<p>Engineering physics (EP) programs are not ABET accredited (ABET accreditation basically means that a college gives up curriculum design to ABET), so EP programs vary widely from college to college. At some universities EP is mainly a physics program with a little engineering; at others it is mainly an engineering program with a little extra physics; and some universities let students pick and choose. Still other programs have their own special courses. But all the different programs have this at their core: more physics and mathematics and less engineering than traditional engineering programs.</p>
<p>Because graduate programs in engineering emphasize theory, EP graduates are generally very well prepared for graduate school--moreso than graduates of traditional engineering programs. EP programs with sufficient coursework in physics are also excellent preparation for physics graduate school. I suspect that because EP programs involve a lot of theory and breadth, and tend to give students a lot of choice in coursework, EP grads are also poised to excel in nano-technology, which is supposed to be the next big thing in physics, chemistry and engineering (the other contender is for "next big thing" status is bio-technology). The theory and advanced mathematics in EP also tend to make it seem "harder" than the other engineering majors.</p>
<p>It is probably hard to go into bio, chemical or environmental engineering from engineering physics, as these engineering fields also involve a lot of chemistry and biology (in the case of the bio and environmental engineering) in addition to physics, though the engineering physics major who takes chemistry and biology courses with his or her free electives would probably be well prepared for graduate school. (Maybe not as much for would-be chemical engineers because chemical process engineering is very different from anything else). </p>
<p>However, because EP programs eschew certain specialized engineering courses for advanced mathematics and physics, EP majors are less immediately prepared for work in industry after graduation. This is not to say that EP majors don't go into industry--EP certainly is broad and hard enough that EP graduates can go into many engineering jobs after graduation (most likely computer, mechanical or electrical, as civil engineering has a lot of regulation as mentioned by an earlier poster, and the chemical engineering curriculum is very different from other engineering curricula). I would suspect that more EP majors go into industry than physics majors (and physics majors certainly do get engineering jobs), but fewer than graduates of traditional engineering programs. There are also some specialized jobs that straddle the divide between science and engineering--for example, in the national labs or in AT&T's now largely defunct Bell Labs--that EP graduates are well suited for. </p>
<p>Note that in industry ABET often isn't a big deal if you come from a reasonably good school; employers will typically look at coursework completed. (The EP major who takes some technical electives in the EE department will have a good shot at working for Intel, for example). </p>
<p>Example of an EP program that is mainly physics: U. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
UIUC offers EP through the physics department. EP at UIUC is basically a physics major with some engineering technical electives.</p>
<p>Example of an EP program that is mainly engineering: UC San Diego.
UCSD offers EP through the electrical engineering department. EP at UCSD is basically EE with some extensions in physics. This is an example of an EP program that would not be very good for preparation for a physics Ph.D. program, because it does not have as much theoretical content as other EP programs. (I suspect that UCSD offers this option for students who can't arent in the impacted EE program but still want to take EE classes).</p>
<p>Example of an EP program that lets stick students pick and choose: UC Berkeley.
Berkeley's EP program has no home in any department; rather, students are enrolled in an interdisciplinary program, with advisers from different participating departments. Berkeley EP majors study the key ideas of physics (classical mechanics, electromagnetism and light, quantum mechanics, solid-state physics, and thermodynamics and statistical mechanics), but can choose to take their coursework in either physics or engineering--for example, a student may choose to take electrodynamics in the EE department but to take statistical mechanics in the physics department. </p>
<p>Example of an EP program that has its own special courses: Cornell.
Cornell's EP program actually has its own set of courses; Cornell EP majors take their core courses in a special applied physics department. Students can take electives in in the applied physics department, the various engineering departments, or even some of the other science departments (biology, chemistry, etc.).</p>