Which Undergraduate Degree Path is Best for Fluid Dynamics and Plasma Physics?

[OscarV]

Hello,

My university offers degrees in the following: Physics with mathematics, Physics with theoretical physics, and physics with computer science.

I am interested in fluid dynamics and plasma physics and lean more to the theoretical side. I would like to build a versatile toolkit in order to be able to work in industry research or research at university in some applied mathematics. What do you think would be the most useful option?

Cheers and thank you in advance

 

[gwnorth]

I am interested in fluid dynamics and plasma physics and lean more to the theoretical side.

I would like to build a versatile toolkit in order to be able to work in industry research or research at university in some applied mathematics.

Your 2 goals seem to be quite disparate. Do all 3 programs cover the same core physics courses? If so then the "&" in conjunction with Physics is a bonus. The applications to having a double major with CS or Math seem pretty self-evident and would meet your second stated goal in addition to leaving the door open to broad application in many fields.

Beyond that the question becomes what courses would the theoretical Physics program offer/require that would not be covered in the other two streams? What courses do they share in common?

With regards to your first stated goal, my personal view is that in general undergraduate education should lean more towards the broad rather than the specific and should provide you with a grounding in a wide range of topics. If you do decide to want to pursue research or application in fluid dynamics and/or plasma physics, it seems to me that that would be better left to graduate school (and you never know your interests may change over the course of your studies and you may decide on a different field). It's more important that whichever program you choose provides you the basic courses required to provide the broad foundation for that further specialization. If the CS and/or Math streams provide sufficient depth in Physics then it would seem to me that they may be of most practical value. If they sacrifice some of that depth in order to accommodate the additional CS or Math courses then I would not choose them. Most Physics programs provide a strong grounding in Math as it is as well as some programming courses. Another option you could consider is if your degree structure allows, you could add additional Math or CS courses as electives.

 

[vela]

I am interested in fluid dynamics and plasma physics and lean more to the theoretical side.

Almost all undergrads think they favor theory, but most people end up going into the experimental side of physics where more people are needed. That's probably even more true for industry compared to academia.

 

[OscarV]

Your 2 goals seem to be quite disparate. Do all 3 programs cover the same core physics courses? If so then the "&" in conjunction with Physics is a bonus. The applications to having a double major with CS or Math seem pretty self-evident and would meet your second stated goal in addition to leaving the door open to broad application in many fields.

Beyond that the question becomes what courses would the theoretical Physics program offer/require that would not be covered in the other two streams? What courses do they share in common?

With regards to your first stated goal, my personal view is that in general undergraduate education should lean more towards the broad rather than the specific and should provide you with a grounding in a wide range of topics. If you do decide to want to pursue research or application in fluid dynamics and/or plasma physics, it seems to me that that would be better left to graduate school (and you never know your interests may change over the course of your studies and you may decide on a different field). It's more important that whichever program you choose provides you the basic courses required to provide the broad foundation for that further specialization. If the CS and/or Math streams provide sufficient depth in Physics then it would seem to me that they may be of most practical value. If they sacrifice some of that depth in order to accommodate the additional CS or Math courses then I would not choose them. Most Physics programs provide a strong grounding in Math as it is as well as some programming courses. Another option you could consider is if your degree structure allows, you could add additional Math or CS courses as electives.

Thank you for your response. It is actually very helpful. What I am very unclear about is if the CS courses are more geared towards experimental or theoretical applications. That is I have the idea of theoretical physicists just needing pen and paper although I could be very wrong and now CS is a necessary skill. The versatile part is because although I know that fluid dynamics is what interests me the most now, I am aware that that might change and would not like to focus prematurely so I want to err in the side of caution by choosing the focus that would best help me with theoretical work.

Cheers

 

[OscarV]

Almost all undergrads think they favor theory, but most people end up going into the experimental side of physics where more people are needed. That's probably even more true for industry compared to academia.

I see. I am aware that I need more experience. Would you say that they go more to experiment because it is harder to find jobs? Or because they found that they like experimental more?

 

[vela]

There are fewer jobs in theory than experiment, so that's definitely a factor. I think it's also that undergrads mostly know how to calculate things because that's what they do in courses, so theory seems more familiar and potentially enjoyable whereas experimental work is unfamiliar and an unknown unless you worked in a lab.

 

[CrysPhys]

OP: What country are you in? Are you planning to stop with an undergraduate degree, or continue on to a graduate degree (if so, master's or PhD)?

 

[OscarV]

I'm studying at Glasgow Uni in Scotland. My intention is to continue with graduate studies, hopefully to a PhD.

OP: What country are you in? Are you planning to stop with an undergraduate degree, or continue on to a graduate degree (if so, master's or PhD)?

 

[CrysPhys]

I'm studying at Glasgow Uni in Scotland. My intention is to continue with graduate studies, hopefully to a PhD.

If your intention is to continue to graduate studies in physics, then you should focus on the strongest program that will prepare you for graduate school; that is, focussed on physics. Of the three options you've listed, that would appear to be physics with theoretical physics. I'm intrigued as to how that program differs in physics content from a plain physics program. If that program still allows free electives, then getting some computer science courses would be helpful. I'm assuming that any necessary math courses will be part of your curriculum. You should also seek out opportunities to do experimental work. You won't know whether you truly prefer theoretical until you have experience with both. Also, experiments are what keep physics grounded in reality.

 

[StatGuy2000]

Hello,

My university offers degrees in the following: Physics with mathematics, Physics with theoretical physics, and physics with computer science.

I am interested in fluid dynamics and plasma physics and lean more to the theoretical side. I would like to build a versatile toolkit in order to be able to work in industry research or research at university in some applied mathematics. What do you think would be the most useful option?

Cheers and thank you in advance

To the OP:

I checked the University of Glasgow School of Physics & Astronomy website and found that there are several undergraduate programs offered:

Single honours: Physics, Theoretical Physics

Combined honours: Physics with Mathematics/Applied Mathematics, Physics with Computing Science

https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/physics/undergraduate/undergraduatestudy/

When I delved more deeply into the curriculum, it appears that the main core courses in the first 2 years are the same across all of these programs, and that the only differences start around the third year, where theoretical physics students focus more on specific mathematics courses and computational projects.

As far as graduate programs are concerned, all options seem to be open to you. So no program seems to offer a better advantage over another.

I would suggest you speak to an advisor from the school to request more information.

 

[Choppy]

I would second making an appointment with an academic advisor. As per the post above, it's important to look through the course calendar at what courses you would actually be taking in each possible routes. In some schools the difference between tracks may only be one or two courses, while at others they could be completely different streams. If the first two years are relatively common, it probably doesn't really matter what you pick, as you should be able to switch if it turns out another avenue is more to your liking later. This is why an advisor is a great source of information. They'll know all these little details as they apply specifically to your school.