So I just found out that the maths in my physics bachelor will not go beyond Calc I, II, III, and Linear Algebra...

So I just found out that the maths in my physics bachelor will not go beyond Calc I, II, III, and Linear Algebra. Is that really all a physicist needs or is my uni just mathematically impaired?

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the later

It might be structured differently at your school but ideally a Physics degree should include all those plus Diff Eq.

Where I go, linear actually isn't required but we do have a math methods course.

For undergrad techincally it does only use those things, but yes if your program inly requires that it isnt very good.

Branch out for electives in diffeq, numerical methods, intro to proofs, abstract algebra, topology, and proof based linear if you dont want to die in grad school.

>does only use those things
You need diff eq for a mechanics course. Granted, so far in mine we're basically just doing stuff that involves separation of variables.

To be fair, if you really understand Calc I, II, III and Linear Algebra (not just how to multiply matrices, but truly understanding the core ideas), there is a lot you can do.

Having a bachelors degree doesn't make you a physicist. Professional physicists know a lot more math than what's offered in a curriculum. At a certain point, it's more useful just to read than to take classes for every little thing you want to know. That's what scientists do to actually learn math. For theorists, that means topology, differential geometry, group theory, analysis, etc.

But if you want to be an experimentalist you should learn statistics.

>No stats
>None whatsoever
>Zero
>Not even intro to stats

How are you going to do solid state statistical mechanics like that? How do you even do basic quantum?

Do you not even learn Fourier series/transform
Fucking lmao

I had a somewhat similar curriculum except with DEs. They just roll those into existing physics classes and link you to a resource with it. I'm pretty envious of people who had dedicated courses to teach you those subjects.

If you can ace those you will be very well prepared for what potentially lies ahead beyond the first 4 years. Don't worry about it and just focus on mastering those imo

>undergrad
>"physicist"
nah

undergrad is a joke. thats why no one will hire someone with jut a bachelor. graduate is when it should get real, if it doesn't your school is bad

Handicapped. Have a friend taking physics at McGill, he's taking cal up to cal 5 and has other courses like complex variables. It's his second semester

It's pretty depressing to learn that even graduate level physics doesn't involve much beyond calculus, diff eq. and linear algebra

DiffEq
PDE's
Learn Fourier series/transform somewhere
Also learn Lagrangian/Hamiltonian mechanics (Euler-Lagrange equations might be in PDE or a dynamics class)
Topology or differential geometry would be good too.

Most of it will probably be rolled up in some of your physics classes and presented on a need-to-know basis. If you are worried you might not learn some of these topics, you can always ask the professors if/when you will learn them.

But that's wrong friend.

really?

If you do some heavily applied or experimental field that focuses on fluid mechanics or heat than yeah maybe, but that's really more engineering. Most of even the experimental side uses at least abstract algebra due to quantum theory: nonlinear optics, condensed matter, etc. And even those fields use topology from time to time.

And it really starts going down the rabbit hole if you do any kind of theoretical study. What kind of physics were you most interested in?

If you don't learn about PDEs it's more fortune-telling than physics.

condensed matter

Yeah, definitely will need topology and geoup theory, maybe some complex analysis too. Depending on the problems being investigatedyou may need even more, it's a very broad field.

That being said, those courses you listed are the fiundation for most fields in every scientific discipline, and unless you stick to the more obscure, unimportant areas of math. There is no escaping them, but that's what makes them fascinating IMO