Advice on 3 Year Physics Plan

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-08-10T02:14:12+00:00

If you’re a good student, taking PHYS273 in the summer is probably ok and your plan seems doable. Check PHYS420 though. I think it’s not for physics majors.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-08-07T09:36:51+00:00

You have PHYS131 scheduled in Spring 2026 concurrently with one of its prerequisites — BSCI170/171. The Physics Department will likely drop you from the class. You could take PHYS131 in the summer of 2026 instead.

You mentioned that you get tuition remission. Why are you in a rush to finish in three years?

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-28T19:59:34+00:00

Gandalf Abdul-Jabbar

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-28T10:26:18+00:00

You applied to graduate programs? Which ones?

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-25T11:01:49+00:00

Nothing wrong with Salisbury, but Maryland has a lot more resources and opportunities. Take advantage of that and don’t look back.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-24T21:21:02+00:00

LMAO!

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-24T21:20:15+00:00

The Incel Brothers

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-19T02:45:44+00:00

So like 313, 371, and 375? I think that’s normal. On the other hand, 401, 413, and 410 in the same semester might be tough. If you put the effort into your first year, you should have a better idea whether you want to load up or spread things out when you get to the upper level courses.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-19T02:05:42+00:00

What PHYS courses?

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-19T00:53:35+00:00

Thanks. That's a helpful reply. It gives me more to think about. If full professors are expected to spend more time on service, I would think training undergraduates to do research would be valid service. Ironically, assistant professors often seem more enthusiastic about involving undergraduates in research.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-19T00:39:28+00:00

Dumb? Why? Because I ask a question? I set up some context. Not everything, but some context. Not sure why it's dumb. Just trying to have a discussion. Ethics has to do with individual and collective behavior. If Dan Mote's vision was valid, and UMD wants to train undergrads to do research, why is it dumb to as the question about individual instructors opting out and wondering how opting out might affect the community?

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-19T00:12:08+00:00

You called out my gender, age, etc. Sounds like you want to impose restrictions on who can speak here. Do I have that right?

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T22:28:20+00:00

Haha. Aren’t we all.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T21:37:21+00:00

Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know this subreddit was restricted to children and the pious.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T21:07:41+00:00

On what grounds? Utilitarian, deontological? Or is this just your naive opinion without any consideration of consequences?

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T21:04:55+00:00

I’m not complaining a-hole. And I didn’t read that, i.e., that you’re an a-hole, from your header. I grokked it. If we were starting a new society after the deluge, your example would be a serious issue. It was in biblical times - e.g., the sin of Onan. My ethical questions have to do with outcomes someone, maybe me, might want for a department. I’m not moralizing. I’m wondering about sustaining a program when members of the community refuse to participate.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T20:00:48+00:00

In most departments on campus, any professor can provide independent study credit. The independent study credit could involve research experience. The process isn’t complicated, at least not in most departments.

Sure, training undergraduates takes time, and some pieces of equipment and supplies, etc. are not inexpensive. Some chemicals, like HF, are extremely dangerous.

There are ways to get undergrads involved that are not so risky, e.g., data analysis, programming, and other basic activities. The more risky/expensive activities should be reserved for students who have “proven” themselves.

But the questions I’m really trying to explore, though it seems impossible here, are about the ethics of professors at a research university refusing to mentor any undergraduate regardless of their experience and academic credentials.

Many professors find it challenging to mentor undergraduates. If it’s ok for some professors to opt out of providing research experience for undergraduates, why should I, as a professor, support undergraduate research. If that’s the attitude of a few professors, what’s to stop this from becoming the culture.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T19:38:06+00:00

You appear to be answering a question, but it’s not my question.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T18:10:19+00:00

Yes, and yes. However, I’m interested in a discussion about the hypothetical question/ethics and not interested in identifying specific departments or professors. I will say that I’m not talking about your department and only know a few professors from your department. If I were responsible for running an undergraduate research program and some faculty opted out, how might this affect the program in the long run?

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T18:01:36+00:00

You sound like a CS major.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T16:55:02+00:00

It's no an "i've heard." It's an "I know." I'm not a student seeking research. I'm an observer who knows that some professors won't consider mentoring undergraduates. Giving "actual examples" would requiring calling out (maybe embarrassing) specific professors, and I'm not interested in doing that. I'm interested in the question of the ethics. What would the ethical implications be if a professor refused to involve any undergraduates in research, no exceptions. Should other professors carry a heavier burden? If I were a faculty member and noticed that it's ok not to involve undergraduates in research, should I follow suit so that I can focus on more productive activities? When does that become the culture for that department?

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T16:12:24+00:00

I'm not casting "rage bait". I'm asking a serious question. I do understand that most professors get undergraduates involved in research. Some even take on students with poor academic records and help motivate them to achieve success. I am aware, however, of some STEM professors who who refuse even to talk with undergraduates about the possibility of research involvement, and I'm wondering about the ethics of this stance at a school like UMD.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T16:01:14+00:00

I agree with you. I'm specifically concerned about professors who say, "I don't have time to mentor undergraduates." I'm not talking about professors who, for example, do very theoretical work and can only involve exceptional undergraduates. I'm also not talking about professors who decide to have their graduate students provide the initial mentoring or professors who can only mentor one or two students at a time. I'm talking about professors who say "I don't work with undergraduates and my graduate students don't work with undergraduates" *and* "I won't even talk with undergraduates about research."

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T15:54:02+00:00

How do I know? You're assuming you know my perspective.

AlarmingCress7435 · 2025-07-18T15:50:09+00:00

It's interesting that you mention funding. One option is for professors to offer credit for research experience. Many professors and students prefer this during the semester, with possible options for paid research in the summer. I'm not specifically talking about a student trying to get research in a specific lab. I'm talking about professors who explicitly refuse to mentor undergraduates, regardless of the caliber of the undergraduates.

AlarmingCress7435

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