Mechanical Engineering to Astronomy and Planetary Science

Post Reply

What should I do?

Practice, practice, practice, and take the Physics GRE.
1
50%
Take undergrad physics classes first.
1
50%
Just go all the way and get a second bachelors in physics.
0
No votes
Consider a less physics intensive program.
0
No votes
Try a masters program in physics first.
0
No votes
Other. Please explain in comments.
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 2

jjosh_h
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2015 7:04 pm

Mechanical Engineering to Astronomy and Planetary Science

Post by jjosh_h » Sat Feb 21, 2015 7:19 pm

I'm graduating from GA Tech in May with a BS in mechanical engineering. I haven't had phyiscs for a couple years, and the highest level I had was up to (and not including) modern physics. I'm looking to move onto astronomy and space science. In particular, I'm interested in a planetary science astronomy program similar to the one at the university of Colorado-Boulder. http://www.colorado.edu/admissions/grad ... ograms/aps

Except this program and others like it are rather physics intensive, and I'm wondering if it's worth trying to tackle the physics GRE (in the fall) with so much time since I took it and without having taken the more advanced classes. Do I need to just consider taking undergraduate physics classes before I go to grad school?

My other option is forgoing the astronomy focus and going to a more geo-science planetary science program.

Thanks for your time, and I really look forward to your responses.

PS: I have a 2.81 GPA at the moment, however I'm confident that after this last semester I will pull it up to a 3.0 if not higher. Also, this semester I'm doing my first undergraduate research. The research entails studying the dynamics of glacier fractures on earth and using that to better understand the chaos terrains on Europa. If I took more undergrad courses, I'd try to find more research opportunities to take part in.



Post Reply