- #1
lsaldana
- 57
- 0
Hello,
I'm here looking for some peer guidance on what electives are more appropriate for a sound (and full-range) background in a physics undergraduate program. My hopes are to attend Graduate school in about two academic years. As of now I'm a junior and just getting into the upper level electro, quantum, thermo, etc, courses. My technical/physics electives as of now include: Solid State Physics, Atomic Physics, Electronics 1 (+ lab), Nuclear/Particle Physics, Complex Analysis, PDE, and a research sequence which includes 3 units of 3 credit hours each (spanning 3 semesters). At this rate in my academic career, these are all the electives I can include but was thinking about switching some; basically this is where I need some advice. The other courses I was thinking about would be Classical Mechanics II (Lagrangian & Hamiltonian Mechanics) and Stellar Astrophysics.
I know graduate school should be a research-topic based choice for me but well I don't want to be generally unprepared by not having learned something like basic astrophysical principles or lagrangian mechanics and the like. I've always been interested in astrophysics but can't seem to choose this Stellar Astrophysics junior class over the Atomic Physics senior class or the other ones aforementioned. At this point I can still switch my elective pics but would like to have an idea on what to take. Help? Thanks!
Quick Course Descriptions for extra information:
I'm here looking for some peer guidance on what electives are more appropriate for a sound (and full-range) background in a physics undergraduate program. My hopes are to attend Graduate school in about two academic years. As of now I'm a junior and just getting into the upper level electro, quantum, thermo, etc, courses. My technical/physics electives as of now include: Solid State Physics, Atomic Physics, Electronics 1 (+ lab), Nuclear/Particle Physics, Complex Analysis, PDE, and a research sequence which includes 3 units of 3 credit hours each (spanning 3 semesters). At this rate in my academic career, these are all the electives I can include but was thinking about switching some; basically this is where I need some advice. The other courses I was thinking about would be Classical Mechanics II (Lagrangian & Hamiltonian Mechanics) and Stellar Astrophysics.
I know graduate school should be a research-topic based choice for me but well I don't want to be generally unprepared by not having learned something like basic astrophysical principles or lagrangian mechanics and the like. I've always been interested in astrophysics but can't seem to choose this Stellar Astrophysics junior class over the Atomic Physics senior class or the other ones aforementioned. At this point I can still switch my elective pics but would like to have an idea on what to take. Help? Thanks!
Quick Course Descriptions for extra information:
- Stellar Astrophysics
Develops a working knowledge of stellar and extra-stellar galactic astronomy. Includes stellar structure, nucleosynthesis, stellar evolution, and degenerate objects - Atomic Physics
Course provides an introduction to the fundamentals of atomic physics, the structure of atoms, and their interaction with static and radiation fields. - Nuclei,Particles&Fields
An introduction to nuclear and subnuclear systems. Topics include nuclear models, radioactive decay, nuclear reactions, quarks, accelerators, reactors, and stellar nucleosynthesis. - Classical Mechanics II
A continuation of PHYS 3201. Topics include Lagrangians and Hamiltonian techniques, and many body mechanics.