Thanks for the suggestions. I have considered astrochemistry before, but for me, the current pathway is get up to graduate level ability in physics & maths - a tough nut to crack but I am working on it - whether I learn formally or not, the thing that I feel will get me through the door to astrophysics is not necessarily an honours degree in physics, but simply being able to prove that I have an adequate founding in physics and math - a lot of work lies ahead!

Hi, thanks for the replies.

I think the main problem will lie in the gaps in underlying knowledge. Sure, if you're incredibly bright, then it may be possible to scrape through a PhD (in Astrophysics), re-learning things from first principles as you go along, but it would be very tiresome and could be a recipe for disaster, storing up problems for the future - can one really reach the top of their field in this way? I very much doubt it.

The only compromise I can think of at the moment is to self-study level 1 and 2 physics and math, then perhaps persuade a university to let me sit the honours years of a physics degree - I think this is the direction I am heading unless someone has any better ideas.

If, of course I then do manage to get my physics and maths up to scratch, I then have the final hurdle of translating that knowledge into something formal that a department will accept in place of a degree, not to mention the missing "practical elements".

The two sciences are not comparable in any way, although there is the crossover areas of physical chemistry, chemical physics, materials science and nanotech.

There is a lot of math for me to cover... I think the math will be the main sticking point...I'm just not prepared to do a full degree to get myself up to scratch so am looking for an alternative way to go about it, which will indeed involve a lot of self-study. However, I am deterimed to do it. Ideally, I could learn the math from a comprehensive text book and the same with the physics, but I am also thinking that this approach will probably not be sufficient to give me good grounding in these areas.

Hi there procrastinator, I think in many ways you are spot on there! My chemistry degree was heavily theoretically based and to be honest, from my point of view much of what I learned as the science of chemistry had more to do with understanding molecular structure.

Much of the material I covered in my 1st and 2nd year chemistry could easily be omitted and learned in the final years, but like you say, for physics the need for an understanding of 1st prnciples from 1st year onward is far more important for the physicist than the chemist.

Yes, thanks for that. An MSc or taught masters seems like the appropriate step for me. No time to do another full undergraduate degree.

Cheers

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what steps I can take in order to get myself into an Astrophysics/Astronomy PhD. I'm quite good at maths and physics but don't really have the formal components to show this from my first degree (MSci in Chemistry)?

Should I be looking to do another undergrad degree first in Astrophysics, or are there perhaps other less cumbersome practical steps I can take to put myself in an acceptable position for both a PhD in Astrophysics/Astronomy and a subsequent career in the field?

Cheers