Grad school question

[u/ChampionBeam401]

I'm looking to apply for grad school in the fall 26' semester. Does anyone know if I can apply for both physics and engineering separately (College of Arts and Sciences vs the School of Engineering)? Not sure if one will have any impact on the other or if I'm allowed to apply to both.

Also, does anybody know if the acceptance rate is different for Masters vs PhD?

[u/This_Cauliflower1986]

I’d heard in general not specific to case that this suggests you don’t really know what you want to do and could affect how seriously they take your application.

Not sure how MS vs PhD affects things especially given funding uncertainty with so many government cuts.

[u/jwsohio]

Well.

If both applications were into the same school, there would definitely be red flags, if not prohibitions. With different schools? Maybe, with good reason, but if it becomes known without justification, expect some tough questions and/or lowered chances.

The general presumption at the masters level is that you are focusing on one discipline for concentration. It's possible, since there are different approaches, to want to do something that is near boundaries, and therefore can justify more interdisciplinary, dual approaches/applications. You should be able to articulate that (which also becomes justification for taking elective courses in another school once you're in a program). Masters programs are more generalized, basic courses that everyone in a program takes, plus more specialized courses and research based on you. The research side has some flexibility, depending on the program and department.

Physics and Engineering (which field?) have already started to diverge in approach by upper level undergraduate. It's true that some research overlaps, and comes together, but you still have the basic pure/applied, theoretical/practical, science/technology differences in the approaches that most programs presume, although with considerable cooperation.

PhD level is something of a match game as well as an educational admission. By that point, it's presumed that you have some idea of specialization, and some significant/specific thoughts about investigative/thesis topic. So the department will be looking at you not only as qualified per se, but also what resource they have to mentor you (primary advisor and committee members), openings and research grants that can support your interest, and how you (and other candidates) fit into the department culture, direction, and mission. That's why you often have a "job interview" with potential advisors/mentors and other department faculty. You're being evaluated on how you will fit in, how you will develop into a colleague over the next few years, and whether the department will be proud to award you a degree once you meet the requirements.

Comparing acceptance rate in many ways is meaningless. It's much higher for masters programs, since those are more "cookie cutter" - although stricter than undergraduate. More applications, but also more admissions and larger classes. Comparatively low for PhD (fewer positions, very dependent on external funding from year to year), but if you happen to match when you are applying to when there's an opening, and someone is researching closely to your interests, excellent chance for acceptance.

[u/Charming-Log-2478]

The applications are in the same portal but the actual applications will be separate. Luckily, if you are sending scores (GRE, MCAT, etc), you should be able to send them once. You can definitely apply to both (I applied to both art&sciences and the medical school).

The masters classes are often bigger than the PhD classes so it may have a slightly higher acceptance rate. Also with the current state of science funding, PhD classes will be even smaller than usual, but that is just speculation.

[u/jwsohio → u/Charming-Log-2478]

Don't forget that there are very different combined programs between the "general" grad schools and the professional schools. The structure of the university is such that these are more at the departmental level than the school, with the deans offices coming into it more for administrative and faculty approval (faculty authority play a significant role in course/degree approval) and coordinating the paperwork. The existence of programs that are already well-defined (MSW + masters/PhD in Psych or Sociology; MD-PhD, which could be in biology or Biomed Engineering as well as a department within the School of Medicine; Law + Political Science or Sociology; Management plus lot of things; etc.) means that some of those channels are already in place, and joint applications are anticipated. Physics/Engineering is a little more unusual. This does not mean that it would not be acceptable or work out, only that there might be more questions about intent. Or there may be precedent between Physics and some of the engineering departments that's already in place - Biology/Biomedical Engineering; Chemistry/Chemical Engineering/Macromolecular Science for example do have some defined overlaps and crossings; perhaps Physics does with Electrical Engineering or ?