Engineering BS, Physics MS/PhD

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>I am currently an engineering major, going into mechanical once I hit junior year. I have an extreme fascination with physics as well, but I won't be able to do a double major (I'm at CC, transferring to Rutgers, transfer students can't dual/double major). In the future I may want to continue in graduate school with physics. I'm planning on minoring in physics eitherway, would I be in a good position to get accepted into a graduate school under these circumstances?</p>

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<p>[Applied</a> Sciences | Rutgers University School Of Engineering](<a href=“http://soe.rutgers.edu/applied_sciences]Applied”>http://soe.rutgers.edu/applied_sciences)</p>

<p>It seems they have an “engineering physics” concentration. You’d want to contact them for more info, I don’t know how it compares to my school’s EP curriculum or if it’s ABET accredited or anything like that.</p>

<p>Yes, it is possible to go to grad school for physics if you did your undergrad in engineering, but it depends a lot on the type of engineering. Electrical engineering (with its e&m and quantum) or mechanical or aerospace (with its classical mechanics, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics) are probably better bets than, say, computer science or industrial engineering. It would depend on things like what you studied, I suppose, but I know that UT-Austin says in their grad faq that they do accept engineering BS’s. One of the prominent professors at my school got his undergrad in EE.</p>

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<p>Yeah I’ve looked into many schools for an Engineering Physics major, many have them but there are very few in the country that are ABET accredited, which concerns me since I know that seems to be a big factor with the job market. If I was 100% certain that I’ll be going to grad school then I’d do it EP or something of the sort, but I’m affraid of, in the event that I don’t go to grad school, having a science degree that won’t give me much flexibility in terms of finding a job.</p>

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<p>If you don’t want to just switch to a physics or engineering physics major as an undergraduate, you at least want to add the advanced physics courses in quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, and advanced physics lab as electives (check with the physics and mechanical engineering departments at your school about how much overlap there is between the physics and mechanical engineering versions of advanced mechanics and thermodynamics).</p>

<p>Here is some information on applying to a graduate program in physics:
[physics</a> @ berkeley - Admissions Information](<a href=“Home | Physics”>Home | Physics)
<a href=“http://physics.berkeley.edu/academics/grad/12GA_GradProgram.pdf[/url]”>http://physics.berkeley.edu/academics/grad/12GA_GradProgram.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>If it helps, OSU’s EP program is on the verge of ABET accreditation, after the semester switch later this year. It’s already a top-25 school in both physics and engineering with most majors ABET accreditation.</p>

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<p>I’ve been obsessively researching info on majoring in EP for a bit and now I’m actually starting to lean toward that again. The plus side is I have 2 semesters before transfer, in which the classes I have to take before then are nearly identical for both directions, so I have some time to really think about it while I take the rest of my physics courses between then and now. From what I’ve been reading from other people, an undergrad EP major still has flexibility in job searching. Maybe not as much as a traditional engineering discipline, but something I’m willing to work with if it’s something I’ll appreciate more. And that’s all in the event that I don’t go to grad school.</p>

<p>Is anyone here an EP student/have a degree in EP? What are your insights on EP vs MechE/Aerospace Engineering?</p>

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<p>I’m an EP major, CS concentration. It pairs up well with a mech or aero concentration (or a full-blown double major, if you hate the idea of having free time), as both mech and aero go much farther into thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics than most physics curricula. In fact, you can get a PhD in physics without ever having studied fluid dynamics, because physics curriculum is so heavy on quantum, e&m, and special relativity.</p>