Studying for masters in a field completely unrelated to phys

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snap
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:28 pm

Studying for masters in a field completely unrelated to phys

Post by snap » Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:49 pm

I double degreed (if that's a word!) in physics and something else completely unrelated to physics for my undergrad. And for various reasons too complicated to relate here, I'm now in a masters program for the other field. I'll graduate from that program by the end of this year (for a total of 1 year).

So the question is, how shall I approach this in my application? I love the other field, but I know all along that I'll go to physics grad school eventually. (Partly why I entered the masters programs is that I'm afraid that I won't have any time for anything else once I go to physics grad school...). I don't want the admission committee to think that I"m no serious about physics!

So should I not mention this masters thing at all (but then I somehow need to explain what I did during the "gap" year)?

Or let the masters degree somehow appear in the app (since many school asks for what degrees I have anyways), but not mention it anywhere else?

Or give it a small mention in my SOP (but would it bring to attention that I spent significant amount of time doing something not physics)?

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grae313
Posts: 2296
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 8:46 pm

Re: Studying for masters in a field completely unrelated to phys

Post by grae313 » Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:51 pm

Use your SOP to convince them that you are serious about physics and I think your masters degree is a strength. Highlight anything from it that might demonstrate your capability to succeed in the graduate school environment.

snap
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:28 pm

Re: Studying for masters in a field completely unrelated to phys

Post by snap » Fri Oct 15, 2010 7:38 pm

So you are saying that I should mention my other degree in my SOP? I'm really hoping that my other degree does not prove to be a distraction.



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