[moon4pie]

Hello,

I'm currently a first year in Computer Science, and plan on doing a MSc and PhD in the field as well. However, I also have a strong passion for physics, and want to know what's the best route I could feasibly take, that would allow me to study both subjects on a deep enough level. I'm not really keen on doing a joint MSc in both Physics and Computer Science, since it will limit my learning experience...

Could I possibly go back to get a BSc in Physics after I finish my PhD in CS ? How does that sound ? Are there any other, more advisable routes I could take ?

Thanks.

[wanderlust.xx]

If you're intelligent enough to do a PhD in computer science then I think you're wasting money on another bachelors degree.

I think you seriously could learn up to the required level just by doing it as a hobby... Get a few textbooks and work through them. I'm sure you're intelligent enough, don't waste money on a degree that essentially just gives you exams.

If you're keen on the materials like problem sets from uni, then I'd just recommend trying to find an undergrad student willing to let you photocopy your materials. It's not particularly hard... Walk up to anyone after any physics lecture and say, "sorry mate I've been really ill and missed a lot of lectures, could I photocopy your notes right now and give them back to you?

Repeat several times for a free education.

[Mbob]

(Original post by wanderlust.xx)
If you're intelligent enough to do a PhD in computer science then I think you're wasting money on another bachelors degree.

I think you seriously could learn up to the required level just by doing it as a hobby... Get a few textbooks and work through them. I'm sure you're intelligent enough, don't waste money on a degree that essentially just gives you exams.

If you're keen on the materials like problem sets from uni, then I'd just recommend trying to find an undergrad student willing to let you photocopy your materials. It's not particularly hard... Walk up to anyone after any physics lecture and say, "sorry mate I've been really ill and missed a lot of lectures, could I photocopy your notes right now and give them back to you?

Repeat several times for a free education.

Agreed, paying through the nose to do a second degree is pointless, and not at all career enhancing, probably quite the opposite. Unless you have plenty of money, are not worried about getting a job and just want to stay as a student for 10+ years. Although I'd imagine you would find it very unfulfilling to go back to being an undergrad after working at the cutting edge of some branch of CS for three years.

Your best option would have been to do a joint physics/CS undergrad, although I guess you may have missed the boat on that one now. I actually think there is a lot to be said for doing this, particularly if you want to go into some areas of physics research where computing methods are crucial.

In my opinion, if you can find a Masters called 'physics & X' that will let you on without a degree in physics is either poorly named (i.e. it's not really physics) or not worth the paper it is printed on.

For self-learning, some of the American universities make lectures and problem sets available on-line (eg. MIT, Stanford, UC Berkely), but it will be difficult to cover a huge amount of material while also studying CS full-time, unless you happen to have no outside interests at all.

That fact that you want to do a PhD suggests you are interested in research (in general, PhDs are not a good move if you just want to carry on learning a subject). So you might want to consider research topics which will lead you towards working with physicists. There are plenty of computer scientists who collaborate with physicists on a range of problems and I've known computer scientists to be employed by physics departments. You could also look at inter-disciplinary research centres where people from a variety of academic backgrounds work together.