Other After an Engineering Physics BSc, can I enroll in a Physics MSc?

[QuantumPhyZ]

Hello! This a continuation from this thread. (Note: I continued to study physics independently until now).

I had some good news and the university where I'm doing my bachelor in math is gonna open a bachelor in Engineering Physics next letive year (here, where I live, in September). I'm liking the math degree but it is not for me (as I predicted). Since my main goal is to study theoretical physics, and having a new found opportunity to enroll in a Engineering Physics degree, I wonder if I can enroll in a Physics Masters after the BSc in EP.
So I have some questions about this new found opportunity.

How hard will it be? Is it advised a PGRE (even though I'm in Europe)? Will any university accept me (Portugal) for a Masters in Physics? If I have a good GPA in EP, will that be enough to do a masters in Physics? Will I be prepared for a MSc in Physics? Should I just continue in EP? Is this to big of a goal to reach?

Note: The research area I'm more keen to know and to study is Computational Condensed Matter Physics, Computational Statistical Physics or Quantum Computing. If that doesn't work out, I would like to try to follow an industry route in nanomaterials and superconductors. If nothing works out, be a software developer like everyone else.

 

[gmax137]

Is the syllabus / curriculum for the upcoming EP program available? Does it add engineering courses to the standard physics curriculum or does it replace some of the standard physics courses to make room for the engineering courses?

 

[QuantumPhyZ]

Is the syllabus / curriculum for the upcoming EP program available? Does it add engineering courses to the standard physics curriculum or does it replace some of the standard physics courses to make room for the engineering courses?

Here it is. There's two missing courses, as the university hasn't updated yet, they are Electromagnetism (second year) and Quantum Mechanics (3rd year).

Edit: Don't worry if it the description is portuguese, at end of the page there's the curriculum in English.

Edit 2: this is the curriculum of the university I want to go to for the Masters

 

[gmax137]

@QuantumPhyZ I think you need to discuss your questions with an advisor at your school, familiar with the Portuguese system. The EP curriculum you linked to looks to me light on some typical areas studied for a Bachelor's in physics (in the US), but then again it appears to be a three year (vs four year) program.

Maybe some of our European members could chime in?

 

[CrysPhys]

@QuantumPhyZ. In addition to discussing your questions with an advisor at your current undergrad university (the university offering the new engineering physics degree), you should discuss your questions with an admissions officer at the grad university in which you plan to apply for your master's in physics degree: it is the decision of the grad university that will be dispositive, obviously.

Though you're likely not going to get a good answer. Since the undergrad program in engineering physics is entirely new, there obviously will be no historical record on which to evaluate how good it is. If you enroll in the maiden class, you will serve as a guinea pig for classes to come. Do you want to serve in that capacity? Especially since your ultimate goal is not engineering physics.

 

[QuantumPhyZ]

@QuantumPhyZ I think you need to discuss your questions with an advisor at your school, familiar with the Portuguese system. The EP curriculum you linked to looks to me light on some typical areas studied for a Bachelor's in physics (in the US), but then again it appears to be a three year (vs four year) program.

Maybe some of our European members could chime in?

I already discussed with one teacher from the physics department and he said in principle I would be able to enroll in the physics masters in Porto, however I would need to independently study some subjects, which I'm fine with, anyways thanks for the advice! However I still don't know how much more independent studying I will need to do.

@QuantumPhyZ. In addition to discussing your questions with an advisor at your current undergrad university (the university offering the new engineering physics degree), you should discuss your questions with an admissions officer at the grad university in which you plan to apply for your master's in physics degree: it is the decision of the grad university that will be dispositive, obviously.

Though you're likely not going to get a good answer. Since the undergrad program in engineering physics is entirely new, there obviously will be no historical record on which to evaluate how good it is. If you enroll in the maiden class, you will serve as a guinea pig for classes to come. Do you want to serve in that capacity? Especially since your ultimate goal is not engineering physics.

I still need to discuss about it with someone from Porto yet. A professor in the Physics Department in the University I'm in, told me, that in principle I would get in (Edit: depending in the GPA).

Well, I really don't have a good choice since there isn't physics in this University. So my closest bets would had been Math or now, Engineering Physics. If I continue to do math, if I wanted to enroll in a masters in physics at Porto an advisor there told me that with a PGRE, maybe I would get in. With EP since there's the same number of credits of physics and math as the physics undergrad at Porto, I thought that it would be easier to get in, without the PGRE. However I might seek to contact an advisor from Porto again to know. Also, I don't have a problem being a guinea pig, since the university is quite small, there will be a close proximity between students and professors, so getting doubts or questions through will be easier than in a big university.

However this doesn't respond to this question, comparing the masters plan of Porto to the undergrad curriculum of EP, how hard will it be? How much independent studying will I need?

 

[CrysPhys]

Also, I don't have a problem being a guinea pig, since the university is quite small, there will be a close proximity between students and professors, so getting doubts or questions through will be easier than in a big university.

It's not that simple. Being a guinea pig to help develop and improve the engineering physics program is one thing. Being a guinea pig to find out whether the engineering physics program (as is) will qualify you for the masters in physics program at another university is another.

However this doesn't respond to this question, comparing the masters plan of Porto to the undergrad curriculum of EP, how hard will it be? How much independent studying will I need?

Again, no one here can answer that for you. There is no standardized "engineering physics undergrad program" and no standardized 'masters in physics" program (standardized both in content and in rigor). How will your independent study be evaluated?

If you've already identified the target university for your masters, the faculty and staff there are in the best position to advise you; again, their decisions are dispositive, no one else's.

 

[QuantumPhyZ]

It's not that simple. Being a guinea pig to help develop and improve the engineering physics program is one thing. Being a guinea pig to find out whether the engineering physics program (as is) will qualify you for the masters in physics program at another university is another.

So what you are saying is, I will be a guinea pig for Porto to test if a student from my university is capable of doing the masters. Which can go wrong since I might not be prepared for it. Is that right? Well, I have been independently studying and following the rest of the undergraduate problem (if you read the other threads, you would know I was just missing one year from the undergrad of physics at Porto), as well remembering things I did in the past. So I might be a guinea pig, sure, but I think I will be a well prepared one at that and not a good example for them.

Again, no one here can answer that for you. There is no standardized "engineering physics undergrad program" and no standardized 'masters in physics" program (standardized both in content and in rigor). How will your independent study be evaluated?

If you've already identified the target university for your masters, the faculty and staff there are in the best position to advise you; again, their decisions are dispositive, no one else's.

How will it be evaluated? Well, I have past years (since 2019) assignments and exams for each course of the undergrad of physics, the only way I can evaluate myself, is putting a timer of each exam or set a deadline for the homeworks like I had at Porto, and doing both of them alone, also being rigorous to myself, so I don't "cheat".

If you've already identified the target university for your masters, the faculty and staff there are in the best position to advise you; again, their decisions are dispositive, no one else's.

That I will do. Anyways, thanks for the advice!

 

[CrysPhys]

How will it be evaluated? Well, I have past years (since 2019) assignments and exams for each course of the undergrad of physics, the only way I can evaluate myself, is putting a timer of each exam or set a deadline for the homeworks like I had at Porto, and doing both of them alone, also being rigorous to myself, so I don't "cheat".

The question is how the physics department at the university that you will be applying for your masters will evaluate your independent study. That's what's important. And only they can tell you that.