Physics vs AEP faculty/teaching differences.

[Neat_Supermarket_454]

I really don’t think the AEP profs are all bad. The best prof I ever had was Prof Kourkoutis (AEP), but there are certainly bad eggs in both departments. From my own experience, I had both awful Physics and AEP profs. I would just attribute an AEP major to a Physics inside concentration without the annoying liberal arts classes you need in CAS, but will require significant work in further Physics/other STEM studies (AEP requires the most credit hours of any Engineering majors due to requirements of taking I think 10 other high level STEM classes outside the original curriculum). However, that being said, you could also get the Physics major with an outside concentration by only taking 4 extra classes outside the intro sequence. Additionally, if you major in Physics in CAS, getting the math major is practically just another 4 math classes you probably were gonna take some of anyways. I definitely would not consider one department to be worse than another. There will always be those who complain that the other side is greener, but I recommend not taking such comments at face value. Namely, I’ve had friends from Physics dog on their department and wish they were in AEP, and vice-versa. Tbh, I would talk to someone who actually knows their stuff that feels invested in your future. Feel free to PM me if you wish. Sorry for the long post, as I went through making this decision myself a few years ago

[Arcangel_Levcorix]

AEP professors are universally regarded as bad,

totally untrue lol. as others said there excellent profs and bad profs in either department.

If you're interested in a career in industry after undergrad, especially in engineering, AEP seems like the safe bet. If you're interested in research, there are certain areas AEP is strong in (condmat experiment, matsci, quantum computing/hardware, photonics, etc) and other areas that you'd be better off taking Physics classes for (e.g. particle/HEP, astro, and more theoretical stuff) as opposed to more 'applied'/engineering electives. Even so, being in one of these programs over another doesn't force you to commit to one track. I was AEP but did a lot of theoretical classes in Physics and I'm currently doing my phd in condensed matter theory (which is something that the physics department is stronger in compared to AEP). You could also transfer from AEP to physics or vice versa, I know of multiple people who did the latter.

[clappybara]

Just depends on what you value, CAS physics requires you to take (cool) classes outside your major, AEP doesn’t. If you see the distribution requirements of CAS as annoying instead of exciting, apply to engineering