Choose the Right Physics Major for You

[Eco]

I am currently in High school looking for colleges to apply for. I want to have a physics major, but the one school I am applying for right now as 3 choices for physics. I am just wondering which one to choose.

Physics, Applied
Physics: General Physics
Physics: Secondary Teacher Education

Any help is appreciated, thank you.

 

[Ben Espen]

It depends on what you want to do. The last one, Physics Secondary Teacher Education, is to train one to be a high school teacher, and likely includes required teacher certification classes.

The other two are science degrees for those who are heading towards academia or industry, and if I had to offer a guess, the one having a slant to engineering/industrial type things would be the Applied Physics, and the academic one would be General Physics. However, either of these degrees can let one go either way, so it is more a matter of preference. You should look at the course list and see what classes are required for each to verify this.

 

[Choppy]

I might add that you should really look at the courses required for each track. It's difficult to compare based on title alone. In some schools the teacher option might be the same as the other two with some additional education courses that would qualify you to teach at the secondary school level. In other programs it might be watered down, and essentially be an education degree with the equivalent of a minor in physics - something that would not be sufficient to get into graduate school.

In either case, it's likely that the first year is common between the three, and switching between the programs will be relatively easy once you have some university experience.

You might want to contact the department for clarification and specifically ask which of the programs qualify one for entry to graduate school.

As a general rule, staying general for undergraduate work keeps the most doors open.

 

[Eco]

Alright, thanks for the help. I found exactly what the classes are going to be and it seems like the general one is best fit for me.