Stat vs Applied Math vs CS vs Physics vs Astro vs Atmos Sci grad school

InquisitiveOne
Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:05:46 +0000

Okay, you have good points there. I do intend to have a narrow focus in grad school. I do want to do something in the lines of computational astrophysics or astrostatistics. So early on in undergrad, this means taking many CS, Applied Math, and Stat courses (all up to the senior/grad lvl since that’s the level at which real astro research actually uses), so that I don’t have to worry about having to train myself in those subjects later when I’m doing astro research.

In fact, it seems that astrophysics research is more computational than analytical these days, and some of the grad students I’ve talked to explicitly said that - actual physics beyond classical mechanics doesn’t even seem to be used very often in most astro research these days. Which means that a background in CS/statistics/applied math would actually be more helpful than a background in physics (although physics up to quantum/E&M/stat mech would still be necessary).

I know that most grad lvl programs do allow people from other majors to apply as long as they have the required coursework. So in a sense, I am from another major - I just happen to have just enough courses to be in the same major as the grad program I’m looking at.