Schools Would I be able to get into grad school for EE with a bachelors in physics

AI Thread Summary
A sophomore in college is considering a double major in physics and electrical engineering (EE) but prefers to focus solely on physics for now. The main concern is whether a bachelor's degree in physics would allow for admission to graduate school in EE without needing a second bachelor's degree. It is noted that several graduate students in the EE department have transitioned from physics backgrounds. The discussion highlights that while a physics degree may limit some options, it still provides a viable pathway to EE graduate programs, especially if the student has strong computational skills and programming experience. Additionally, some graduate programs allow for students to catch up on foundational EE courses after completing a physics degree, and there are opportunities for dual degrees, such as a Ph.D. in physics combined with a master's in EE.
cdot
Messages
44
Reaction score
0
I'm a sophomore in college. I have just finished all my general education requirements and have been thinking about double majoring in physics and EE but I would much rather focus on just physics for the time being. I would still like to be able to pursue EE after I earn a bachelors in physics. Could I go to grad school for EE with a bachelors in physics? or would I have to go back and earn a second bachelors?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I know of at least a few grad students in the EE department at my school who only did Physics undergrads. The advantage for you is that EE is a very broad subject area, and even though you haven't learned a lot of the things EE majors learn (like circuit design beyond a very basic level), you can probably find a couple areas of research that you're well qualified for. If you enjoyed/did well in your computational physics classes and are somewhat proficient with a programming language like C/C++ (in the context of using it for calculations), that will probably help quite a bit.

I'd say you've got a pretty good shot at getting into some form of EE grad school, your options will probably just be more limited than an EE major's.
 
I friend of mine did her bachelors in math with a minor in physics and now she's doing her masters in EE, she just needs to take foundation courses like signals, circuits, and electronics to catch up.
 
At my school, you can do a double grad getting a Ph.D in Physics with a MS in EE with only a BS in Physics. I'm sure many have done it all over the country.
 
I graduated with a BSc in Physics in 2020. Since there were limited opportunities in my country (mostly teaching), I decided to improve my programming skills and began working in IT, first as a software engineer and later as a quality assurance engineer, where I’ve now spent about 3 years. While this career path has provided financial stability, I’ve realized that my excitement and passion aren’t really there, unlike what I felt when studying or doing research in physics. Working in IT...
Hi everyone! I'm a senior majoring in physics, math, and music, and I'm currently in the process applying for theoretical and computational biophysics (primarily thru physics departments) Ph.D. programs. I have a 4.0 from a basically unknown school in the American South, two REUs (T50 and T25) in computational biophysics and two semesters of research in optics (one purely experimental, one comp/exp) at my home institution (since there aren't any biophysics profs at my school), but no...

Similar threads

Replies
7
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
1K
Replies
16
Views
2K
Replies
12
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
3K
Replies
9
Views
3K
Back
Top