Get a PhD in Physics in 5yrs: UF Bs/Ms Program & High Energy Specialization

[Rhine720]

So I've decided I wanted to attend UF straight through to my PhD I realize this might be looked down upon but It's a thing I'm willing to take. UF has a Bs/Ms program for physics where a student Can get a Masters degree in Physics in 5 years. A master degree takes off 30 credits required for a PhD cutting it down to only 60 credit hours( i think?).

Would this be faster then a Bs then straight PhD?

Uf has undergrad research so does 5 years of research plus PhD research count as work experience? (5+ years experience)?

This question isn't exactly academic but is a High Energy specialization a good bet? Anti matter will be very useful eventually I think.

 

[TMFKAN64]

Almost certainly the BS/PhD route is faster than BS/MS/PhD. In any event, it is not any slower. Keep in mind that most of your Ph.D. is not classes anyway... it's research writing your thesis.

If you are in school, it doesn't count as work experience, sorry.

I suspect that high energy physics is very difficult to get into. It's pretty close to pure research with relatively few applications on the horizon.

 

[eri]

Even if you enter a PhD program with a bachelors degree, you'll still be taking the masters courses and may have to do a masters thesis - so if you can do the BS and MS in 5 years, that would save you some time. However, you almost certainly won't be doing a MS thesis in that time, and that could potentially hurt you when applying to PhD programs if you don't have any other research experience or publications, so spend your summers doing REU programs or getting experience at your university.

In my experience, the number of credits for the PhD doesn't really matter. It's a matter of finishing the dissertation and being ready to graduate in the eyes of your committee. No matter how many credits you have, you won't get a PhD if your dissertation isn't up to their standards. And if it is, they don't care how many credits you have left to earn.

Unless you have a VERY good reason to stay at UF for the PhD, your professors will recommend you leave with the masters and go elsewhere for the PhD.

 

[Rhine720]

Combined BS/MS degree program
The Physics department has, like many departments a U.F., a program to allow students to graduate in five years with both a Bachelors and Masters degree by taking up to 12 graduate credits while still an undergraduate. This program is good for students who intend to stay in the U.F. Physics department for Ph.D. work and also for students who are going to graduate school in a discipline other than Physics. For students who intend to go to graduate school in Physics elsewhere we recommend that you go to your intended graduate school immediately after graduation so that you can be integrated into a research group as soon as possible. It is also worth mentioning that the U.F. Physics department typically only has enough funds to support our Ph.D. students - not students in a terminal masters degree. Qualified undergraduates can take graduate courses regardless of their participation in this program.