EE grad school with a physics minor

[axmls]

Does anyone here have any experience with going to grad school in Electrical Engineering with a minor in physics? It's something I've planned on doing for a while, and I'll start taking my extra physics courses to fulfill the minor next semester, but I was wondering exactly how much it'll help when I apply to EE grad schools. Is it something that the admissions committee would barely care about, or is it something that would help me stand out? I'm not doing it for better admissions chances, but that's always a plus.

Also, if it would make a difference in my applications, does it highly depend on the classes? i.e. would it make more of a difference if I took, say, solid state physics as opposed to classical mechanics? What about an introductory quantum mechanics course? I've got to pick two more courses to take, and I'm considering quantum mechanics, especially if it'll be an asset to me when I apply for grad schools.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I think we have a few threads on this already, start with this
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/ee-student-with-physics-minor.407924/

 

[axmls]

I looked at that one, but I'm really more concerned about how graduate admissions people feel about the minor as opposed to a general "should I get a minor in physics?". I've already made the decision; I'm just curious about the benefits of it.

 

[leright]

What is your major?

 

[axmls]

What is your major?

Electrical engineering.

 

[leright]

Electrical engineering.

A physics minor wouldn't hurt, especially if you want to go into semiconductor devices or electromagnetics or some other EE subfield related to physics. You could also take more EE classes though (preferably grad classes that can be applied toward your graduate degree if possible) instead of the extra physics classes.

Not all physics classes will be applicable to EE though. However, optics, solid state physics, QM and E&M, for instance, could be valuable. Some of statistical mechanics could be useful in EE as well. Obviously, classical mechanics, SR/GR, particle physics, etc will not be of much use in EE.