<p>I want to study physics but I would like the job outcome/salary of an Engineer. Recently I discovered a major at Case called Engineering Physics that is ABET accredited. Is it as marketable as a traditional engineering degree? What other institution offers this. Is engineering physics and applied physics the same?</p>
<p>Engineering physics and applied physics are really different based on one thing: One can actually be ABET accredited at the B.S. level and one cannot. As far as the structure of each program, one SPECIFICALLY SAYS that a number of non-physics courses will be engineering courses and the other allows for either engineering or non-engineering courses to be used as non-physics courses.</p>
<p>One could make an applied physics major look just like an engineering physics major (all you gotta do is take the same set of engineering courses)…but you just won’t have the ABET accreditation.</p>
<p>The are a small handful of schools that actually call the program Applied & Engineering Physics.</p>
<p>At the masters level, there are less than 10 M.S./M.Eng Engineering Physics programs. Most have the same structure: 4 or 5 courses covering statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics and electromagnetics and 5 or 6 courses in engineering or computer science courses. The same could be done with a physics or applied physics program that allows flexibility in the selection of 5 or 6 courses.</p>
<p>Note: Engineering physics was a major that I considered for my M.S. because of it’s interdisciplinary nature and I wanted any graduate degree that had the words “master” and “engineering” on it (remember I was a math major working in engineering).</p>
<p>Hmm, would the non-ABET accreditation affect my chances of getting a job after Undergrad. Most colleges I am looking at does not have engineering-physics other than Case which is ABET accredited. Would I be able to get jobs as easily as engineering if I minor in Computer Science or another engineering discipline along with majoring in Applied Physics? Would the salary greatly differ? This major really has got me excited, but I am really concerned about the job placement of the major.</p>
<p>I obviously do not need a definite answer as there is none, but with your experience ,and with the experience with anyone else viewing, what are your outlooks?</p>
<p>Since you are looking at Case why not look at OSU’s ep program? It’s really great. Hint, hint, I should know.</p>
<p>As for the job scenario, at my school there are two types of ep majors: those who want to go to grad school (usually for physics, but sometimes engineering or even film) and those who wants jobs as engineers but also love physics. I started as one of the ones who wanted a job but now I aim to go to grad school for physics.</p>
<p>Anyway, among the ep peeps I’ve talked to who are the second kind, I haven’t heard any complaining about not getting a job. As with a regular engineering degree, it depends on your GPA, your internship experience, and your accomplishments (i.e. undergraduate research or capstone courses). Also, and this is more telling I think, the statistics on internship salaries for ep majors from my school’s Engineering Career Center are comparable to those for the other eng majors. Also at my school, you can control how much you want to emphasize physics and how much you want to emphasize engineering.</p>
<p>Wow, that is encouraging. However since Ohio is an OOS public school, I am not sure if I would get enough aid to attend it. But lets steer away from that. The problem is that, very few colleges actually have Engineering Physics other than some of the elite colleges such as Cornell, Harvard or Columbia. A lot have a concentration of Applied or a major called Applied Physics. Do you think I would make myself marketable majoring in this with a minor in CS or perhaps another engineering discipline. I really love physics and really want to get deep in it is why I am asking these questions. :/</p>
<p>Regular physics bachelors often get jobs as programmers (well, the ones who took the time to become proficient in programming did), so it’s probably even easier for somebody with a minor in CS. My concentration is CS. I take the same CS courses that a computer engineering major takes, if not more, and those guys often get jobs. With ep it probably takes more effort on the part of the student to get internships and demonstrate ability because ep is a rare major. But there are plenty of opportunities (at least at my school) to demonstrate ability. There are plenty of ug research opportunities, multidisciplinary engineering teams that you can join (aerial robotics, electric rocket car, etc.), and there are classes that involve making a project. I have a class this summer where we make a video game and a capstone course next year specifically for ep majors. I don’t know what I’ll be doing but this past year’s students made a variety of robots and one team made a radiation detector.</p>
<p>And if you later decided you wanted a full-on non-ep engineering degree (my degree is still through the college of engineering), it’s not hard to expand to a double major. I’d do it if I weren’t pressed for time.</p>