Pre Reqs, How do I meet them?

[dcody12]

So my undergrad degree was done in an accelerated program at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Unfortunately due to the nature of this program I am not sure ANY of my credits will transfer. I don't know how I should go about acquiring the pre reqs for a graduate degree in Physics, since my undergrad was in computer programming.  I would be indebted to anyone that could help me figure out what I can do.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Not to be an ass, but why on Earth would you go to Full Sail to get a computer science degree? I know people who went there. It's a music school. You'll learn the tricks of the trade if you want to be a Hip Hop producer, but it isn't any place you go to for a serious academic degree. I don't even know if it's accredited. 

 

Anyway, to the topic at hand. It would be hard enough getting into a Physics program with a computer science BS, but it'll be even harder with a BS from Full Sail. You need to contact the schools you're interested in and ask if your credits will transfer. Then you'll need to take the other pre-reqs you need from a local university or a community college. 

 

I'm familiar with pre-reqs since I spent three additional semesters taking pre-reqs since I was going from a linguistics BA to a computational MS. It could definitely take some time to get all the pre-reqs. It really depends on how different your undergrad degree is from your prospective grad degree. 

[dcody12]

That was an extremely rude statement to start off a reply to a serious question with. Full Sail is an accredited school and has one of the top game development degree programs out there. They have students far and wide employed in almost every major game development company out there. That was my initial life goal was to be a game developer.  Upon arriving at the school I took their Physics and Linear Algebra courses and was fascinated with Physics, Computational Physics Simulation and decided that I wanted to pursue those fields more. So before you devalue someones education please do more research because that is down right rude.

Edited May 19, 2014 by dcody12

[Fun_Cookie]

Its okay gnome is the resident loser of this forum. He will probably drop out during the first semester of grad school this fall.

Anyway you should talk to advisors about this at your school and grad programs that you are interested in.

[dcody12]

Thank you for the information, I will be sure to Inquire with adviser's and the Grad school programs I am interested in to see what pre reqs I will have to take to get in. 

[Eigen]

Just FYI, he's right.

 

Full Sail is recognized by one national accreditation board, but it's not the most used one, and it's not recognized by any of the regional accreditors. You will have trouble transferring credits, and with the publicity on places like IHE and the Chronicle, it will probably raise eyebrows when you apply places. 

 

It's a for-profit university, and most people in academic circles will consider it about on par with University of Phoenix- aka, not seriously. It can be fine if you're going into a professional field, but for someone wanting to go to grad school it's a hard start. 

 

As to how to get pre-reqs, I'd personally find a good regional state university or community college, and take the pre-reqs as a non-degree seeking student. I'm not sure how successful that will be at getting you into grad school, though, and you might be better off getting a BS in physics from somewhere relatively inexpensive. 

[dcody12]

Well I thought this forum was about helping someone achieve higher education goals. But I see it merely is a pissing ground for people to bash one another's educations. I'll take my questions elsewhere from now on thanks.

Edited May 19, 2014 by dcody12

[Eigen]

Both responses have offered helpful tips and tried to educate you on the challenges you face with your background. Just because you don't want to hear about the challenges doesn't mean we aren't trying to help you achieve your educational goals. 

 

If you just want people to tell you you'll do fine, and not be honest about the best route to get to your higher education goals, then you shouldn't ask for advice. 

[dcody12]

Advice on pre-requisites is open season to devalue someones education? I asked how I should go about achieving my goal. Fun_Cookie managed to do that without having a retort about where I got my undergrad degree. I can see the professional level that is maintained on this forum very clearly.

Edited May 19, 2014 by dcody12

[Eigen]

Pointing out why you may have difficulty transferring courses, and why it might be a good idea to pursue a BS at another school to prepare you because of your educational background isn't making a retort about your education. 

 

If someone had a low GPA, I'd give similar advice. Ditto if someone had an online degree, or was majorly switching areas.

 

Your goal is to get into a graduate program in Physics, right? I'd hate to see you spend more money for pre-reqs, only to find out that you still have something holding you back. 

 

Hence Gnome's suggestion to contact other schools and see where you can transfer. 

 

Pointing out that you've got a hard start for an academic career isn't devaluing your education. Some schools are known for developing professional programs, and not for academic preparation. You switched interests, and accordingly a school that has good career preparation if you were going to work in computer design does not have good prep to go to grad school in physics.

 

You're very defensive and antagonistic to people trying to help you.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I thought you were acknowledging that Full Sail (or the "nature" of Full Sail) is making you nervous about applying to grad school. Isn't that the point of your thread? I know about Full Sail. I live near there and know many people who went there. It's expensive but it's worth it if you're serious about making movies, music or other things in the entertainment world. However, you're wasting your money if you go there for creative writing, business or computer science. That's just being honest. It's a waste of money because those degrees are offered everywhere, are much cheaper anywhere else, and are accredited almost anywhere else. It's worth it for music or movies because you get access to all the equipment. You're worried that your credits won't transfer. Isn't that in itself proof that it might not be the best place to get a computer science degree?

And, by the way, Fun-Cookie didn't really give you any information besides "talk to advisors." Brilliant stuff.

[TakeruK]

Hi dcody12,

 

I did my undergraduate degree in Physics and my Masters was in a Physics department (I've now transitioned to a multidisciplinary field that is related to Physics--it's generally considered part of the Physics department in Canada but generally located outside of the Physics department at US schools). 

 

I agree with everyone else that Full Sail university is not well regarded as good preparation for Physics grad schools in Physics departments in Canada and the US. Although Gnome and Eigen might not have put it in a way you wanted to hear, it's still the truth. The fact is that while it may be a good school for what you originally intended to do, unfortunately it's not a great school for what you now want to do (Physics grad school). 

 

However, this obviously does not mean you have made terrible life choices and that you can never go to graduate school in Physics. 

 

What it does mean is that in order to be qualified for Physics graduate studies, you will need to meet the same undergraduate course requirements as a more "traditional" physics undergraduate program. I know what Physics programs are like and even if you have a CS degree from a "traditional" school, it will still take a lot of extra courses to meet the requirements. So, I think even if your CS courses transferred, you won't really have much checked off.

 

In my opinion, the very best and ideal way to get into Physics grad school is to start in a Physics BS program from a more "traditional" school (i.e. generally an accredited school that is not-for-profit). This will make sure you are learning Physics from a Physics point of view and it might be easier than trying to adapt a Computer Science background into a Physics background. But this is assuming you have had very little Physics coursework. If you have the equivalent of the first two years of undergraduate Physics coursework, then perhaps you might be able to fast track and finish a Physics undergrad degree in 3 years. If not, I would think it's best to do a complete 4 year BS Physics degree. 

 

I don't know if this is actually possible--perhaps you have other constraints that might prevent you from going for a 4 year degree at this time. I think to better advise you, it would be really helpful to know what kind of courses you have completed at Full Sail. 

 

Unlike some professional programs, admission to a Physics graduate program (and most academic graduate programs in general, I think) is not just a matter of completing the pre-requisites and then you are qualified. An undergraduate physics program basically provides the training and foundation required to succeed at a Physics PhD program. Some schools will accept an undergraduate program in a related field, but it does put you as a disadvantage. So, unless I am wrong about the courses you have already completed in the past (my search for Physics courses available at Full Sail only shows a few courses relevant to game design, and none of the courses you actually need in a Physics degree) , I don't think you are at a point where you can just complete a few more Physics "pre-reqs" and then apply to Physics graduate school.

 

In addition, it does not sound like the Physics courses you took actually have much relevance to what you would learn in a Physics undergraduate degree and/or Physics graduate school, I think the best course of action is to start a Physics undergrad program and see how you feel about it after a year or two. I am sorry if it sounds like I am talking down to your Physics preparation (please suggest an alternative approach if I have offended you) but in general, I think it's important to know what you're getting into because setting a goal of attending graduate school in that field. So, I'd say to take it one step at a time, take some Physics courses first! (If I am wrong about your preparation, I am sorry! Let me know what courses you have taken and then I might be able to suggest something that makes more sense!).

[bsharpe269]

I actually doubt that you need a BS in physics to get into a grad program. You do probably need to take some more physics courses which could be done as a non degree seeking student at your local state school. Since you currently have math through linear algebra, then you probably have enough classes in math. I would focus on taking some more physics classes though from your state school and also get involved with physics research at that school if possible. If you focus for a year and take some upper level phsyics, do research, and get to know the faculty well for recommendation letters then you could definitely apply to physics graduate programs.

[Eigen]

You probably wouldn't need a BS, it just depends on how many years of courses (pre-reqs) you would need, and if it would be worth it to take them as a non-degree seeking student or as a degree seeking student. 

 

Physics, from my experience, is one of the more stringent disciplines (alongside some engineerings) when it comes to required coursework, but some of this depends on what you're planning on studying, and if there's a research group that's interested in what you can offer despite a different background. 

 

I'd say a lack of research experience (as mentioned) is going to be harder to overcome than a lack of coursework. 

 

Looking through the Video Game Design BS coursework, I only see two courses that would "count" towards a degree in physics- the "Physics" class and linear algebra. Discrete math isn't a big one. 

 

For most programs I can think of, you'd need, at a bare minimum:

 

3 courses worth of Calculus and DE/PDE, Stat Mech, QM, EM, Mechanics, and from looking at the description of your physics course, probably another 2 semesters of "general physics" (2nd and 3rd semesters). 

[victorydance]

I think you're walking a thin line here. It's great that you became interested in a previously overlooked field, but catapulting yourself into a masters program in physics after enjoying a couple of entry-level classes is pretty lofty. Furthermore, have you been exposed to research before? Do you know what this type of academia actually entails? 

 

I think Take's advice is pretty bang on. Zooming from a non-traditional education program to a graduate-level academic program is not an easy task.

[TakeruK]

I actually doubt that you need a BS in physics to get into a grad program. You do probably need to take some more physics courses which could be done as a non degree seeking student at your local state school. Since you currently have math through linear algebra, then you probably have enough classes in math. I would focus on taking some more physics classes though from your state school and also get involved with physics research at that school if possible. If you focus for a year and take some upper level phsyics, do research, and get to know the faculty well for recommendation letters then you could definitely apply to physics graduate programs.

 

 

You probably wouldn't need a BS, it just depends on how many years of courses (pre-reqs) you would need, and if it would be worth it to take them as a non-degree seeking student or as a degree seeking student. 

 

Physics, from my experience, is one of the more stringent disciplines (alongside some engineerings) when it comes to required coursework, but some of this depends on what you're planning on studying, and if there's a research group that's interested in what you can offer despite a different background. 

 

I'd say a lack of research experience (as mentioned) is going to be harder to overcome than a lack of coursework. 

 

Looking through the Video Game Design BS coursework, I only see two courses that would "count" towards a degree in physics- the "Physics" class and linear algebra. Discrete math isn't a big one. 

 

For most programs I can think of, you'd need, at a bare minimum:

 

3 courses worth of Calculus and DE/PDE, Stat Mech, QM, EM, Mechanics, and from looking at the description of your physics course, probably another 2 semesters of "general physics" (2nd and 3rd semesters). 

 

So I learned something new today! Many Canadian Physics graduate programs explicitly require a Physics BSc degree to be eligible for Physics grad school, but after checking a few universities, it does not seem that this is an explicit requirement for many US schools! That's good news

 

I think it is worth repeating what I said above about being disadvantaged if you don't have a BS in a related field though.

 

But as stated above by bsharpe and Eigen, you will need a lot of upper level courses, which in general will require you to take the lower level pre-req courses. Since you are not able to transfer credits, it might mean you have to retake these courses. So, at this point, you will likely have to take almost all of the Physics requirements in a Physics BS (if you can at least transfer your Full Sail courses as electives, then you'll have enough for a full Physics BS!)

 

Eigen's list of typical courses a Physics grad program expects is pretty good! Note that some of them are actually multiple courses--a typical Physics BS usually has 2 semesters of QM, 2 semesters of EM, and there's also an intro level "modern physics" like course that introduces students to relativity and quantum mechanics. In addition, there are lab courses--usually one per year. 

 

Typically, Physics students are expected to take a few electives in Physics too. Some options are solid state, particle physics, biophysics, astronomy, optics (sometimes this is required, sometimes not). I think by the time you add it all up, it will be about 3 (+/- 0.5) years worth of courses, especially considering that you might not be able to take certain courses in certain semesters.