Engineering Physics

The fundamental difference between Engineering Physics and other Engineering majors is that in Engineering Physics students study the same advanced physics topics as physics majors -- in particular, at least two quarters of quantum mechanics and at least one quarter of statistical mechanics. Most engineering students (other than engineering physics students) would take these courses only as graduate students (or not at all). An Engineering Physics degree prepares students to work in the private sector or in national laboratories at the very forefront of technology, or to pursue an advanced degree in engineering. An Engineering Physics degree also prepares students to pursue an advanced degree in physics; other engineering majors do not. Industries that need people with very strong scientific backgrounds recognize the Engineering Physics major and what it stands for. The requirements for the Physics major add up to just over 80 units; the Engineering Physics major requires ~105 units because of the extra engineering courses students take.