Should I Pursue a BS in Physics After a Finance Degree?

[hyiq528]

Hi guys, could you please give me some advices?

I am wondering if I should retake a bachelor degree after my graduation from a business college last year.

Some detail about myself:

I have finished my bachelor of finance studying last year. But I like physics very much and want to pursue a physics researcher career. I have received an offer of Bachelor of Science from Australian National University.

However, I also want to know if if it is possible to apply for a physics graduate school without a BS in physics.

Any idea or suggestion is appreciated.

 

[whitay]

You should be eligible for Graduate Certificate of Science at most universities. You would the be able to select mainly physics courses. Once you have finished that I am sure you would be eligible to apply for a Masters program.

http://graduate.science.unimelb.edu.au/master-of-science-physics

 

[hyiq528]

You should be eligible for Graduate Certificate of Science at most universities. You would the be able to select mainly physics courses. Once you have finished that I am sure you would be eligible to apply for a Masters program.

http://graduate.science.unimelb.edu.au/master-of-science-physics

Thank you. But I am afraid I don't meet the requirement.

on the website, ithe Entry prerequisites & requirements is "a bachelor degree with a major in an appropriate discipline with at least an H3 (65%) in the major, or equivalent."

My bachelor degree in in finance, without a physics major...it seems that does not work for me.

 

[whitay]

Yes, but you need to look up a Graduate Certificate of Science from a university.

https://graduate.science.unimelb.edu.au/graduate-certificate-science

If Melbourne University is too difficult to get into because of per-requisites then there are heaps of other universities with lesser prerequisites.

Once you have a graduate certificate then you should be able to gain admission to a postgraduate physics programs.

Note, I have no affiliations with Melb Uni. Just an example of what Australian universities offers.

 

[Choppy]

However, I also want to know if if it is possible to apply for a physics graduate school without a BS in physics.

I don't know much about the Australian system, but generally speaking the answer is no. Most graduate programs will look for candidates who already have a bachelor's degree in physics or equivalent. The latter there is generally taken to mean a physical science with a specific subset of common courses - so you're looking at majors such as physical chemistry, astronomy or engineering physics. Most schools that are worth applying to will already have a pool of candidates that meet those requirements. So there isn't much point in denying them to take a risk on someone who hasn't covered the prerequisites.

If you look hard enough I'm sure you'll find exceptions... people who got in despite having a degree in something else, but it's easy to get lulled into the trap of believing that's common place, when really it's the exception rather than the rule.

You might want to check out this thread if you haven't already:
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=64966

 

[whitay]

I don't know much about the Australian system, but generally speaking the answer is no. Most graduate programs will look for candidates who already have a bachelor's degree in physics or equivalent.

The Australian system has a lot of short Graduate Certificate and Diploma programs for students to transition into different fields.

We also have different types of masters programs, coursework, research, and combined. With an unrelated bachelor and Graduate Certificate in appropriate field, it should fairly straight forward to get into a combined program.