Physics vs Engineering PhD Admissions?

[Mark Wolter]

I was on the grad cafe looking at admission statistics. It looks like it is much more competitive to get into an engineering PhD program than it is a physics PhD program. Is this true? Most of the GPA's of people who got into the engineering PhD programs had a gpa in the mid to high 3's while I saw several sub 3.0 gpa's being admitted into physics PhD programs (albeit not top ranked ones). I was looking at EE if that helps. Thanks!

 

[Choppy]

I think there are too many variables at play to make a broad generalization about which discipline is easier to get into for a PhD.

• Are you comparing physics undergraduates getting into physics PhD programs against engineering graduates getting into engineering programs or against physics graduates applying for engineering programs?
• What was your sample size?
• Can you assume that equal proportions of physics graduates and engineering graduates want to get into PhD programs in the first place? I would guess that more engineers would want to start professional careers right away, while more physics graduates would want to go into PhD programs.
• Are there equal numbers of PhD positions available between the disciplines?
• It's very rare for sub 3.0 GPAs to be accepted into physics graduate programs (and probably the same for engineers). While it's not impossible, there's a strong risk that such students will not be successful with their qualifying or candidacy examinations.