What courses to take in addition to engineering physics?

[lirkepirk]

Hey, I am strongly thinking of switching from mechanical engineering over to engineering physics. I am thinking of taking the first year again, and will therefore have about 5 courses I can choose freely.
So the question is, what courses could be a nice addition to a engineering physics degree?

I would like the courses to make me more attractive for industry and/or applied research, and perhaps if the degree is as flexible as I think, maybe open up for some interesting master thesis topics. I am thinking of some thermodynamics, fluid and simulation courses. I also find acoustics and sound interesting, but that is something I can chose later anyway. Anyway: do you have any advice?

 

[lirkepirk]

I guess it is an idea to take some finance or something, but I'd rather aim towards technology/science :)

 

[Student100]

How is your EP major structured? Is it basically an engineering degree with physics electives, or a physics degree with an engineering minor? Is it accredited from the engineering accreditation association?

 

[lirkepirk]

I am from Europe (Norway), so minor/major does not really translate directly, afaik. I would probably classify it more like a physics degree with an engineering minor. I can add that it is an integrated masters degree, so it is 5 years in total. I can list the courses I am required to take: Classical mechanics (I & II), Electricity and Magnetism, Electomagnetic theory, Fluid mechanics, Thermal Physics, Statisical physics,, Quantum Mechanics (I&II), C++, numerical maths for physics and biophysics, Instrumentation (I&II), Optics and Solid state physics.

Other than that there are of course typical engineering maths, chemistry and some other "technology"-related courses every engineering student is required to take. After that, in my 4th and 5th year, I do have a lot of electives. 7-9 of them. It seems like I can pick and choose pretty freely within theoretical physics, environmental physics, cybernetics and programming, acoustics, aerodynamics, energy and materials. As long as it is related to physics in some way it seems :) On the other hand, the norm seems to be to choose the recommended courses from the physics department.

To recap: I have now got 5 additional courses I can choose entirely freely (could be economics for that matter), and I am wondering what would be wise to choose.

 

[Student100]

Is a dedicated MATLAB class avaliable? Or is it integrated in your engineering classes? Any DSP, microwave antenna design, materials or FPGA courses might also be beneficial to industry. Any experimental (heavily lab based) physics classes would be a good choice as well.

 

[lirkepirk]

I had some MATLAB programming in an introductory course, but we only scratched the surface. But I'll look into it! I have the impression that MATLAB is tought as a tool in other courses. Good suggestions, I did not think about many of them as possibilities.