EP Majors Talk About the Degree Program University of Wisconsin-Madison September 2009 Speaker 1: I think that engineering physics is a really good major for those who are considering doing research in one of the three focus areas, being plasma physics, scientific computation, or in nanotechnology, or even something that is just sort of closely related, and I say that for two main reasons: And one is that you get a really broad background, as opposed to the physicists or mathematicians that might be coming into graduate school in this type of area, you get a lot of engineering classes that they don't get. You get things like heat transfer and, maybe, fluid mechanics they wouldn't have, materials science. And on the flip side, you get a lot of physics and math classes that your fellow engineers don't get. And, one thing I've noticed is that engineers and physicists look at the world very differently, and I think it's good to get sort of the dual perspective, just in the way you approach problems and dealing with people, it's good to see both sides of the coin. Speaker 2: One thing you have to keep in mind with the engineering physics major is that it requires a willingness to think more deeply about some of the underlying physics and assumptions that go into a lot of engineering practices. Speaker 3: Well, in engineering physics, we have a wide variety of undergraduate courses that are offered, so you get to sample a large cross-section of different courses available in other departments and while kind of gaining a very solid foundation in general science and physics, of course. Speaker 4: All right. So I'd have to say that one of the biggest advantages to the engineering physics degree is that if you're interested in one of the focus areas, it gives you a lot of flexibility in that you can take whatever courses are needed to give you proper background in that area and then later in your undergrad you can actually go into specific courses in that field, which isn't always possible with most majors, so if what you're interested in is one of the EP focus areas, or is close, it allows you to really get a pretty unique opportunity to take specific courses in that field and actually also get the proper background for it, so that's a great opportunity. And then if you're interested in going to grad school or any sort of research field in general, the fact that you're already doing this sort of research as an undergrad really gives you a big one-up, I mean, you can actually make a lot of connections, even just during your EP research, which I definitely have, so you can make connections with people all around the world, even, which is a huge head start, and it really can give you a great start on grad school, can help you a lot for grad school admissions, and, even if you're just going into industry to do research, it's really the same thing, you're really just an invaluable head start on it. Speaker 2: It's not just being trained to solve problems and turn the crank and do all that. It's about learning how to think in new ways. and that"s one of the most important parts about the engineering physics major. Speaker 5: If you're thinking about becoming an engineering physics major, it's good to talk to people who are already in the program to really look at what types of curriculum have they taken, because not only do you have certain classes for graduation, but you also have certain classes you're going to need as background for your research project, and if you aren't up to speed with the class work that you need for your research project, it's going to make it very difficult and you'll spend most of your time trying to self-teach, versus being able to actually work on the project itself. So, in my opinion, the best thing to do is, talk to the people who are currently in the program. Talk to them, find out how they got into it, what they liked about it, what their decision-making process was, before they got into the program. And then, find out what they thought about it since then. Are they glad they chose the major? If they could go back and change to a different major, would they? And if not, that's great, if so, have them explain why. And then kind of make that decision on your own, but based off the guidance from people who are really in the major, not just what you read in a course manual or in a brochure. Speaker 6: OK, so some of the advantages that come with taking this major and why you might want to select it over other majors, are things you can avoid, complaints I've heard from other related majors that you don't find so much in this major. One main complaint I've heard from other majors is advisors who provide bad advice or don't really have too much of a peronal relationship with their advisees. This is a very small major, and there are several advisors, depending on what focus area you have, and so my advisor knows me personally, and there have never really been any issues with bad advice, since all the advisors are very involved with the major because it is so small, so you never have problems with bad advice, bad classes, taking things that waste your time. Speaker 3: I think the EP major is a good choice for those who would like to have a diverse schedule but at the same time a very technical schedule. Speaker 6: If you plan on attending grad school, or are at all interested in going to grad school, I would highly recommend it, if you're in plasmas, or nano, computational, whichever the area. It's very helpful just as kind of interaction, this is what you're going to be expecting in grad school, this is the kind of, I guess, actual work you're going to be doing, because when you start your research project, you're actually doing the work that you're pretty much going to be doing in grad school. Speaker 7: I'm not aware of any other opportunities like the research that you get through the engineering physics department on campus. This research will be invaluable, you can put it on your resume, you can tell other people what you've done in terms of the research here on campus. And this is something that will definitely be useful to prepare yourself for your future -- grad school or industry experience. Speaker 6: Honestly, though, if you are at least a little bit interested in grad school, I would definitely recommend this major. The experience is great. A lot of the stuff that you learn, I'm sure tons of grad students who end up going to Madison who didn't take this major probably would have liked to have the information that you're given now. It's a great foundation of information. Speaker 1: Also, you sort of get your foot in the door and you kind of know what's out there as far as research topics and who's working on what, and maybe where you want to go for graduate school and that sort of thing. It should be noted, though, that this program is not the best for those who are considering doing something other than graduate school. It's designed for those who are intending to go to graduate school, and it's really good for that, and although I'm sure it's possible to get a job without a master's or a doctorate, there are other degrees that are probably better for that sort of thing, so for those students who are interested in a lot of math and science and physics-type classes, they might want to consider more of a nuclear engineering or an engineering mechanics type degree. Speaker 8: The reasons to not consider it are probably if you have absolutely no intention of going to grad school or are really set on going into industry right after you graduate, or if you are much more solidly in either the engineering or the physics camp, like I get fulfillment from both of those, and I think that's why I enjoy the engineering physics major so much, but if someone much more of just an engineer-- just application, application or theory, theory -- they probably shouldn't go into this either. Speaker 5: But if you're uncertain as to whether or not you're going to grad school or if you're really not dedicated to a specific aspect of engineering physics, i.e., not necessarily dedicated to plasma physics or scientific computing or nanotechnology, you're just kind of sort of interested, you might be better off sticking with one of the more traditional majors, but taking engineering physics classes, for example, Engineering Physics 468 or even Engineering Physics 469 to determine if it's right for you before you declare it as a major, because it is incredibly demanding. The amount of time I spend on my school work compared to, say, some of my mechanical engineering friends is in some cases almost double. That said, if you do like some of the aspects of engineering physics and you want to declare it as a major, it is great. You'll work meet and work with some of the best people you're ever going to meet, and there are a lot of aspects to your classes, where having such a small group in a major -- you know, we have maybe 15 to 20 people in the major at any given time -- you're always able to see people in class that you know, that are in your major and you can discuss things. You have homework groups that form pretty easily in this major. Speaker 7: Now, engineering physics as a major prepares you for work that's at the forefront of recent scientific developments, especially in my field. I really like nanoengineering and nanomaterials, and in the nanoengineering program in engineering physics, I am taking courses and learning material that will be extremely useful for new and developing fields, so I'm excited to get out into industry or into research in the future to see what I can do in this rapidly developing field. Speaker 8: So, I should preface my discussion on whether or not to consider the engineering physics major with the fact that I've really enjoyed my time in the engineering phyics major so far. One of the reasons I came to the UW instead of a smaller school was that I really wanted good research experience and I wanted to do cutting-edge research and I think this major really facilitates that. -------------- Copyright 2009 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin system. All rights reserved. Last updated: September 17, 2009. Created September 4, 2009.