Expert: Daniel Mazur - 5/11/2009

Question
QUESTION: Q: Sir,I'm in my 1st year of Elctronics and Communication Engineering at PSG College of Technology(ranked no.16 in India). Actually I was highly interested in Physics particularly Astrophysics and I wanted to do B.Sc Physics. Heiring from a middle class family I had to face a lot of pressure from my parent's side and I had to take up engineering. But still I haven't given up my spirit of becomig a physicist and i'm equipping myself with B.Sc Physics by the side of engineering. After completing engineering I want to do MS in Physics in US. How should I prepare myself for this tremendous task? Even if I were to clear GRE exams my parents will certainly find it difficult to afford for my higher studies in US. How can I overcome this bottleneck. Seeking your kind advice!

ANSWER: Dear Balakrishnan,

you situation is not going to be easy, but if you are determined as you say, it will be manageable. Firstly, what you will need is to get the best grades in the physics Bc you are adding to your engineering curriculum. You will especially need to master all the university maths.

Secondly, you should also find two or three textbooks that are used in USA. At the school that gave me my doctorate they used Halliday-Resnick-Walker for four semesters of basic physics course. Then I suggest you pay close attention to classical mechanics, electromagnetics, thermodynamics and statistical physics. You need to find books on this subject, your university library should have a few on each subject.

I suggest that you take a look at the physics department pages of some U.S. university and learn as much as possible about their physics curricula and syllabi of the subjects. For example, here is one list of subjects
http://www.iit.edu/csl/phy/programs/course_descriptions.shtml#PHYS123
each having its description. Here then
http://www.iit.edu/csl/phy/programs/undergrad/bs_phys.shtml#
is a sample physics curriculum. It will give you a good idea, what US Bc graduates are expected to know.
To the second part of your question. American universities offer a number of "assistant" positions every year. This means that a student-assistant is completely self-supporting. Your family will not have to invest more than your air-ticket and a few thousands of dollars of start-up money. This is from my personal experience, you will need to pay for your housing and meals for a few weeks before your first pay arrives. It is true that the US universities like much better giving assistantships to people, who already have a Master's degree. It is for this reason, that you must now put all your efforts to obtaining the best possible grades. For your US admission you will also need furnish two or three letters of recommendation from physics faculty at your school in India. This also makes it important that you make the best impression of your skills on your teachers.

I hope this is enough to give you an idea of the steps you'll need to take. Like I said, it will be a difficult task, but it is very well possible.

Cheers,
Daniel Mazur


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sir,it seems to me that from few of the sntences you used, I think you have thought that i am doing my B.Sc Physics by joining a college. I would like to make clear that I'm doing the B.Sc Physics on my own without going for any correspondence course. Since this is the case how can i know my progress?

Answer
Hello,
indeed, I misunderstood you. In your case then please do your best to get the best possible grades in your engineering curriculum. I strongly recommend that you go see a physics professor and tell him about your desire to move to physics - the whole story. You can study from the books, but you will need to discuss things with a professor as a tutor. Nothing can really substitute that. Later you will also need the professor's good will to write you the letter of recommendation I mentioned.
The admission on US universities relies on grades, GRE score, TOEFL score and letters of recommendation. Those letters must be from physics faculty, while if you study an engineering Bc, I think you will still need ONE from a physics professor.
Please ask again if necessary, I will try to help with all I know.
Daniel