I'm an Accounting / Finance Student, Can I get my Ph.D. in Physics?

[robbiemizzone]

I'm going to graduate in May 2020 with an Accounting / Finance degree. Without trying to sound prideful, I am an extremely bright student and have a 3.80 GPA with very very minimal effort. However, after doing a few internships, I'm realizing more and more than I definitely do not want to be in this field for my career, but obviously it's way too late now to switch majors for my undergraduate.

Physics has always been a subject that has fascinated me; I'm currently reading Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene and the fire is only growing hahaha.

My question is, is it literally going to be impossible for me to get a Ph.D. in Physics? Obviously, I'm aware that there's no way I'm going to be able to go straight into this upon graduation. The highest math I've ever taken is Calculus 1. I'm a very fast learner, so theoretically, if I were to take around 2 years after my undergraduate to go crazy online learning physics and higher math, would I have a chance at attaining this?

 

[jedishrfu]

Never say never but I think you would be better served by taking the math and physics in a school setting because of your desire to go to PhD level. You could probably take the math online as a preparatory to going to a school but you'll need to get credits for it from an accredited course.

Others here may have a better strategy than this and so you should await they're answers as well.

Calling @Dr. Courtney @DrClaude @ZapperZ

 

[Orodruin]

Unless you get a proper academic physics background first you will not be accepted into any PhD program in physics that you would want to be accepted to.

Physics has always been a subject that has fascinated me; I'm currently reading Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene and the fire is only growing hahaha.

You need to figure out if you are fascinated with physics as a concept or with actually doing physics. Actually doing physics is very very different from reading about physics in popular science.

 

[Mark44]

The highest math I've ever taken is Calculus 1.

Which is really considered freshman-level, first semester mathematics. It also makes a difference whether the calculus course was intended for business/accounting students or for engineering/math/physics students. The latter courses are generally a lot more rigorous. In short, there is a lot more mathematics needed as the basis for studying physics, and extrapolating from a single introductory course doesn't give much insight into how well you would do later on.

I'm a very fast learner, so theoretically, if I were to take around 2 years after my undergraduate to go crazy online learning physics and higher math, would I have a chance at attaining this?

I completely agree with the points that @Orodruin made: 1) you need a proper academic physics background, and 2) deciding whether you actually like doing physics, as opposed to reading about popular topics in cosmology.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

You will need 3-4 additional semesters of college level math, and 8-10 semesters of college level physics at a minimum. Then you'll need a good score on the Physics GRE.

A high GPA in a Finance major says absolutely nothing about your potential in Physics.

 

[robbiemizzone]

Never say never but I think you would be better served by taking the math and physics in a school setting because of your desire to go to PhD level. You could probably take the math online as a preparatory to going to a school but you'll need to get credits for it from an accredited course.

Others here may have a better strategy than this and so you should await they're answers as well.

Calling @Dr. Courtney @DrClaude @ZapperZ

Thanks for the response! That makes a lot of sense, definitely more weight coming from an actual class

 

[robbiemizzone]

Unless you get a proper academic physics background first you will not be accepted into any PhD program in physics that you would want to be accepted to.You need to figure out if you are fascinated with physics as a concept or with actually doing physics. Actually doing physics is very very different from reading about physics in popular science.

Thank you for responding! That’s a VERY good point, I haven’t given that much thought. Will definitely look into it!

 

[robbiemizzone]

Which is really considered freshman-level, first semester mathematics. It also makes a difference whether the calculus course was intended for business/accounting students or for engineering/math/physics students. The latter courses are generally a lot more rigorous. In short, there is a lot more mathematics needed as the basis for studying physics, and extrapolating from a single introductory course doesn't give much insight into how well you would do later on.

I completely agree with the points that @Orodruin made: 1) you need a proper academic physics background, and 2) deciding whether you actually like doing physics, as opposed to reading about popular topics in cosmology.

Thanks for the response! Really good point - i’ve heard that math courses can differ tremendously depending on where you take them

 

[robbiemizzone]

You will need 3-4 additional semesters of college level math, and 8-10 semesters of college level physics at a minimum. Then you'll need a good score on the Physics GRE.

A high GPA in a Finance major says absolutely nothing about your potential in Physics.

Thank you for the response! Hahahha, that was my fear, thank you for being up front! I appreciate it!