Schwartz vs. Jackson: Comparing EM Textbooks for Graduate Studies

[chill_factor]

My M.S. school is using Schwartz for EM instead of Jackson. I've heard horror stories about Jackson so I'm very happy at this news right now. However, does this mean I'm "missing out" and would need to do Jackson for a 2nd round of EM if I were to go to PhD in Physics at a different school that uses Jackson?

 

[Steely Dan]

Yes, Schwartz is more along the lines of Griffiths and under undergraduate electromagnetism texts than it is along the lines of Jackson. If you go to a PhD program that uses Jackson, they probably won't accept that course for placing out (unless you go significantly above and beyond the scope of what Schwartz covers).

As to whether you're missing out? Maybe not. A substantial part of the Jackson experience is spent evaluating mathematical expressions, not learning new physics.