For IIT aspirants wanting to pursue Physics
April 20, 2009
The Physics Department, IIT Madras is offering an Dual Degree MS programme in Physics!
The Course:
The course is a 5 year Dual Degree MS programme. The first two semesters of the course will be common with the rest of the engineering branches, excepting some variations where engineering-oriented courses will be replaced by more fundamental courses. This is designed so that branch-change after the end of the first semester is possible. At the end of the 5 years, (as is the case with any other dual degree programme), the student will be given both a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters’ degree in Physics. Entrance will be through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
The intake per year stands at 10 students.
Worthy of mention is an innovative course on ‘Contemporary Physics’ – named so (as Prof. V Balakrishnan put it) because ‘Modern Physics’ still refers typically to de Broglie’s hypothesis! This course will focus on the latest advances in various branches in Physics and will be taught by several faculty from the department.
The Department:
The Department of Physics at IIT Madras is, in my opinion, probably one of the best Physics departments that you’d get across the country in the IITs.
The department has a strong low temperature and condensed matter group, a strong atomic and molecular physics group, a strong optics group, and a strong theory group working in fields like Quantum Information, String Theory, Dynamical Systems and Statistical Physics. Worthy of mention is the nanosciences group, out of which several patent-winning innovations have sprung up. An astrophysics group is expected to form very soon.
At the undergraduate level, in addition to the 5-year Dual Degree MS programme, the department offers a 4 year B.Tech. programme in Engineering Physics.
Physics has grown far from what we studied at JEE. Here are some of the stuff that’s done at the department:
- A model for the fluid in a cell? Why not!
- Superconductor research!
- What if we could have a theory that can describes everything?
- Can we model something as complicated as traffic flow?
- Can we store Hydrogen most effeciently and retrieve it whenever we want?
- Chaos!
- Can we find materials with amazing properties?
- Can we make light work in a circuit?
- Does Physics in the universe’s mirror image look different?
- Quantum Entanglement – the currency of Quantum Information!
Personal Opinions
I’m a student in the Engineering Physics [EP] BTech programme in this department and have an inclination towards Theoretical Physics. I find the courses in the department very enjoyable and find most of the faculty outstanding. Most faculty are very helpful and warm, and try to do their best to ensure you a successful career.
I also find the subject matter of theoretical physics very enjoyable. We’ve been doing a lot of “fun” stuff (far more fun than JEE physics) like studying the chaotic dyanmics of population growth, solving for the curvature of spacetime around a blackhole, describing interactions of LASER light with an atom quantum, studying functions with very weird singularities, or working dynamics in some “twisted” spaces in our courses so far! As Feynamn points out, there’s something called ‘Intellectual Enjoyment’ and classes in the last 2 years have been an experience of the same.
That apart, we also have a theory discussion group called ‘Boltzmann’ out here which meets on Saturdays in the department. We discuss theory just for fun. We discuss rather advanced topics in various branches of Physics. We discussed the ‘Ising model’ last semester, and one of my batchmates took that forth into a model for economic markets that he’s currently working on. This semester, we discussed a wide variety of topics including Quantum Information Theory, Quantum Computing, Group Theory and some quantizations of fields.
I guess the MS programme will be just as much fun (or maybe even more – hey, you don’t do some boring old courses on Fourier transforms!) as the EP programme. If you have a strong liking for Physics, then the Dual Degree MS is probably for you. If you’re still ‘undecided’, the Engineering Physics programme may be a good idea as it gives you the required credentials to continue as an Electrical Engineer.
Interested?
If you need some help deciding, you could contact me < akarshsimha AT gmail DOT com >; my friends from EP, Vikram < vkrmsv AT gmail DOT com > and Naveen < naveensharma30 AT gmail DOT com >; or Dr. Suresh Govindarajan < suresh AT physics DOT iitm DOT ac DOT in >. All of us will be happy to help you make a decision or tell you what Physics is like!
Entry Filed under: IIT Madras, Physics and Math. Tags: career, Dual Degree, education, IIT, IIT Madras, IITM, JEE, Masters, Physics.
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1.
Srinidhi | April 19, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Popularizing Physics
Way to go. MS program in physics really sounds good. I felt 4 years is too less to learn much. This will surely turn out to be a good experience.
2.
SG | May 28, 2009 at 8:26 am
Is there any way to get the info on this page through to students who have passed JEE?
3.
Akarsh Simha | May 28, 2009 at 12:20 pm
@SG: By that, do you mean some sort of mailing list? I wonder if there is. Orkut communities and Facebook groups may be a good way to do that. There could be other forums too. I guess Naveen uses one of Orkut / Facebook, and I’ll request him to post this stuff out there.
But I’m getting quite a few emails from interested folks these days.
4.
SG | May 28, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Yes that is what I meant. It is good to hear that you are getting emails — I haven’t got any.
5.
Manu | May 29, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Hello, I got AIR 3000 in JEE 2009, is there any chance that I’ll get into this course? please reply…and should I join IIT-K if I get into the 5 yr. MSc. physics course?
6.
Akarsh Simha | May 29, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Hi Manu. I can’t predict very well because the course is new, but I’d say there’s some chance of getting it.
Again, it depends on what you want to do. As far as I know, the IITK Physics Department is stronger in Experiment and IITM Physics Dept. is stronger in Theory. But you should probably ask an IITK MSc Physics student for his views.
7.
Thirunanasambandar | June 1, 2009 at 7:24 pm
IIT Madras is a dud place in the Sciences, always was. Go there at your own peril. Who have they produced with a serious reputation in either Physics or Mathematics. They know nothing about Calabi’s conjectures or Yau’s work and BS about it.
Better they close the deptt. and send the professors to farm fields.
8.
Akarsh Simha | June 2, 2009 at 11:05 am
I hear that the Physics Dept. at IITM was relatively bad about 20 years back. But that’s no longer the case – we have some well known physicists as faculty at our department. Of course there is no peril in the present day. After all, I’m a student there now, so I can vouch for that.
It is not true that IITM physics graduates have not done well. For instance, the 2009 Lars Onsager Prize winner is from IITM and there are many more.
On a side note, there’s no reason for Physics faculty to know algebraic geometry.
9.
Anurag | June 10, 2009 at 1:35 am
Sir,
I have qualified the JEE this year and I aspire to become a theoretical quantum- or maybe astro- physicist. I think my rank can get me the integrated msc physics course at IIT Kanpur. But after reading your blog i am very curious about the courses : BS,MS dual degree at IITM and Engineering Physics. Can you please explain the difference between the three courses?
If I opt for Engineering Physics now can I later become a Quantum Physicist or an Astrophysicist?
It will be very helpful of you if you could answer my question before 13th June.
10.
SG | June 10, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Hi Anurag,
The course at IITK is called the integrated M.Sc. program in Physics and offers a M.Sc. degree at the end of five years. The new course at IITM gives two degrees (BS and MS) at the end of two years. Otherwise both are five year programs in Physics. At IITM, it is envisaged that the fifth year will be spent on working on a research project and doing advanced electives in the area of one’s interest. This is different in approach from a conventional M.Sc. program.
The Engineering Physics (EP) program at IITM has its core curriculum equally split between EE and Physics. About a third of the students pursue higher studies in Physics, another third in EE and the final third go for jobs/MBA etc.
So it is possible to study any area on physics — theoretical as well experimental after obtaining a degree in EP. However, the five year programs are much more tailored to pursuing a career in physics while the EP program keeps open the option of pursuing Electrical Engineering.
Best of luck.
11.
SG | June 10, 2009 at 3:15 pm
There is a typo in what I wrote — I wrote “end of two years” when I meant “end of five years” in the first paragraph.
12.
SG | June 14, 2009 at 8:55 am
I am posting a relevant email exchange.
> Respected Sir,
>
> I am interested in the new course Physics dept. at IITM is
> providing (B.S + M.S in Physics). How is this course different
> from Engineering Physics and what is the Curriculum? How will
> the research opportunities for this course be? Is this M.S
> degree in any way different from the M.S degree provided by
> most American universities? Thank you very much for your
> valuable time.
>
> Yours sincerely,
> Vijay Varma
Thank you for your email. I believe the new 5-year Dual Degree MS in
Physics that will be offered by IIT Madras from July 2009 will be a
rigorous and thorough course in physics, with several new components that
will make it both instructive and interesting. Numerous elective courses
will be offered, which will enable a student to choose his/her stream
according to interest and aptitude, both theoretical and experimental. The
final year will have a serious project component, and it is hoped that the
project work will lead up to a research paper in most cases. The BTech in
Engg Physics is a 4-year course, and has a significant electrical
engg/electronics component. It is also an excellent course. I can’t say
precisely how our MS course will differ from the MS in most US
universities, because the latter varies widely from one university to
another, and is also based essentially on course work alone. (Of course
the BS in those universities requires a senior thesis in the 4th year.) We
envisage our MS course to be such that a student can essentially start
research work right after graduation—in a typical US university, our
students should be able to take the qualifiers for the PhD within a
semster of getting there, without having to take many of the standard
first year graduate courses. But of course this depends on the level of
preparedness of the student, espcially with regard to problem-solving. It
is very probable that the core courses at IIT Madras in subjects such as
Classical Mech., Quantum Mech., EM Theory, Stat. Mech., Math. Phys. will
provide adequate preparation in this regard, if a student takes the
problem sets and assignments seriously. I might also point out that a very
good choice for students whose academic performance in the MS course is
good would be to enrol for research at IIT Madras itself, as the
Department has a vibrant and wide-ranging programme of research in a wide
variety of areas.
Best wishes,
V. Balakrishnan
13.
SG | June 14, 2009 at 9:09 am
During the first couple of days of counselling, I noticed a common misconception about pursuing a 5 year programme in Physics. Invariably, people assume that the ONLY option on graduation is to pursue higher studies followed by a career in academia.
My guess is that this route will be followed by around a third to half of the students. What about the remaining students? I anticipate that they can find jobs in industry — there is a large gray area connecting physics and engineering. I can see a company working in solar cells hiring a M.S. (Physics) student, a similar thing would hold for a company doing work in semiconductor devices, nanotechnology etc. Of course, software jobs will continue to take in a percentage of such graduates.
14.
Souvik | June 30, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Hello Sir,
I had an interest in Physics which strengthened in the preparatory years for IIT-JEE. I had opted for EP in IITB and have got the same. Initially, I had felt that I had made the right decision, but now I feel that it was quite a risky thing to do. Could you please explain the future prospects for it, incase that I’m able to go to some coll in the Ivy League in the US.
15.
SG | July 2, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Here was my response via email to Souvik
Dear Souvik,
EP at IIT Bombay is a very good program. I know of several people who have graduated from that program who have gone on to study at Princeton, Cornell and such top universities in both Physics and Electrical Engineering.
Please go and spend the next four years learning and adding value to yourself. Then, the sky is the limit.
With best wishes,
SG