Other fields of science overlap physics. Many parts of biology, chemistry, geology, and engineering use physics. If you have taken both biology and chemistry, you may have used physics. In college, if you decide to major in physics, you'll take more science but concentrate in physics. After you have taken general physics with laboratory work, you will study some of the fields within physics such as classical mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, relativity, astrophysics, optics and geophysics.
Graduate students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees concentrate fully on physics.
The master's program usually takes two years and may require a research project. You will write up the results for your thesis and perhaps publish it in a scientific journal. As in other fields, computers are important tools for physicists. Computer programming classes will teach you the skills necessary for the modeling and analysis that are important in physics. You'll need speaking and writing skills to communicate your discoveries, which means that English and composition are required.