Programs How do you double major in Physics and robotic engineering?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the viability of pursuing a double major in robotics and physics in college. Key points include the importance of assessing personal commitments, such as work and financial support, and understanding the overlap in coursework between the two fields. Participants emphasize the need to research universities that offer both majors and to consider potential scheduling conflicts. There is a suggestion that students reflect on their career goals, as robotics is primarily an engineering discipline, while physics may lead to different career paths. The conversation also highlights the rapid growth of robotics as a field and the potential for interdisciplinary studies, such as combining engineering with physics or computer science. Lastly, advice is given to not overly plan far into the future and to first experience college-level coursework to gauge the feasibility of managing a double major.
crescentcavae
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I've done robotics since I was very young, and I've always loved physics. I'm a high school junior, and I will need to figure out what to apply for in terms of colleges. I wanted to do a double major in robotics and physics, although I'm not sure what aspect of physics I want to go into. Is this a viable option in college? thank you!
 
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crescentcavae said:
I've done robotics since I was very young, and I've always loved physics. I'm a high school junior, and I will need to figure out what to apply for in terms of colleges. I wanted to do a double major in robotics and physics, although I'm not sure what aspect of physics I want to go into. Is this a viable option in college? thank you!

Depends on the commitments you have. Ie. would you have to work or BankOfMumAndDad? How fast you grasp concepts.
Time conflict with classes. I am dual majoring in math and physics, but I may need to drop this physics major. Since my math classes and physics classes overlap...

Most of the first two years is similar for physics and engineering majors. You take the full calculus series, ODE, LA, the intro chem course, intro physics sequence.
 
crescentcavae said:
I wanted to do a double major in robotics and physics, although I'm not sure what aspect of physics I want to go into. Is this a viable option in college?
Find a university that offers both majors. On its web site, look up the course requirements for both majors. Figure out whether the total number of hours is do-able in four years, taking into account duplicate requirements (as MidgetDwarf noted) and general-education requirements.

Then there's the issue of possible scheduling conflicts between courses required for the two majors. Those are probably difficult to find out about, years in advance, because course schedules can and do change.
 
Robotics is basically an engineering area. Why would you want to major in physics if your career interests are in robotics? Conversely, why would you want to study robotics if your career interests are in physics? It seems to me that some serious reflection is required about what you want to do with your life. College is not just about pursuing your several interests, but more about preparing for your life's work.
 
Dr.D said:
Robotics is basically an engineering area. Why would you want to major in physics if your career interests are in robotics? Conversely, why would you want to study robotics if your career interests are in physics? It seems to me that some serious reflection is required about what you want to do with your life. College is not just about pursuing your several interests, but more about preparing for your life's work.
Hello,
Robotics engineering is one of the most rapidly developing career topics. Robotics is not confined to only artificial intelligence, it is a subject that can be applicable to many different career fields. As a high schooler, yes, I need a lot of reflection on what I want to do in the future, but I am hoping to supplement my learning with an engineering degree. I've heard that astronomy and astrophysics would be helped by an optical engineering or even electrical engineering degree, or even quantum mechanics and string theory/quantum field theory with computer science. I'm not trying to pursue my different career fields, I'm trying to understand whether a dual degree in physics and engineering would be viable. Thank you.
 
crescentcavae said:
Hello,
Robotics engineering is one of the most rapidly developing career topics. Robotics is not confined to only artificial intelligence, it is a subject that can be applicable to many different career fields. As a high schooler, yes, I need a lot of reflection on what I want to do in the future, but I am hoping to supplement my learning with an engineering degree. I've heard that astronomy and astrophysics would be helped by an optical engineering or even electrical engineering degree, or even quantum mechanics and string theory/quantum field theory with computer science. I'm not trying to pursue my different career fields, I'm trying to understand whether a dual degree in physics and engineering would be viable. Thank you.
I don't know much about the engineering, since I am majoring in pure mathematics/ physics. But I can offer a great piece of advice.

Since you are a junior in high school, and not even a freshman in college. It is important to not plan so far into the future. Yes, it is important that you are exploring your interest. But maybe take some college courses first, to see if you can handle the workload for one major, let alone two.

Saying is easier than doing.

I do know a close friend of myne who recently graduated in chemical engineering and physics. This person found a way to combine both subjects...

One of my close friends has a doctorate in pure mathematics. Later in life, about 10 years after a math phd, this person went to study biology. Now she combined Mathematics with biology, mathematical modeling for biological systems, and works for a pharmaceutical company...
 
I graduated with a BSc in Physics in 2020. Since there were limited opportunities in my country (mostly teaching), I decided to improve my programming skills and began working in IT, first as a software engineer and later as a quality assurance engineer, where I’ve now spent about 3 years. While this career path has provided financial stability, I’ve realized that my excitement and passion aren’t really there, unlike what I felt when studying or doing research in physics. Working in IT...
Hi everyone! I'm a senior majoring in physics, math, and music, and I'm currently in the process applying for theoretical and computational biophysics (primarily thru physics departments) Ph.D. programs. I have a 4.0 from a basically unknown school in the American South, two REUs (T50 and T25) in computational biophysics and two semesters of research in optics (one purely experimental, one comp/exp) at my home institution (since there aren't any biophysics profs at my school), but no...
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