Yes, you read the title right. It is indeed possible to become a physicist after you have completed your undergraduate degree in engineering (BE, B.Tech or BS). In fact it is a good way of switching fields if you feel that engineering is not your cup of tea and pure and applied sciences would have been a better option. Sadly, it is often frowned upon by people when someone wants to switch from engineering to physics. The good news however is that there are many institutes and universities both in India and abroad that allow engineers to pursue a masters degree and doctorate in physics if they so choose.
Before I get to the crux of the matter, I need to issue a warning. It is not an easy task to switch from engineering to physics. Most institutes require the candidate to have an understanding of basic physics so as to crack the entrance examinations and/or the interview thereafter. However, we have plenty of coaching institutes in our country that train anyone interested in physics with the required materials. I am not going to endorse any particular coaching center but if you are interested and your pocket allows you, then it would be great if you can join one of those centers. If instead you wish to do self study for the entrance examinations, there is an abundance of materials available for you online and otherwise.
So, why switch from engineering to physics? Frankly speaking, physics offers less money compared to engineering. If you are a computer science graduate, you can literally mint money while working in the corporate sector. But there are certain types of people (including me) who are much more passionate about the universe and its workings and putting such people in engineering is simply going to make them miserable. They might become good engineers but at the back of their head there will always be a feeling that they could have done better in pure science. If you are one of those, then read on as this can be an eye opener.
Few years ago when I expressed my interest in switching fields from engineering to physics, I had to go through the same “Indian mentality” comments from everywhere. People simply cannot get their head around the fact that one’s passion is just as important as career prospects. I can give you a couple of scenarios. If you want to do an MBA after your B.Tech, nobody bats eyelid. If you want to do Civil Service after your B.Tech, nobody says anything either. If you want to write bank exams after your B.Tech, even then nobody will say anything. But the moment you tell people that you want to pursue physics, astronomy, oceanography or some other field related to pure and applied science, suddenly people react to it asking “Why do you want to do physics?“
Anyway, the following are the institutes in India and abroad that allow engineers to pursue an advanced degree in physics or related subjects:
| Programme | Institute | City | Country |
| Postgraduate Programme in Astrophysics | Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias | Canary Islands | Spain |
| MSc. In Physics and Astronomy | Ruhr-Universität Bochum | Bochum | Germany |
| Master in Space Sciences and Technology | Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg | Würzburg | Germany |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics MSc by Research | The University of Manchester | Manchester | England |
| Masters Degree in Physics | University of Basel | Basel | Switzerland |
| MSc/Diploma in Astrophysics | Queen Mary University of London | London | England |
| MSc in Astronomy | Western University | London | Canada |
| MSc in Physics and Astronomy | Chalmers University of Technology | Göteborg | Sweden |
| MS in Astrophysical Sciences and Technology | Rochester Institute of Technology | New York | United States |
| MSc in Astronomy | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne | Australia |
| MSc in Physics & Astronomy | York University | Toronto | Canada |
| MS in Space Studies | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks | United States |
| MSc in Space Studies | International Space University | Strausbourg | France |
| Master Programme in Space Science and Technology | Lulea University of Technology | Lulea | Sweden |
| MS in Space Sciences | Florida Institute of Technology | Melbourne | United States |
| Master degree “Astronomical and Space-based Systems Engineering” | Observatoire de Paris-Meudon | Paris | France |
| Physics (M.Sc.) | University of Duisburg-Essen | Essen | Germany |
| M.Sc in Physics | Central University of Haryana | Mahendragarh | India |
| MSc Physics (EuroMasters) | University of Surrey | Surrey | England |
| MS in Astronomy and Astrophysics | Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology | Thiruvananthapuram | India |
| MSc in Physics | University of Pune | Pune | India |
| MSc. Physics | Lovely Professional Univesity | Phagwara | India |
| M.Sc Course in Physics | University of Delhi | New Delhi | India |
| M.Sc in Physics | Jawaharlal Nehru University | New Delhi | India |
| PhD in Physics | Tata Institute of Fundamental ResearchMBA | Mumbai | India |
| PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics | Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics | Pune | India |
| PhD in Physics | Indian Institute of Science Education and Research | Various | India |
A caveat I take here is that I compiled the list of foreign institutes almost 5 years ago. I am not sure of the accuracy of these today. However, at the time of compilation of this list, all these institutes had written in their respective websites that they take engineering graduates for a masters degree in physics, astronomy or related subjects. I suggest you contact these institutes individually and find out.
In addition to these institutes, there are institutes that fall under the “may be” category. That is those institutes that may take an engineer for a masters or doctorate programme in physics. It will depend on their requirements and your eligibility. But I will provide a list of such institutes as well just in case:
- University of Groningen – Groningen, The Netherlands
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven – Leuven, Belgium
- University of Amsterdam – Amsterdam, Netherlands
- International University in Bremen – Bremen, Germany
- University of Southern Queensland – Toowoomba, Australia
- University of Oulu – Oulu, Finland
- University of Hertfordshire – Hertfordshire, England
- University of Glasgow – Glasgow, Scotland
- Heidelberg University – Heidelberg, Germany
- University of Bonn – Bonn, Germany
- Aarhus University – Aarhus, Denmark
- Copenhagen University – Copenhagen, Denmark
- University of British Columbia – Vancouver, Canada
- University of Calgary – Calgary, Canada
- University of Manitoba – Winnipeg, Canada
- Queen’s University – Kingston, Canada
- Universite Paris Diderot – Paris, France
- University of Sussex – Sussex, England
- Curtin University – Bentley, Australia
- University of Adelaide – Adelaide, Australia
- University of Oslo – Oslo, Norway
- University of Tromso – Tromso, Norway
- University of Silesia – Katowice, Poland
- Rheinische Friedrich – Whilhelms Univeritat Bonn – Bonn, Germany
- Jacobs University Bremen – Bremen, Germany
- University of Helsinki – Helsinki, Finland
- University of Amsterdam – Amsterdam, Netherlands
- University of Ferrara – Ferrara, Italy
- People’s Friendship University – Moscow, Russia
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg – Nuremberg, Germany
- University of Rostock – Rostock, Germany
- Technische Universität München – Munich, Germany
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München – Munich, Germany
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena – Jena, Germany
- Technical University of Vienna – Vienna, Austria
- Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy – Cologne, Germany
- University of Trieste – Trieste, Italy
- University of Trento – Trento, Italy
- University of Bologna – Bologna, Italy
- University of Cergy-Pontoise – Cergy-Pontoise, France
- Ecole normale supérieure Paris France
- Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Monash University Melbourne Australia
- University of Tokyo Tokyo Japan
- University of Nagoya – Nagoya, Japan
- University of Osaka – Osaka, Japan
- University of Keio – Tokyo, Japan
- ETH Zurich – Zurich, Switzerland
- University of Jyvaskyla – Jyvaskyla, Finland
- University of Milan – Milan, Italy
- University of Pisa – Pisa, Italy
- University of Turin – Turin, Italy
- Kings College – London, England
- University of Toronto – Toronto, Canada
- University of Alberta – Alberta, Canada
- University of Ottawa – Ottawa, Canada
- Tokyo Institute of Technology – Tokyo, Japan
- University Observatory Munich – Munich, Germany
- University of Marburg – Marburg, Germany
- National University of Singapore – Singapore
Mind you, this list is in the “may be” category. Unlike the previous lists, these universities may or may not admit engineers for a science programme. So don’t come and complain here if your application gets rejected by any of these universities. In fact I don’t take guarantee for the previous lists either. Your admission to any institute in the world is a sum total of a variety of parameters and your ability in qualifying each one of them. No university is obliged to take you just because you applied. However, switching fields to physics after engineering is a long sought after information among many aspirants especially in India and I thought that I should write this article.
If you have noticed, the lists here do not follow any particular order. They are not arranged according to country or rankings of universities. The reason is that the list wasn’t compiled in a day. It was the culmination of many years of searching. Thus this list was made as and when I found relevant information. I am sure you have experienced posting on some physics forums about your interest in switching fields to physics and the backlash that comes from the “intellectuals” of those forums. All you get is some mockery and misinformation. For sometime, I had to face that until I decided to figure this out myself. It was not easy but it was fun finding information. I started putting whatever information I could find in an excel sheet. I think it is time to give out this information so that any engineer out there who wants to switch fields to pure science can do so with as little hassle as possible.
If you have any doubts regarding what I mentioned here, feel free to comment. I believe that I have done my part in telling you where to get what you want. The rest is up to you. Prepare well for the entrance examinations of these institutes and apply on time. The time has finally arrived for you to pursue your dreams. All the best!
Update:
I have written a sequel to this article describing my experience doing MSc Physics. You can read it here – https://www.iampleasant.com/2018/09/msc-physics-after-b-tech-in-information-technology/