Hi all,

   I am looking into applying for a 5 years graduate program leading to Ph.d. in Mechanical Engineering. I finished my undergrads with a degree in Physics with an overall GPA of 3.68. It would be wonderful if anyone who has similar experience could provide me with some advice on how feasible it is to change degree for grad school. I was also wondering if you could suggest me some names of grad school,their scholarship programs and GRE requirement . I have looked into some schools and want to make a thorough list comprising of good schools as well as some safety school .

Your thoughts will be much appreciated

Thanks in advance

 

Grad school admissions work differently from undergrad schools, mate. Unless you're exceptional (3.68 is unfortunately, not) you can't realistically expect to apply and hope for an acceptance to a 5 year engineering PhD program. It's all about connections. Begin by talking to professors, they are your best resource. Find out where alumni from your college are and talk to them. VISIT the university you're applying to and make contact with a professor in a field you're interested in. In the end you'll be working with a professor, and he won't be simply be picking the best application from the pile. Only the ones that show the most interest, or have been recommended by a faculty who knows someone at the uni, or who are liked by the professor are given admission.

And yes, you should be able to "change" your major if you are accepted into that field. Perhaps not the easiest thing to do though because of the extra number of classes you will need to take to catch up.

Note: This doesn't necessarily apply to graduate programs in other fields or programs where you actually pay tuition.

how long does it take to complete Phd after finishing master ?

ironskull,
It's possible to change your field from sciences to engineering but it's quite tough to do so and like bored said, you would have to be exceptional. As a physics major you probably haven't taken core mech eng classes like heat transfer, control theory, material sciences, fluid dynamics, design etc. Also, engineers use a variety of design tools like 3D CAD software, system simulators, MatLab....Without taking some of these undergrad courses, it will be very hard to do well in your graduate classes.

I had a friend who did dual degree on Physics and Mechanical Engineering. He said even the courses that overlap (like thermodynamics are very different when you take them in physics vs. engineering). Since he didn't find MechE exciting enough, he ended up going for a PhD in physics.

If I may ask, why do you want to switch from Physics to MechE? My suggestion is to apply to Physics program as well.

Ironskull,
It would help some more if you elaborate on your research interests.  My suggestion, forget about mechie phd, continue with physics.  

As previously said, you will have to take undergrad mechie classes and trust me if the graduate chair or advisor is a bit stringent you will invest two years just to catch up with those classes.  There is no hard and fast rule on how many undergrad classes you should take, I have seen ugrads from applied maths doing engineering masters without taking any undergrad classes.  This is something you should discuss with graduate coordinator/ chair or advisor before applying.

The easiest way for you to be sold in engineering would be to target profs who are doing more theoretical and experimental research in mechanical engineering.  Things like algorithm development for computational fluid dynamics, unsteady aerodynamics and heat transfers should be more easier for you to adapt to.  I can't say for sure but such profs should love to have physics ppl.  If you go into the more applied aspect of engineering, you might hate us engineers for the amount of abstraction we use in development.

Another route is to go for experimental physics rather than engineering.  You will be more into theory than engineering and also have some hands on experience.  For the aforementioned topics there is minor differences between what engineers do and what experimental physicist do.

Now, the most important thing is to know exactly why you want to do a Phd.  If you are into Phd. because you want to teach as a mechie faculty, physics phd might not help.  But if you are into Phd. to work in the industry as a researcher, it might not make much of a difference what topic you get your Phd. in.  Essentially, Phd. is training in research.  It prepares you to conduct original research without supervision, meaning even with a physics phd. you have enough knowledge to dig into engineering theories and propose improvements (citation needed).  If you look into job openings at places like Boeing, Lockheed and Raytheon, their requirements say something like "Phd. in Engineering, Applied Maths or Physics" ( I might be wrong, go and check for such requirements in your field).  I would be really pissed if I got my phd. in mechanical engineering after doing two years of additional ugrad course, only to realize that the guy working with me has a phd. in physics.

Damn, Its getting long. To cut to the chase, do some more research, some intense soul searching, talk to some profs and let us know what happens.

Good Luck.