<p>A double major in Mechanical Engineering and Physics, given very similar prerequisites. Or at the very least, a minor in Physics.</p>
<p>I’m sure its possible, especially a minor, but what would your reason for doing this be other than attaining the knowledge?</p>
<p>Attaining the knowledge.</p>
<p>Also, it wouldn’t hurt to have an edge on other people searching for jobs. :)</p>
<p>Doing a double major or minor may result in having to take duplicate courses in subjects like advanced mechanics and thermodynamics, unless the departments accept each others’ courses.</p>
<p>Might be more worthwhile to just major in mechanical engineering and take some elective physics courses in areas not covered by mechanical engineering courses. I.e. take elective physics courses in quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, astrophysics, etc. if your primary goal is to learn more physics because you are interested in it.</p>
<p>Chck with schools. </p>
<p>My son (engineering major) wanted to get a comp sci minor… Was not allowed as he had to take so many of the CS for engineering.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>If you are, as you say, looking for the added knowledge, then go for it. You may want to lay out a plan to take the physics classes that really interest you and skip the rest. Although you may not meet the requirements of the physics degree, you’ll get the knowledge you are seeking.</p>
<p>If you are looking to get an edge on finding a job, then you may wan to think about who would be looking for a ME with the additional physics classes. Many employers of ME’s would be more interested in additional classes in the ME areas that their company deals with. </p>
<p>My son ended up taking 5 years to graduate with a BS in ME primarily because of the timing of his senior project. He always took a full course load and just filled it with about every class in robotics (his field of interest within ME) he could find. So he ended up with a lot mre units than required. He ended up getting a very nice job in robotics and his hiring manager commented on the extent of his classwork in the area.</p>
<p>As a hiring engineering manager myself, I would always look at the courses that an applicant took that directly related to the job I was trying to fill. More was definitely better (assuming that the grades were good).</p>
<p>who double majors or minors in a Humanities for example? In my daughter’s case it would be Film Studies to go along with the Electrical Engineering degree. She would be looking to work for a company that either does the video editing software or a hardware company that does the videocameras or other support equipment related to television and movie production. Even without such a job she is still in a strong position to work towards a more non-traditional engineering job (sales, marketing, etc) after a few years in the cube doing engineering.</p>
<p>Like you said unless the Physics degree classes relate directly to a specific job, I do not see much advantage in doubling up in such a technical field as engineering/physics. In a few narrow areas applied physics majors are sought after over engineers, but in general they move towards terminal degrees in physics.</p>