Grad school Definition and 1000 Threads

hello, This is going to be my first post on pf, even though I have been following the insightful topics for a long time.I have majored in physics and after that I have decided to follow a grad course and do something where I can apply my knowledge of physics and get a good job after it. can...

I had a question about becoming a Professional Engineer. My question is : can you be an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) and earn you Professional Engineer's license (PE) while go to graduate school for a MS/PhD at the same time?

(I wrote a lot of text so scroll to the bottom if you want a synopsis) I'm a CS undergrad going to a crappy public school and recently I decided that I want to switch majors and get a PhD in math or physics. I've been interested in both subjects for a long time, math has been a big theme...

I'm an American undergrad in physics and math between my junior and senior years, and I'm planning on applying to a physics Ph.D. program in the coming year. Frankly I'm not a great-looking applicant. My GPA is a 3.465 (at a top-twenty university at least) although most of my poorer grades...

Hello, I'm currently attending university in the UK, and I'm on a 3-year physics bachelor course. Most people in the UK don't go straight into a PhD after the bachelor, but instead do a 12-month master first. As the bachelor is entirely taught and there are not many chances to do original...

If I applied to graduate schools for quantum computing (as a physics major), how easy would it be to switch to some other area in quantum mechanics, solid state, or optics? In particular, how easy is it to change both during and after graduate school, as a grad student and as a post-doc...

I always hear about physics PHD candidates receiving tuition waivers/stipends for grad school. Does this happen in engineering grad school also? Is it as common?

Would I be able to get into a grad school for applied math? By the time I graduate, I would must likely have a 3.4-3.5 gpa in my upper div math classes (around 3.5-3.6 if lower div classes are included) and a 3.6 overall. Currently, I have a 3.1 gpa in my upper div math classes (around 3.2 if...

Hi, I will be starting my graduate study in mathematics in August 2011, and I was thinking of reviewing mathematics that I have learned while I was an undergraduate as soon as my summer vacation begins in June. The topics that I am considering to review include algebra (abstract and...

Grad school help: choosing a "concentration" Okay, so I will begin my graduate physics studies this fall. I'm incredibly excited, but very nervous, especially about the comprehensive/qualifying exams, but that's another story... I'm already in my early 30s, married, with a kid. Needless to...

Hello, Next year I'll be graduating from a small liberal arts college (University of San Francisco) with a BS in Physics. By that time I'll have 2 years experience working for the Dept of Physiology at UC San Francisco. The experiments I've worked on have been in behavioral genetics, but I...

These are the requirements for the grad school which I want to go to. I'm a high school student at the moment. Subject and semester hours Biology 8 English 6 Inorganic Chemistry 8 Organic Chemistry 8 Physics 8 All courses in the sciences must include both...

Hi, This thing just popped into my head. Although I am 2-3 years away from applying for grad school, is there any way to apply for grad school, fall session, if you can get your undergrad transcripts not before may-june? Typically, applications close before december of the previous year...

I think I'm in a pretty rough situation. I struggle with depression off and on, and it's put me in a really bad place academically over the past two years. First, I'd like to say that I've been doing much better lately. I had straight As last quarter and will probably get As this quarter...

I made a post a day or two ago, but got no responses. This post is a simplification. How long is too long to take off in between undergraduate study and graduate study? I want to join the navy as a nuclear trained officer, but this would entail a 5-6 year obligation. Could this amount of...

Hello, I am a mechanical engineering and mathematics undergraduate, and am looking at the Navy's NUPOC (nuclear propulsion officer candidate) program as a potential right-out-of-college job prospect (well, technically, while in college, but for all practical purposes, it starts after I...

what do you think would be most beneficial to prepare for first year of grad school in math e.g. reading journals (or trying to), reviewing undergrad or learning more advanced topics also what can i expect when i get there

hi, so I'm just finishing up my junior year and would like to try to go to grad school for math. I got into an REU program this summer that ends around the beginning of August and plan to start studying for the GRE sometime during the summer. Right now though, I'm a little confused as to how I...

I currently grade homework assignments for my school's math department (and I tutor off and on). Will this job count for anything on my applications to physics grad schools? If not, I'm very willing to drop the job and spend more time on classes. Thanks for the advice.

Transcript vs Research -- grad school admissions Background: I'm a sophomore math/physics major with a 3.9 GPA at a top-ten school. I've begun grad-level studies in physics and have made room in my schedule for me to more-or-less complete the masters curriculum by the time I graduate two years...

Hi, I'm currently a sophomore in UC Berkeley, interested in majoring in physics. I am considering to go to grad school afterwards, and I have few questions. First, even if I don't go to grad school, would I have good job opportunity with physics Bachelors? Second, what is the GPA requirement...

Hello everyone, Is anyone else here planning on applying to grad schools soon? If so, please holler out! Maybe we can share resources with each other (in a place where there aren't many resources). I'm actually really into astronomy, but my area, modelling planetary atmospheres, is one...

I'll give a quick background on myself: I'm an undergrad soph this coming Fall, and I can take a upper div. course that prepares for the Putnam. However, I've never taken the IMO, AMC, etc., and so I have no experience with problem-solving tests. However, I do have a good deal of undergrad math...

hi all :) just curious for anyone that knows rankings well, which school/program is better for physics? suny buffalo (m.s. in physics) rochester institute of technology (m.s. in astrophysical sciences) thanks all

I am starting my third year of Phy. undergrad and have been looking over some resources to better prepare myself for grad school. In another thread "The_Duck" posted a link to a site where people have posted their GRE, GPA's, and research experience (and whatever else) and listed what schools...

I have been accepted to a few graduate schools for a PhD in Math. I have been accepted to most schools for the fall but one said I could come during the summer with tuition and fees waived and a stipend. Can I attend this university for the summer only and then transfer to the school I want...

Hello all. I am a currently working as a chemist (University of Delaware B.Sc. Chemistry 2010) in the US and have been sorting through my options for graduate school. My original plan was to work toward a M.Sc. in Applied Physics at the University of Granada (UGR) in Spain, and to follow that...

Hi all, I didn't hear from a particular school until today about my PhD application. Unfortunately, I already accepted admission at another school--is there a way to back out of that if I want to go to this other school? Advice much appreciated.

Hey all, I'm at a crossroads and feeling really stressed out. Below are my options: a) Complete a BSc in Physics, 4 - year Honours: It will take me two more years of intense work. I am already on my fourth year of the degree but messed everything up by taking only one course my second...

Hello everyone! This is my first post on physics forums. So, I have been accepted to the graduate programs in Physics at the University of Maryland College Park and the Ohio State University. I am having a difficult time deciding between the two. Both seem really cool places, but I do not...

Hi, I am a Junior in ChE and I currently plan to go straight to work after graduating. I do however hope to one day earn at least a masters degrees, (perhaps a PhD if I am up for it) My question is, does spending a few years working in industry give you any credentials for getting into a...

Well, I'm only a First Year Undergrad now but I know I want to go to grad school one day I have two subjects I'm very interested in, math and physics and I'm struggling with picking one, so I was wondering which am I worse off in with grad school prospects so far as that may help me decide...

For those of you who are currently in, or have finished, grad school, how important would you say it is to attend a school that is MUCH different than your undergrad? I ask this because I've always heard one should attend a school different from your undergrad. But I got into a school that is...

Hi. I'm in condensed matter experiment, and I was wondering whether employers (in academia or industry) would look less favorably on hiring people whose BA institution and PhD institution are the same. I've heard different answers from different people about this question. Some say that...

Okay, so I originally planned a B.S. but because I wanted to pursue a computer science minor and still graduate in 4 years, I thought about doing a BA in physics. Basically, I'm substituting the difference in BS and BA physics units with computer science courses. Does this look bad for PhD...

Hi all. I am a Math and Philosophy double major at a top 20 university. I have recently been putting a lot of thought into what I want to do after graduation but am basically pretty lost. I was the best physics student in my high school during my junior and senior years and really enjoyed...

I'm an international student who has been in the US for a long time. I go to a state college that excels in engineering, but it's mainly focused on industry. My major is chem e, and I'm still trying to decide between industry and grad school. My gut tells me I'm a better fit for grad school, but...

I'm about to graduate with a BS in Physics and am currently trying to decide which graduate school to attend. I'm trying to decide between four right now (UIUC, U of Michigan, Northwestern, and Indiana U). I'm not completely set on an area of research yet, and I'm trying to consider the various...

Hello, I'm currently a 3rd year physics student (will be finishing next year) with some questions about recommended courses which would facilitate my ability to tackle graduate courses. First, due to financial issues I cannot take more than a fixed number of hours in the coming year so I have to...

Is it normal for my interest in pursuing a MS and PhD to keep waning and for me to keep holding on thinking it will increase? Am I just being lazy, or should I truly shift gears and leave academia?

I'm pretty sure there was a grad school FAQ sticky, but I can't find it (am I just blind?). Search didn't bring it up. I've heard a lot of different things about grad school applications. Grades are everything, all that matters is if you've done research; being published is a huge boost...

Good evening! I'm currently a junior at a top 10 US university. I'll walk away next year with a BS in physics and probably with some type of honor due to GPA/honors thesis. I'm sure like half the posters on here, I have deluded dreams of attending certain grad schools. I don't prescribe to...

So I've been discussing on here a lot of my issues right now with majors. I want to go into grad school for physics, without a doubt.. but the thing is this...it will take me an extra year to finish a physics major, as opposed to a mathematics major. I've been told, however, that I...

I am thinking about applying for grad school in the US (Chicago to be exact) and I have some questions. First of all, some background. In 10 months I will have a masters degree from University of Iceland. A masters degree here is one year of graduate level courses (60 ECTS) and one year of...

And if so, what other routes have you tried? Does calling them usually work? I've emailed a lot of grad school admission offices, but I generally get horrible reply rates (as in, I usually only get around 1 reply for every 5 emails). I do try to keep my questions short and simple. Here's...

so a few of the grad programs I got admitted to don't have their open houses until April. However, if I wish, I could visit the program before then, but I of course won't be able to meet the incoming class of grad students. Since I already graduated over a year ago, I've had a couple...

Hello, I will be attending an Open House this week and was wondering what things I should be looking for when I visit the department as well as what I could ask them to get the best general idea of what life as a grad student there will be like. I know this is a very broad question, but I was...

Hey I've been in grad school around Worcester for a year already, and I'm planning to move out for various reasons. The problem that bothers me is probably the opposite of what you'd expect - I am keen of moving further away from campus, maybe purely for the sake of city life. 1) I grew up...

I'm a sophomore so I'm not going to be looking into gradschool for a while, but I'm just curious how it works. When you apply, do you apply specifically to work with a certain professor or team (maybe you are interested in their work), or do you just apply similar to how you would for an...

Hello there, I'm currently an undergrad working towards a B.S. in Mathematics. I'm not too far along; I've completed the Calculus sequence and a couple classes after that. I'm currently in the equivalent of an "Intro to Proofs" class, required by my school. I work full-time, so during...