Research at UCSD

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
1

<p>Hello fellow CCers,</p>

<p>I come bearing some questions for students at UCSD. My goal in college is to learn as much as possible and acquire the skills necessary to apply that knowledge in the real world. I know it sounds silly, but I want to actually make a difference. Therefore, in my college search, research has always been a huge deal to me. </p>

<p>I applied to Muir College with a major in mathematics and I have a few questions.</p>

<p>1) After talking to some of my teachers, I have come to realize that applied mathematics is what I really want. I love all the sciences and want to be able to take as many classes in all of them as possible, with an emphasis on my math courses. I probably sound like I don't really know how it works, and that's because I don't. So my question is: Is it easy to switch from a math to an applied math major? It is to my understanding they consist of many of the same classes and can often be applied for interchangeably at the end.</p>

<p>2)Also, will it be easy for me to expand my knowledge and take all of the math and science courses I want? After taking a tour at UCSD, the guide said one of the great things about Muir was that you could take a variety of classes and build upon the classes you like by taking more and more of them in the same area of study. Is this true?</p>

<p>3) And finally, I know that UCSD is a highly regarded research facility in the nation. I know most universities don't exactly attribute large amounts of funding to math research, so I also would like to know just how many research opportunities there are out there for math majors, and how easily one can do research in another area (say I want to join one of the research groups working on something in chemistry (again I might not sound like I know what I'm talking about, because I don't :P)), I know I'm going to be taking plenty of chemistry courses as it is my second favorite area of study, so will it be easy for me to do research in other fields, like chemistry, as long as I have the relevant knowledge and desire?</p>

<p>I really really want to do research and learn tons in college. After being rejected from my top choice, I'm having to look at other choices. I loved UCSD after visiting it, but am afraid I might be missing out on a lot of opportunities as large public schools like UCSD can't cater to every specific person's need.</p>

<p>So thank you to everyone who even bothers to read through all that and hopefully answers! I really need all the info I can get, I'm going to be stuck with whichever school I choose for the next 4 years of my life and I don't want to miss out on any opportunities :P.</p>

2

<p>1) Since math is not an impacted major, you can switch between math and applied math incredibly easily.</p>

<p>2) If you have the time, you can take the courses. Most, if not all, science courses do not have restrictions like “you have to be this major to enroll in this class,” so it’s fine. If you’re talking engineering classes, there may be problems and you’d have to talk to the departments.</p>

<p>3) This is just a result of my search. I know nothing of math research.
[UCSD</a> Math Research Area: All Research Areas](<a href=“http://math.ucsd.edu/research/all-research-areas/]UCSD”>http://math.ucsd.edu/research/all-research-areas/)
Finding a research lab here can be an easy or difficult process. Since you seem eager to jump into research, you should be able to find a research job pretty quickly. However, you may not get a good research job until after your sophomore year when you finish ochem, which is probably instrumental for several labs here.</p>

3

<p>UCSD is great in terms of undergraduate research. You should have no problem finding opportunities in a variety of disciplines (provided you supplement your math background with the appropriate science courses). One of my friends is an applied math major as well and she has worked with professors in economics, psychology and the Rady School of Management. I know someone else who is a math major with an earth science minor who is working in a tectonics lab. With all the interdisciplinary stuff going on right now, there are a lot of places that want people with a very quantitative background. </p>

<p>I am a chemistry major and in the chem department I know certain upper division classes are open to majors only but you should be able to petition if you are so inclined. You shouldn’t be afraid to miss out on opportunities because there is just so much stuff going on. I find out about really cool programs and research initiatives that I hadn’t heard about all the time. I think because there are so many opportunities, it can be kind of hard to locate exactly the type of stuff you are looking for. Feel free to PM me with more specific questions. The one thing I would advise, in terms of undergraduate research, is to make sure you have a sufficient theoretical background and a little bit of lab experience before you begin approaching professors.</p>

4

<p>Thank you both for the detailed replies! I’m not too worried now; I’m actually very excited! The most difficult thing for me is just going to be picking what to do now. I might think about double majoring in chemistry because I love it almost equally as much as math, but I know almost everyone on here says that and then finds out it’s nearly impossible to do.</p>

<p>Thank you both again!</p>

5

<p>Definitely not impossible. I worked with 5 different professors (3 psychology/neuroscience, 1 economics, 1 math) while in undergrad. If you like research, get involved early. It might be difficult to do until you take foundation classes, but email professors anyway and ask what you can do.</p>

<p>If you’re going to be doing research in the pure maths, wait until you’ve taken at least MATH109. If you’re doing applied research, I can feasibly see someone getting involved once they’ve take at least a couple upper-divs.</p>

<p>Chemistry, I have no idea what would be expected for 199s/independent research. Ask astrina on this forum.</p>

6

<p>If you like chem as much as math definitely keep your options open! If you feel that you can handle large workloads in college (give it a few quarters) then definitely load up on everything you want to do :slight_smile: whether it’s classes, or work. Even if you end up not double majoring you can always work in a chemlab as a math major, or vice versa. I am a bio major in a psych lab, my roommate is a chem major in a bio lab, and my boyfriend is a psych major in econ lab haha! </p>

<p>I find that even if you have zero experience and zero classes under your belt, just email the professors or apply to all the opportunities you can find. Labs tend to train you to do all you need to do, and give you more responsibilities as time passes and you become more experienced. I started out doing data entry at my lab and am now working on specific projects and their methodology with the PI!</p>

<p>Sorry for the long ramble! I just really enjoy my research experience at UCSD and there are a lot of opportunities for so many fields right on campus - I just wish I started working earlier :P</p>