<p>Hi,</p>
<p>So I'm incredibly interested in the field of theoretical physics which includes aspects of physics such as cosmology and astrology. So far the only ivy league/private school which provides a decent theoretical physics program that I've heard about is Cal Tech. Any chance there are other well known ones that I don't know about?</p>
<p>Almost any undergraduate school that is good overall will have a fine undergraduate physics program as long as you do the most advanced track offered at your school. The courses are pretty much standard; generally, in addition to the intro physics courses and the calc track through ODEs, you should have one semester each of intermediate classical mechanics and statistical mechanics and two semesters each of quantum and intermediate E&M, along with an upper division lab and maybe some courses on mathematical methods/PDEs.</p>
<p>If you want some general sense of the strength of physics programs, you can look at the US news grad school rankings for physics; these will be somewhat correlated with the strength of the undergrad programs, but at this point it probably doesn’t matter too much. If you want to actually do theoretical physics, you will need a PhD; at this point, differences in the strengths of the programs (particularly in the areas you’re interested in) become more important. Note that to get into grad school, it is hugely advantageous to do a nontrivial amount of research as an undergraduate. This will both provide you with people to ask for letters of recommendation with actual substance (probably the most important part of your grad school apps), but will also give you an idea of whether or not you actually want to spend at least the next 5-6 years of your life doing physics research.</p>
<p>Since I’m also applying for theoretical physics, what I did was look at the college-specific course offerings. This gave me an idea of whether I’d have enough to interest me throughout my years in college.</p>
<p>As was previously state in post #2, it is not possible to apply for “Theoretical Physics” as an undergraduate. The curriculum for undergraduate in the United States is pretty much the same at any university and it is mostly theoretical but also contains important experimental courses. You will not specialize in theoretical physics until you are in a Ph.D. program and that is usually at a different institution than where you do your undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>Your decision for an undergraduate program should be based on whether the physics program offers you the opportunity to do undergraduate research which will prepare you for entering a graduate program. However, do not expect to be doing theoretical physics research. There are usually more opportunities in experimental or computational physics as an undergraduate. As a rule of thumb, a university which has a Ph.D. program often has funded research groups which undergraduates and join and thus get good experience. In addition, if you are a U.S. citizen, you should participate in REU programs at least one summer while you are an undergraduate.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about undergrad, then you needn’t worry: theoretical physics is simply too beyond all but the most freakishly smart (I’m talking Gauss types) undergrads. For one thing, they haven’t learned the requisite math, and for another they haven’t learned the requisite physics. So I’d say choose your undergrad school based on how you like the program, what undergraduate research options there are, what classes are offered. If they offer a general relativity class or some nice astronomy/cosmology classes to undergrads, great, but you may not need them (you can do it in grad school).</p>
<p>When it comes time to choose a grad school, that is when schools really start to differentiate themselves because they all have different research activity, whereas the undergrad will be pretty much the same everywhere. Same quantum, same e&m, same math, etc.</p>
<p>I am actually a junior physics major planning to apply to grad school for theoretical physics (most likely condensed matter theory). My advice would be to go to a research university with a strong grad program where you can take grad classes as an undergrad. As junior I have taken two grad classes and am currently taking two more and will probably have taken seven or eight by the time I graduate. I go to an ivy with a top 20 physics program. My school also emphasizes research, so I have been able to do both experimental and theoretical/computational research with professors who are known in their fields.</p>