<p>Hi.
My last school year’s almost over. I applied to the Lebanese American University’s Computer Science program (reputably the best in the region) and have been accepted. I hope to be a scientist—specifically, a computational physicist.
So, firstly, what degrees do I need to enter that field? I’m definitely going to minor in Pure Math, and am probably going to double-major in it, alongside CS. Unfortunately my university doesn’t offer a Physics degree, so I have to put that off for the time being.
Secondly, what can I do during and after I’m done with my undergrad years to pursue my dream career? Which universities abroad are the best in this field?
Thirdly, on average, how much time does it take for someone to become a “tenured” professor, whatever that means? (More information on this would be welcomed.)
Thank you.</p>
<p>Computational physics is first and foremost an aspect of physics. Physics is very broad - typically you would use computation to validate or develop theory, expand on experiment, etc. to address specific questions or issues within a specific area. Computational materials science uses different methods than computational astrophysics, for example.</p>
<p>For computational physics, a good background in ordinary and partial differential equations would be useful, as well as courses in numerical analysis or methods. There are often courses in mathematical physics (applied math addressing in particular classic problems arising in physics). I think that people ‘move into’ computational physics in graduate school, after having a strong preparation in physics as an undergraduate, but I do not have direct knowledge on this.</p>
<p>@whimsy is correct. In physics you specialize in graduate school, not as an undergraduate. The requirement for getting into a physics graduate program is to have as much advanced physics courses as possible. Since your university does not have a physics major, that will be challenging. Computer Science is probably not a great choice from which to move into physics. Applied Mathematics or Engineering are better choices.</p>
<p>You also ask about a career in academia. That requires a Ph.D. and then probably 2-4 years of postdoctoral research. Once that is done, if you get a faculty position as an Assistant Professor, you have 6 years to prove yourself and earn tenure.</p>
<p>I would guess that one would really into the deeper concepts of computational physics in a graduate program. I took an undergraduate computational physics course and is was just “lighter” version of a numerical methods course.</p>
<p>…which is WHY I took it…I needed a GPA boost and already taken a year of numerical analysis in the math department.</p>