of Engineering, which L&S doesn’t allow so I’ll have to petition to have it cover that for L&S, otherwise I’ll have to take an additional humanities course for that.
Physics 7A/7B obviously counted for L&S’s physical science requirement, and I’m actually short a couple of natural science units for CoE, so I’m taking IB 135 to cover that and the L&S bio breadth.</p>
<p>The 7 course breadth definitely limits your options for your humanities courses as you’ll have to make courses count for both L&S and CoE (unless you want to take a lot of humanities courses), but it’s very doable, there’s a lot of overlap.</p>
<p>That makes more sense.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help, I definitely like how you got most of them to count for 2 or 3 requirements. Hopefully I can work with my advisor to figure out something like that (I’m doing something like that with Econ for sure).</p>
<p>Do you have an advisor in both the COE and L&S, along with your professor advisor? </p>
<p>Now I’m wondering if it is possible to have a double major in EECS and Physics with a minor in math. I’m planning on doing CS 70 (or whatever they’re going to call it next semester) and Math 110 as I want to make sure my LA is very strong. (I took thru 54 at a Community College, but it isn’t at the same level as Berkeley).</p>
<p>That is only 5 more classes for a minor, so I could probably do that with EECS and Physics. If I take only 4 more electives then that would be a triple major, but that sounds absolutely crazy. I just wish I had time to study everything math/physics related.</p>
<p>Or if I triple in EECS, physics, and applied math there is a lot of carry over in the 3 clustered electives with EECS, so it wouldn’t be that many more classes.</p>
<p>If I could do this in 9 semesters with 4-5 classes per semester and a few summers that would be pretty awesome. I probably ought to not get too carried away, and stick with a double.</p>
<p>Advising in L&S seems to be more of a drop-in thing, I don’t know that I have a specifically assigned student affairs adviser like I do in CoE. I have however been assigned a faculty adviser in Math in addition to my EECS faculty adviser (I have yet to meet with him, as I just filed my simultaneous degree petition this semester, although he is actually my CS 170 professor, he has a dual appointment in Math/EECS).</p>
<p>There is a lot you can do with overlap, and I definitely feel you on being tempted to take as much as possible, there’s so much here I want to learn, but at the same time I want to be able to focus on/enjoy the classes I am taking. The main reason my current plan has relatively few classes (4 per semester) is that I want to keep myself somewhat open so I have some flexibility in my plan if there’s an interesting special topics course or graduate course or something that I want to take.</p>
<p>I don’t know that much about the Physics major, but EECS/Physics should definitely be possible. A minor in math in addition may be pushing it, as the math minor here is somewhat disappointingly rigid (only a single elective). It would probably be easier to do EECS/Applied Math with a Physics minor, since your cluster electives could knock out half of the Physics minior reqs.</p>
<p>Multiple people in this thread have mentioned the fact that pursuing a physics or math minor in Letters/Science allows one to forgo L/S seven course breadth requirements. Is the same true for somebody in Letters and Science or another college who wishes to earn a minor in Computer Science (which is offered through the College of Engineering)? Does that person have to fulfill COE breadth requirements in addition to those of his or her other college? Or is that simply not necessary for a minor of any kind?</p>
<p>Even if you majored in Computer Science you wouldn’t have to do the COE requirements as it is offered from Letters and Sciences. If you minor you definitely won’t. You shouldn’t have to even if you wanted a EECS minor.</p>
<p>I was thinking Applied Math would be the way to go. I would’ve taken the first 4, even if I wasn’t going to go for the minor/major.</p>
<p>Mathematics 55 Discrete (would take as CS though).
Mathematics 104 Introduction to Analysis
Mathematics 110 Linear Algebra
Mathematics 113 Introduction to Abstract Algebra
Mathematics 128A Numerical Analysis
Mathematics 185 Introduction to Complex Analysis</p>
<p>And then these classes overlap with EECS and Physics: So I’d pick whichever cluster is most appropriate/takes care of most requirements, and is most interesting.</p>
<p>Quantum Mechanics: Mathematics 126, 189, Physics 137A, 137B
Systems Theory: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 104, 120, 122, 123
Computer Science: Mathematics 128B, Computer Science 162, 164, 170, 172, 174, 184, 188</p>
<p>To triple in EECS/Physics/Applied Math</p>
<p>I would need:</p>
<p>EECS</p>
<p>EE 20
EE 40
CS 61A
CS 47B
CS 61B
Physics 7B
Physics 7C</p>
<p>Upper Division: At least some/most of these</p>
<p>Algorithms: CS 170, CS 172, CS 174
Quantum Computing: CS C191
Artificial Intelligence: CS 188
Robotics and Control: EE 125, EE 128
Computer Architecture: CS 150, CS 152
Digital Circuits: EE 105, EE 141, CS 150</p>
<p>Physics:</p>
<p>Lower Divison:</p>
<p>Covered by EECS courses</p>
<p>Upper Division:</p>
<p>Analytic Mechanics (105)
Quantum Mechanics (137A-137B)
Electromagnetism and Optics (110A-110B)
Modern Physics and Advanced Electrical Laboratory (111)
Statistical and Thermal Physics (112)
Physics Elective: Quantum Computing CS 191 counts for this.</p>
<p>Applied Math:</p>
<p>Lower Division:</p>
<p>Math 55 Discrete Mathematics would take CS 70</p>
<p>Upper Division:</p>
<p>Mathematics 104 Introduction to Analysis
Mathematics 110 Linear Algebra
Mathematics 113 Introduction to Abstract Algebra
Mathematics 128A Numerical Analysis
Mathematics 185 Introduction to Complex Analysis</p>
<p>Cluster:</p>
<p>Quantum Mechanics: Mathematics 126, 189, Physics 137A, 137B
Would only need to take the one or two math classes (126/189)</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>Computer Science: Mathematics 128B, Computer Science 162, 164, 170, 172, 174, 184, 188
Where I would have complete overlap with EECS</p>
<p>That is 25-26 classes. Probably fewer if I don’t take all of the EECS I listed and I make the Clusters overlap completely. Taking 4 classes a semester is 32 courses, but I’m already taking 2 this summer (Phyiscs 7B and English A list requirement) so make it 34 (might be 36 if I don’t do an internship next summer).</p>
<p>So I have about 10 classes to finish up other requirements:</p>
<p>COE English A list Requirement
- English N1A</p>
<p>COE English B list Requirement/American Culture/Letters and Science Literature/Philosophy and Values:
- Something like Classics (would it work for 3-4 reqs?)</p>
<p>COE Series Requirement/1 Upper division requirement/L&S Social Requirement:
- Econ 100 something (I have Econ 1 done already)
- Econ 100 something</p>
<p>Historical Studies/International Studies:
- Geography or something.</p>
<p>Biological Studies:
- Bio 1A</p>
<p>Physical Science: Covered</p>
<p>If I include the AP Econ tests or the CC course I took that makes 6 Humanities courses, and should satisfy both L&S and COE Breadth Requirements.</p>
<p>That is 31 courses, leaving 3 or more courses that I wouldn’t have to take or to be taken as electives.</p>
<p>If I didn’t miss anything, that means I could do a triple major in EECS, Physics, and Applied Math and come out with the correct amount of units and not have to take more than 4 courses a semester.</p>
<p>I do better at technical courses than I do in Humanities courses so this would probably be better than using excess courses as Humanities requirements.</p>
<p>Are any of the courses I listed particularly difficult, and does this seem feasible? </p>
<p>It just seems like these are the classes that I would be taking anyways so why not go for a triple major.</p>
<p>
Because ultimately the goal of a double major is to improve your employment prospects. If you just wanted to learn about physics and math because they interest you, you can do so by just taking the classes or self-studying. In fact, doing the major actually is detrimental to this end because (1) you get stuck with a bunch of extra requirements and (2) the requirements for the degree are just the bare minimum and often other classes will complement your interests better. For example, math is a huge subject, and some part of it are more useful to the physicist, and still others are more useful to the engineer. For instance, the physicist interested in math should take math 121A-B (mathematical methods in physical science), and math 141 (topology). If you are focused on just completing the degree, you will skip over these classes entirely.</p>
<p>If you do 3 majors, but only do the bare minimum in each, you will graduate knowing a lot of stuff, but your knowledge will lack depth and coherence.</p>