Programs Aerospace Engineer Seeking Admission to Masters Program Abroad

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Aerospace engineering students express concerns about their choice of major, particularly when their interests lie in physics and astronomy. They seek advice on gaining admission to master's programs abroad, noting that many require a bachelor's in physics or math. Suggestions include checking specific program prerequisites and considering additional coursework or strong GRE scores to demonstrate competence in physics. Some participants debate the practicality of pursuing an engineering degree if the ultimate goal is a graduate degree in astronomy or astrophysics, questioning whether an undergraduate physics curriculum would better align with their future studies. The discussion highlights the importance of aligning educational paths with career aspirations while considering job market realities.
Alok Shah
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I am currently in my pre-final year of aerospace engineering at one of the top engineering institutes in India. Since my school days, I have been good at physics at math and was particularly fascinated with popular science books based on astronomy. I decided to join the general trend of studying engineering and now realize it wasn't a good decision.
Is there any way I can get admission into a good master's program at a university abroad ? My engineering coursework includes electrodynamics, calculus(vector and a bit of tensor too ) differential equations, linear algebra, thermodynamics which are cognate to physics.
 
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My suggestion is to start looking for master's programmes that you are interested into gauge what kind of prerequisites are necessary. I believe this will generally vary from university to university so there is not really one universal answer to this question. Many physics programmes are likely to require at least basic quantum mechanics and a significant chunk of mathematical methods, but this is just my hunch and the only way of telling for sure is to check out the prerequisites.
 
Thanks for the reply Orodruin.
I have already started looking at the prerequisites for the master's programmes in various universities. Most of them require a bachelor's degree in physics or math. Is it possible to circumvent this requirement by showing competence in physics, by getting a good score on the Physics and the General GRE, and by doing a few more physics courses and a project in a related field ?
 
Following.

I'm actually thinking of getting a bachelor's in aerospace engineering at georgia tech and get a masters and eventually a PhD in astronomy/astrophysics at another university. any thoughts?
 
denisse12 said:
Following.

I'm actually thinking of getting a bachelor's in aerospace engineering at georgia tech and get a masters and eventually a PhD in astronomy/astrophysics at another university. any thoughts?
Yeah, why slog through an engineering undergrad degree when your grad studies won't involve engineering at all?

It seems like a physics undergrad curriculum would be better preparation for your grad studies.

Are you trying to use the undergrad engineering degree as a 'safety' to provide a marketable credential for use in getting a job if you don't immediately go into your grad studies?
 
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Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...
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