Returning to School for a Better Degree?

HerbieTMac asks: "I graduated a few years ago (AB '00) from a decent school. Having worked my myself quite nearly to death, I am now the proud owner of two bachelor's degrees in Economics and Public Policy. I also have put in a couple of years working as a Computer Science TA for the masters program. Being older and arguably wiser, I find that I don't really like where I am going and instead want to pursue a PhD in physics. The problem is that most PhD programs require an undergraduate degree in physics first. Or at least a significant amount of classwork in the field. Most of my physics knowledge has come from self-study and bumming class notes from friends. I'd love to go back to school and do the work for the AB but most schools won't accept applications for a second (in my case third) bachelor's degree. Has anyone else decided that they really didn't want to work with the first degree? How did you go about convincing a school that you are a good bet? Or even to let you do some preparatory course work?"

Comments

Try this...

[foistboinder]

Rather than trying to get an undergraduate degree, just take the physics and math courses that an undergraduate would take. Find out from a graduate program what they think are the most important courses. FWIW, I knew a guy with a BA in English who eventually got a PHD in physics.

A tough choice

[shoppa]

You would truly struggle if you started physics grad school without a very thorough physics and appropriate math background. Typical first-year grad school in physics would have Jackson-level Electrodynamics, some kind of quantum physics, etc. Most physics grad programs offer a "mathematical methods" class to get those who are coming in with a good physics background but maybe a weak physics background up to speed; you'll be needing a lot more than that.

Undoubtedly your undergraduate math classes (probably first-year calculus and several statistics classes, given your undergrad degrees) were sufficient for your current degrees, but they just aren't enough for graduate-level physics.

What kind of physics?

[f97tosc]

Do you want to go to a theoretical or applied branch?

If you want to do hard-core theoretical physics you need to be extraordinary intelligent and hard-working to do even a minor contribution to the field. Of course, it you are really passionate about it you will be rewarded just by getting a better understanding about the world we live in.

If you want to do some applied physics (say material science or space propulsion) the prospects are much better to do a serious contribution, especially if you are smart, hard-working and lucky.

Tor (physics BS/MS now in consulting)

Try master's first

[Anonymous Coward]

Some schools will admit you to a Master's degree program on a provisional basis. Admittedly, physics is a tough discipline to break into. Look into getting a master's degree in a related field, like mathematics.

What schools don't accept your money?

[happyDave]

You can take the courses you need as a non-degree seeking student. The graduate schools will look at your transcripts, see the requisite courses, and let you in (provided you've jumped through all the other hoops first, of course). Education is all about jumping through hoops for people. Jump through the right hoops for the right people, and you can get where you need to go.

Also, since you have an educational background in econ, you might be able to get into a graduate program in Math. From there it's an easier jump to graduate degrees in physics. They may let you play their PhD games, even!

Finally, you can always try to get a favor from a former professor. Did you take any physics in college at all? How about math? Go talk to your professors, and talk to professors and admissions officers at schools you are interested in.

The slashdot crowd has many intelligent people with great ideas, but that's no substitute for talking to the very people who really do control your destiny. Talk to the colleges, not us.

why here?

[ameoba]

By turning to Ask Slashdot you're missing the most obvious place to get information, the admissions office and advisors at the school(s) you want to go to. Having recently looked at grad schools, many schools (and even departments inside of them) have wildly differing requirements. A few emails to grad-info@bigstate.edu will probably get you a lot more useful, relevant, accurate information than 100 posts here.

My $0.02 : Find a not-entirely-prestigious school that will let you into their MS program and let you make up the undergrad classes that you're missing out on (could probably bust them out in a year or so) and from there transver into the Really Good School to finish up the PhD. That way, you not only make up the missing undergrad work quickly, you also end up with a MS degree at the halfway point, giving you an advanced degree to fall-back on if you decide to not go on to the PhD.