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physics and math again

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:41 pm
by manicwhale
A practical question this time. From your experience, do you know:

a) If I do a masters in math, and then apply to a physics Ph.D., are my chances are better or worse than if I just apply to physics grad school to start?
a) If I do a masters in physics, and then apply to a math Ph.D., are my chances are better or worse than if I just apply to math grad school to start?

I realise that ideally I shouldn't do either, but just in case.

Re: physics and math again

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:32 pm
by grae313
manicwhale wrote:A practical question this time. From your experience, do you know:

a) If I do a masters in math, and then apply to a physics Ph.D., are my chances are better or worse than if I just apply to physics grad school to start?
a) If I do a masters in physics, and then apply to a math Ph.D., are my chances are better or worse than if I just apply to math grad school to start?

I realise that ideally I shouldn't do either, but just in case.
It's tough to say, but I'd guess you might do better in PhD admissions with a math masters but worse in math PhD admissions with a physics masters. I say this because the math will really help you in physics grad classes (assuming you have the full physics undergrad preparation), but the physics masters will not help you nearly as much with math grad classes.

Re: physics and math again

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:51 am
by twistor
Why not do a Ph.d. in the same field you do your masters in?

Re: physics and math again

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 3:19 am
by pqortic
first decide what you want, physics or math, then go for one of them in both MS and phd.

Re: physics and math again

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:44 am
by sravanskarri
There is also a program called Mathematical Physics in very good universities (such as Princeton) you may want to check that too

Re: physics and math again

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:29 am
by manicwhale
Well, like I said, I would prefer to figure out what I want to do and stick with that. But just in case I can't, I'd like to know which one is more flexible. I am inclined to think, like grae, that it is easier to go from math to physics than the other way around. I would even say that doing a masters in math and then switching to physics is *better* than just going into physics, in terms of my chances of getting in. However, I'm less sure about this second point, so I was hoping someone would have advice for me on this matter.