<p>I am very interested in what is listed as Area 1: "Systems, Communication, Control and Signal Processing" on the MIT EECS website. It seems like a very good fit given my interest in Math and Computer Science. However, I am not so interested in hardware stuff. Is it possible to specialize in that area without having to take many (Say, not more than 2-3) hardware courses? Is it something many students do or is that a rarity? Any suggestions (regarding courses to take etc.) for a prospective undergrad who eventually wants to do graduate study in "Area 1"?</p>
<p>If you’ve got an interest in computer science and math, definitely check out 6-3 - take a few classes. E-mail the professors; they’re also very helpful.</p>
<p>To expand on what Treething said, you have three options - 6-1 (EE focus), 6-2 (EECS), and 6-3 (CS focus). With 6-3, you’ll do some hardware stuff in 6.01 (programming robots, a tiny tiny bit of circuits) and 6.004 (even the most CS-y of 6-3 majors still seem to love 6.004, though, so it’s apparently not that much of a turnoff).</p>
<p>So yeah, 6-3 seems like a good fit for you :)</p>
<p>EDIT: Wait, are you applying grad or undergrad? While you can certainly focus in areas as an undergrad, you’re not required to follow an “area”, so I’m confused :P</p>
<p>Actually, area 1 is pretty much applied math. In fact, being 18C would also qualify. Of course, a large overlap area of area one is its applications to hardware circuits, but analog signal processing is somewhat a dying breed compared to the other branches. You can definitely imagine doing research in area 1 in a world where the transistor does not exist. But don’t worry about it too much yet, the areas are more focus guidelines for seniors-grad school level work.</p>
<p>Note 1: Area 1 has very little to do with physics, if that’s what you want.</p>
<p>Note 2: A second advice is do NOT lie to your own conscience. Often, a compromise solution is not a solution at all. If you want to do EE, do EE all the way. If you want pure physics theory, do pure physics theory all the way. You definitely don’t want to be a EE lover who ends up in an intermediate area like engineering physics just out of compromise…</p>
<p>This mightt be an outdated post but engineering physics is a great area at mit.it was formed by combining two areas(area 4 and 5) and it has great researches and future prospects.</p>