ECE applying for Physics Grad School

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physics-ee
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Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2020 12:33 am

ECE applying for Physics Grad School

Post by physics-ee » Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:26 am

Profile:
Final year ECE student in Pakistan. University ranked highest in Pakistan overall and for ECE. Reputation okay for Physics. GPA is 3.55.
I have done research within the EECS domain. An internship in a a research lab relating to Deep Neural Network architectures. Currently a Research Assistant at a lab. My thesis is on Neural Networks based robotics. I'm also currently a TA for an ML course for Master's students.
Physics Courses: Introductory Course in Applied Physics, Thermodynamics, Engineering Mechanics, Electromagnetic Field Theory, and QM-1. Hoping to take QM-2 and/or statistical physics and SSE in the final semester. Self-taught Classical Mechanics (Idk how much that means though).
Mathematical Courses: Calculus -1, Linear Algebra and ODEs, Multivariable and Vector Calculus, Complex Variables and Transforms (Essentially complex analysis with an applied focus), Probability and Statistics, Numerical Methods.
ECE Courses that might be relevant: Programming courses are quite extensive from Object Oriented, Data Structures and Algorithms to Machine Learning. Circuit Analysis courses are obviously heavily studied. Electrical Machines, Instrumentation and Measurement courses, Microwave Engineering (Applications of Maxwell's Equations) might be considered relevant.

My honest question is, do I really stand a chance at a Physics graduate program? My GPA isn't the highest, though I do have 3.8+ GPA in my last 3 semesters. While I have some courses in Physics, my major concern is a lack of research in Physics. Traditionally, Engineering students don't traditionally sit in Physics courses at my university. Had to email people all around the university to make them let me take QM.

Would I be better off applying to Applied Math programs? I do feel like my mathematical background might be comparable to a Physics major, and I took quite math-heavy upper level ECE courses like DSP and Advanced Control Systems.

If I do end up applying to Universities in the US for either Applied Math or Physics, would you have any suggestions?

Thank you for reading this post, your replies will be highly appreciated.



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