Maths Or Physics Degree?

Hiroki · 26 Jun 2007 at 20:52

taz488 said:
this is a tough decision, which ever i choose to persue i will feel ive missed out on the other, ill look more into doing both like i said, and maybe ill just have to take the plunge on one or the other. for now i have to do a draft personal statement thats a bit general to both fields, thanks for replies, much appreciated

One thing that I would say Taz, is that it would probably be an easier transition from Mathematics to Physics than the other way around... Not saying that Physics is easier, but just that you will have learnt most of the technical underlyings of degree level physics in more depth (if you lean to the applied side).

Arcade Fire · 26 Jun 2007 at 21:32

D.P. said:
No one yet has proven maths to be complete yet in any case.

It has been shown that any (sufficiently useful) system of axioms is incomplete, though, i.e. you can find true statements that aren't provable within that system, which puts something of a damper on any dreams that mathematics could every provide us with a final theory of everything.

Arcade Fire · 26 Jun 2007 at 21:33

Hiroki said:
What do you mean by complete? In the logical sense, as long as you believe the 8 or so axioms (depending on the system you are working with) then it is complete...

No! Consistent mathematical systems are always incomplete! See last post.

Hiroki · 26 Jun 2007 at 23:28

hhhmmm... bloody definitiions! I always forget what it all means! What is worrying is I only just finished finals! Good to see it only took 2 weeks to forget all the content!

edit: actually never even learnt about Goedel's Incompleteness Theorem, I was getting confused with the equivalence of soundness and completeness!

Pumpkinstew · 27 Jun 2007 at 00:13

If you already know what career you want then it can pay to specialise early ie Aeronautics degree etc.

If you don't then you're doing the right thing by sticking to something more general. Most future graduate positions only specify a 'numerate degree' as a pre-requisite and frankly the HR dept won't have the first clue what the difference between maths and physics is. (And in fact won't care.)

I'm a Physicist (and therefore inferior to Tokenbrit in most ways) and went that way because I enjoyed the lab work.

You'll probably be able to switch degrees during the first semester if you do decide you've made a horrible mistake.

Good luck.

Nitefly · 27 Jun 2007 at 00:32

AcidHell2 said:
...but really depends what your grades are and if you can get a first from a top uni.

I would just like this quote to point out that if you are doing a research possition (at least in my field, biological sciences) then a 2.1 is generally sufficient to continue your education to phd level. I have also been told by several doctors and professors that the difference is generally irrelevent. Obviously, if you are going to continue your job into a different sector, this may not be the case.

Arcade fire said:
In sciences (including mathematics) it's more like the top 20-25% getting firsts - at least at Oxbridge

I find that hard to believe. 3% of people on my course got firsts this year, apparently.

Hiroki · 27 Jun 2007 at 00:56

Nitefly said:
I find that hard to believe. 3% of people on my course got firsts this year, apparently.

They do at Oxford at least..

cells · 27 Jun 2007 at 04:15

one thing no one has motioned yet.

don’t do physics if your not great with experiments, you can be ***** at them and get a 1st at university in physics but it will hurt you when you get a "physics" job.

i study physics now at university and to be honest it is basically just a math course.

every single course i have done has been at lest 90% math content and only 10% physics. even a course such as quantum mechanics is basically just math

. the only thing we have done that i wouldn’t classify as math is labs.

as for which degree is more valuable, i would say a physics degree.
one other option with the physics degree is that once you have it, you can do a 1 year fast track in another degree such as aeronautical engineering whereas they don’t let you with a math degree.

If your wondering, I go to imperial

DONT SWEAR

Dangerous

eracer2006 · 27 Jun 2007 at 05:12

In both maths and physics degree you will be doing maths in your first year anyway

do physics!

D.P. · 27 Jun 2007 at 09:34

Nitefly said:
I would just like this quote to point out that if you are doing a research possition (at least in my field, biological sciences) then a 2.1 is generally sufficient to continue your education to phd level. I have also been told by several doctors and professors that the difference is generally irrelevent. Obviously, if you are going to continue your job into a different sector, this may not be the case.
I find that hard to believe. 3% of people on my course got firsts this year, apparently.

Likewise with my AI degree from Edinburgh, something around 3%.

Gengar · 27 Jun 2007 at 10:24

I did an Msci At StAndrews in Applied Mathematics. I managed to get a 1st class honours and generally found it easy due to liking Maths so much. It was great fun learning maths especially in 3/4th year when it gets really interesting!

I started off doing Astrophysics. Then changed to Physics before settling on Applied Maths in my final 2 years.

I found the treatment of Maths to dummed down in Physics and Astrophysics with no explanantion of where the Maths came from.

I covered Electromagnetism in Physics and again in Applied Maths but on a whole new fundamental level which was far superior to the teaching of it in Physics.

My final year project was on Magnetic instabilities in the Coronal Plasma. SO with Aplpied Maths you can still probe the physical universe but on a much more fundamental level!

If it is a scottish uni you can switch degrees as you go along as it is all module based!

Zefan · 28 Jun 2007 at 03:02

cells said:
you can be ***** at them and get a 1st

Star it out or a mod will spank you.

Rich43 · 28 Jun 2007 at 03:23

taz488 said:
just looking for some advice and/or personal experiences into which degree would be better, i like both subjects and am doing physics/maths/further maths/computing at AS level atm, taking them to A level next year. and this is the time we get attacked by ucas into getting our application ready, yet im still not sure what degree i want to apply for.

any advice on which to choose? or how to chose between two degrees that you fancy?

I believe he's trying to write computer games. Computer games are exteremely maths and physics intensive.. i have tried to write a simple 3d game myself and found out the amount of maths I need to learn!

Psyk · 28 Jun 2007 at 08:43

Rich43 said:
I believe he's trying to write computer games. Computer games are exteremely maths and physics intensive.

No doubt a mathematician or a physicist would disagree

Shackley · 28 Jun 2007 at 08:53

taz488 said:
just looking for some advice and/or personal experiences into which degree would be better, i like both subjects and am doing physics/maths/further maths/computing at AS level atm, taking them to A level next year. and this is the time we get attacked by ucas into getting our application ready, yet im still not sure what degree i want to apply for.

any advice on which to choose? or how to chose between two degrees that you fancy?

To be absolutely honest, a fair bit will depend on you and what kind of a person you are like. Many (not all) Maths guys at Uni seem to be obsessive and to have no real interest outside of Maths, Physics guys seem to be a bit better at communication and relationships - N.B. this IS a generalisation, but it seems to be true.

AcidHell2 says it more succinctly and as he says, with a 1st from a top Uni, it really wont matter much.

Don't dismiss Medicine - Cambridge earlier this year sent round an email asking Maths & Physics students if they would like to transfer - Medicine isn't as popular as it once was and it will allow you to travel and work abroad.