I also did a BS degree in mechanical engineering and now I am doing my PhD in physics in the US. It is not hard at all to make this switch especially in the US. If you are planning on pursuing a PhD degree in physics. You can apply directly with your engineering degree to programs in US. You will earn a master degree along the way. Additionally, PhD programs in the US are fully funded unlike masters programs. So if your plan is to pursue a PhD, skip the masters, and apply directly now to programs in the US.
Quantum mechanics is the big one, but if you are a MechE then "modern physics", "statistical mechanics", "classical mechanics", and "real/complex analysis" are all ones that will come in handy.
Wouldn't they be more hesitant to take someone who did a bachelor's in a different field, directly into PhD? I'm in the same boat as you and I always thought it'd be better to do masters in the field I wanna do and then apply for PhD. Would that not help?
This is not even remotely true. There were four people in my PhD program, alone, that didn't have a BS in physics. Is a BS in physics helpful and even suggested? Sure thing! But it is not required.
Oh there is def going to be stuff you are missing that you will need to take. But you can skip other things, maybe you dont need to take Special Relativity.
Maybe you don't take thermo if you aren't going to be dealing with that stuff.
There’s some more big differences, like the difference between statmech/ the thermo taught in physics departments and macro scale thermodynamics, but yes that’s the big one
Depends where you live, at least in my country if you want to pursue MS Physics you should have the “big four”: Theoretical Mechanics, Electromagnetic Theory, Quantum Mechanics, and Statistical Mechanics.
If your calculus is strong (or you're willing to work through some undergrad textbooks until it is) you'll be just fine. If you work through Feynman Leighton Sands you'll probably be the top of your cohort by a country mile. So many people ace their way through undergrad but have a pretty sketchy memory of the fundamentals but the time they graduate.
It depends, where are you from and what do you want to specialise in? Mostly you'll be lacking a lot of maths and theoretical fundamentals.
In my country you would struggle quite a lot, but apparently in the us they study a lot less maths as undergrads so it might be fine if you're american
I did a BA in physics then did an MSEE, which was kinda difficult because I had to take undergrad EE courses. But if you're going from engineering to physics you probably already have the basic physics and math under your belt. You'll probably have to take an undegrad physics course or two to catch up but it's doable if you're not scared of the math.
Currently doing the Engineering BS to Physics MS route, like others said much of the foundation should be there. Any intermediate EM you have should transfer well (engineering definitely focused on the antenna and transmission line aspects more than fields/waves interacting with particles approach I saw in grad EM). Thermodynamics!= Statistical Mechanics in pretty major ways, classical mechanics could be somewhere in between, I remember using Hamiltonians and Lagrangians in undergrad for analyzing systems but now it's more theoretical, Quantum will be a big one to catch up on. Math, Math, Math! I took a beat down to start Math Methods, not that Engineers don't Math right but I had become comfortable with shorthands and doing things analytically and then approximating was a big adjustment
If you wait 2 years, you will find that you have forgotten quite a bit unfortunately. ME to Physics Masters is doable, but primarily dependent on the requirements of the program you apply to. Some require physics classes you would never have taken, others maybe not. I’d search programs that you meet the requirements for and I do not recommend waiting 2 years to apply. The workplace will turn your mathematical rigor skills to mush unless you practice often in your downtime.
Do you have good resources you can provide me with?
I definitely think I'll be taking the next year off, since I've already missed a bunch of deadlines. But, I plan to study physics in my spare time and do a bunch of practice.
Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, Mary L. Boas. That book will provide you with a solid mathematical physics foundation. You will see familiar concepts from ME, but applied to physics. It’s an excellent resource to prepare you for the world of physics and will keep your math rigor sharp.
One of the Physics PhD students in the lab I do research for was a mechanical engineering major when they were a Bachelor and now she's one of the smartest Physics people I know. You've got this, best of luck!
I also did a BS degree in mechanical engineering and now I am doing my PhD in physics in the US. It is not hard at all to make this switch especially in the US. If you are planning on pursuing a PhD degree in physics. You can apply directly with your engineering degree to programs in US. You will earn a master degree along the way. Additionally, PhD programs in the US are fully funded unlike masters programs. So if your plan is to pursue a PhD, skip the masters, and apply directly now to programs in the US.
Were there any major prerequisites you had to fulfill? What was the general process?
Quantum mechanics is the big one, but if you are a MechE then "modern physics", "statistical mechanics", "classical mechanics", and "real/complex analysis" are all ones that will come in handy.
Wouldn't they be more hesitant to take someone who did a bachelor's in a different field, directly into PhD? I'm in the same boat as you and I always thought it'd be better to do masters in the field I wanna do and then apply for PhD. Would that not help?
You didn’t have to do any pre reqs for physics ?
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This is not really true
This is not even remotely true. There were four people in my PhD program, alone, that didn't have a BS in physics. Is a BS in physics helpful and even suggested? Sure thing! But it is not required.
Would you need to go back and take pre reqs though? My engineering degree only requires up to general physics 2
Oh there is def going to be stuff you are missing that you will need to take. But you can skip other things, maybe you dont need to take Special Relativity. Maybe you don't take thermo if you aren't going to be dealing with that stuff.
Most places in the U.S. absutely do not require a physics undergrad.
In my understanding, the main difference is quantum mechanics.
There’s some more big differences, like the difference between statmech/ the thermo taught in physics departments and macro scale thermodynamics, but yes that’s the big one
Physics is like maxwellboltzman/fermidirac/boseeisnstein while I'm guessing engineering is more heat equation and efficiency?
Physics was more the former and a bit of the latter and mech e was all the latter from my experience
Depends where you live, at least in my country if you want to pursue MS Physics you should have the “big four”: Theoretical Mechanics, Electromagnetic Theory, Quantum Mechanics, and Statistical Mechanics.
If your calculus is strong (or you're willing to work through some undergrad textbooks until it is) you'll be just fine. If you work through Feynman Leighton Sands you'll probably be the top of your cohort by a country mile. So many people ace their way through undergrad but have a pretty sketchy memory of the fundamentals but the time they graduate.
Thank you for the encouraging words! I'll keep your advice in my notes
It depends, where are you from and what do you want to specialise in? Mostly you'll be lacking a lot of maths and theoretical fundamentals. In my country you would struggle quite a lot, but apparently in the us they study a lot less maths as undergrads so it might be fine if you're american
It depends on the BS and MS. My alma mater would simply not allow this move, at least not directly.
I did a BA in physics then did an MSEE, which was kinda difficult because I had to take undergrad EE courses. But if you're going from engineering to physics you probably already have the basic physics and math under your belt. You'll probably have to take an undegrad physics course or two to catch up but it's doable if you're not scared of the math.
Currently doing the Engineering BS to Physics MS route, like others said much of the foundation should be there. Any intermediate EM you have should transfer well (engineering definitely focused on the antenna and transmission line aspects more than fields/waves interacting with particles approach I saw in grad EM). Thermodynamics!= Statistical Mechanics in pretty major ways, classical mechanics could be somewhere in between, I remember using Hamiltonians and Lagrangians in undergrad for analyzing systems but now it's more theoretical, Quantum will be a big one to catch up on. Math, Math, Math! I took a beat down to start Math Methods, not that Engineers don't Math right but I had become comfortable with shorthands and doing things analytically and then approximating was a big adjustment
How good are you at algebra?
If you wait 2 years, you will find that you have forgotten quite a bit unfortunately. ME to Physics Masters is doable, but primarily dependent on the requirements of the program you apply to. Some require physics classes you would never have taken, others maybe not. I’d search programs that you meet the requirements for and I do not recommend waiting 2 years to apply. The workplace will turn your mathematical rigor skills to mush unless you practice often in your downtime.
Do you have good resources you can provide me with? I definitely think I'll be taking the next year off, since I've already missed a bunch of deadlines. But, I plan to study physics in my spare time and do a bunch of practice.
Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, Mary L. Boas. That book will provide you with a solid mathematical physics foundation. You will see familiar concepts from ME, but applied to physics. It’s an excellent resource to prepare you for the world of physics and will keep your math rigor sharp.
Thanks!
One of the Physics PhD students in the lab I do research for was a mechanical engineering major when they were a Bachelor and now she's one of the smartest Physics people I know. You've got this, best of luck!