Second Bachelors in Maths after Masters in Optics for Theretical Physics Phd I have completed my Masters(5 year Integrated) in Optics recently with average CGPA. I have couple of projects experiences in Theoretical Physics, but no publications. My masters course had rigorous higher mathematics papers yet I find that I have very little knowledge and experience in doing even the undergraduate math, though I am very much interested in it, may be because my course was designed to give more importance to experimental physics. Thus, I started improving math using online lectures and our mathematics stackexchange forum, and I can feel I am able to gain much more than what I could during the course. But many told me not to take a gap by spending time on maths after masters as it'd affect my chances of a Phd admission, as I am already 26.

So is it a good idea to do a second bachelors degree in Mathematics(distant education) before applying for a Phd in theoretical Physics in Europe/Australia ?

Or is there a better way to compensate the time I spend on improving maths myself ?

Note: The reason I was thinking of doing a bachelor's while improving my math is, that way at least I could show that I was doing something while I was away from academia.
So is it a good idea to do a second bachelors degree in Mathematics(distant education) before applying for a Phd in theoretical Physics in Europe/Australia ?


In general, getting another bachelors degree after getting a masters degree is not seen very favorably.  I understand your though process - show the admissions committee you'll do grade-A work in math.

In reality, it's much more likely to signal to the admissions committee you don't have a clear purpose, and make them wonder why you didn't just switch to a masters in math.  Furthermore, since you already have an advanced degree, they are less likely to be impressed you went back to undergrad and aced another bachelors degree.

The admissions committee is most likely to weight your academic performance doing your masters degree heavily.  If you are truly set on switching fields, I would recommend you get another masters degree in mathematics OR applying for a PhD in mathematics.