Additional Bachelors Degree

[FlyAF]

Hi Everyone,

I'll commission from AFROTC with a B.A. in Philosophy, but would really like to earn a B.S. in Physics or Engineering after UPT sometime so that I could possibly apply for TPS. Would this be feasible to do in the said amount of time? I know that you can take courses online, but those seem to mostly be for non-technical majors like history, management, etc. Plus, I'd imagine that getting a Physics degree would be pretty challenging for a pilot that has 10-14 hour work days as it is.

Thanks for any input or advice.

[ 05. March 2006, 23:26: Message edited by: FlyAF ]

[FalconXtreme]

i cant help with any info. but i'd like to get an answer on this too bc i wanna do the samething but a masters not bs

[Guest sickels101]

This will be pretty hard at UPT and after is a different story. Its hard to say due to various airframes/places/additional duties. This is probably a unit by unit answer.

[Champ Kind]

Originally posted by SoNotToSpeak:

This will be pretty hard at UPT

"Pretty hard"? How about impossible!

[dmeg130]

The AF will pay for tuition for a degree you don't already have -- a bachelor's if you don't have one or a master's if you do. Otherwise, you're on your own.

As for time, bachelor's degrees tend to take a lot more classes than a master's. If you can find a good online program that accepts some of your past work for transfer, then you might have a shot. Otherwise, I'd just try to get a Master's and fill that square.

Do you really want to go to TPS that badly? I'd see how UPT goes, then make some future plans.

[FlyAF]

Would it even be possible to get a M.S. in Physics with a B.A. in Philosophy?

[Guest bussman]

Test pilot wont mean crap if you dont have a masters when it comes time to make O-5. I'd get a masters first.

[Guest blkafnav]

You may be able to get an AFIT slot and earn a Master's in some big brain program. I'm pretty sure you need to score well on the GRE. However, dmeg130 says it well, "...see how UPT goes, then make future plans".

[Guest Absolutlyfly]

Probably not. I say this because you need to go from a like bachelors degree to another like degree for your masters. Especially since you probably haven't taken a techincal class in years.

I would say to get into Physics you would need a physics degree or a heavy load of physics as an engineer.

[Guest Sebastian]

Originally posted by FlyAF:

Would it even be possible to get a M.S. in Physics with a B.A. in Philosophy?

This would be based on a school by school basis. You may need to remedy deficiencies as determined on a case-by-case basis - meaning that you would have to take undgrad classes in that major once you are in to get on par with other students.

However, you should also consider that if the grad school committee is looking over your application and someone who earned a BS in physics (complete with internship, etc) I'm more than a little inclined to think that they would pick the other applicant over you.

But you don't know until you try, right?

[Guest Hoser]

I know four guys who have done / are doing now / about to do the AFIT enroute to TPS route.

Hoser

[Guest terryrea]

Go for the MS. As far as getting one in Physics, that is your call. You can take levelling courses to bring you up to speed in Physics since you have some other degree. It will prove to be more difficult, but for sure go for the MS.

[Guest Apollo]

Originally posted by Hoser:

I know four guys who have done / are doing now / about to do the AFIT enroute to TPS route.

Hoser

What degrees did they have to start with?

[Guest rotorhead]

When you say guys got masters enroute to TPS, they were probably one of the 2-3 folks the TPS board selects to specifically do so...

When the TPS board meets, they know what they want due to upcoming tests...in other words, they know they want x flight test engineers, y fighter pilots, z bomber pilots, etc. There are usually 2-3 folks they want to go to TPS, but due to timing, want them to get a masters at AFIT enroute to TPS...in other words, THEY ARE TPS SELECTEES that will attend a TPS class a year in the future.

TPS board members also unofficially "weight" various technical degrees. For the boards I facilitated, with everything being equal, EE was before AE before ME before CE, with math and physics near the back. With a nontech BA, I'd expect you'd need a very high grade EE or AE degree from a respected university, along with the rapid upgrade in acft, CGOY, medals, etc. etc.

[jcollins]

Does anyone actually offer a real, ABET-accredited engineering program online? Even if you are smart enough to do everything yourself (something I, a EE, find a very hard time doing, so I group up), the fact that we have a lot of design labs and a capstone design project to fulfill ABET requirements would pretty much make it impossible to do online. Physics students are the same (sans capstone design project I believe). Flyguy, I admire your tenacity in any case. Good luck

[Guest JimNtexas]

What you want is an engineering MS from the University of Idaho Engineering Outreach Program.

I think this is one of the very few "real" technical degree programs that can be done via distance learning. I worked this program during the two years before I retired, and even though I had not yet graduated, the courses I took were extremely helpful in getting a civilian engineering job.

Don't do anything like this until you are mission qualified in your end assignment. At that point this Idaho program would be a really viable option .

[ 09. March 2006, 12:12: Message edited by: JimNtexas ]

[Guest delta]

If it's Idaho then you're good to go :D