<p>I'm new to this forum. I found it by a Google search. I'm not sure where to post my thread. I notice I can't post it down in the University section, so I am making it in this section.</p>
<p>I understand that Princeton would a great school for Physics with great, and well knowing Physics as for the professors, but it's private, and very hard to get in? I have a few questions below.</p>
<p>1.) Would public colleges would be similar to Princeton for Theortical Physics, but nothing applied, and meaning not applied Therotical?</p>
<p>2.) Would a pure Therotical major be for a BS, MS, or PhD degrees?</p>
<p>3.) if it's for PhD only, what would one study for a BS first, and then a MS, and then a PhD at excellent well known Physics school? I'm locating in PA, but this is only a guess that there would be nothing similar, just Princeton?</p>
<p>To go into theoretical physics, you would normally study for a bachelor’s degree in physics, then go to a PhD program in physics. You might pick up a master’s degree on the way to the PhD degree.</p>
<p>There are plenty of good public and private schools for physics, although some smaller schools may have a physics major with very limited course offerings.</p>
<p>Thank you. What would be a good school that is specified as a physics school only, and not a liberal arts schools? I live in PA. I’m looking for public.</p>
<p>No such thing as a physics school, but there are plenty of State universities with excellent physics departments. U of California, Berkeley is probably the best, but any of the better state universities (Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Maryland, UCLA, Washington…) are good. Really, most big schools have pretty good physics departments, I think.</p>
<p>Not only do most big state schools have a perfectly good undergraduate program in physics but so do some smaller private schools which give good merit-based financial aid. In general, these schools have similar programs for physics, with plenty of elective courses available. If you plan to go on to a Ph.D. in physics, the most important thing you can do to get into a top graduate program besides doing well in your classes and really learning the material, is to become involved in research at your undergraduate institution.</p>