Grad Definition and 1000 Threads

Hello, I'm a senior undergraduate physics majors taking a gap year before applying to physics grad school. I wanted to get a pet before continuing off the physics grads school and i was wondering if I realistically have time or money to take care of it. I'm thinking of getting a pet lizard...

Hi, I am a math major in South Korea. Recently, one of my friends came to me with a rumor that age of the applicant is a critical factor in admission to top math grad school like princeton, harvard, etc... What worries me is that due to the country's "mandatory military service law ", I...

I had a friend convince me to take the physics gre with no preparation, just because i wanted to see how I would do. I do want to go to grad school, anywhere would be good based on my abysmal gre score. I'm a senior, next semester is my last then I'll have my BS in physics. I'm a B student...

Hello everyone, I am currently in my third semester at Rutgers University with a declared major in Physics. I aspire to do post-baccalaureate studies. However, my GPA is just "average." I have read through threads where the OP is in a similar situation to mine, and I have found a lot of...

For example, I want to work on quantum gravity and things like Brane cosmology (but not necessarily string theory). I'm really interested in sinking my teeth into differential geometry, general relativity, the shape of the universe, stuff like that. But if I were to go to a grad school that...

Hello wise physicists, I didn't know who else to ask this question to - so I am posing it to other physics students and people who have been through the program, maybe even with a dilemma similar to mine. I'm new here to the forums. Currently a 4th year Physics major at a top 10 undergrad...

I am a junior physics and cognitive science major with hopes of going into grad school for physics. I have to stay 3-4 extra semesters to finish school- not enough time to do everything. The attached file shows my grades. PHY is physics, CSC is computer science, MAT is math- the rest are not...

Hello, I am applying to graduate schools in physics, applied physics, and engineering. On my resume, I would like to know if people feel I should include summer research (REU,SULI) presentations, and poster sessions I have attended. The most important poster session would be one for the...

I recently graduated with a bachelors in physics and I am considering going to graduate school in mechanical or aerospace engineering. From what I've read I will probably need to start out taking some undergraduate engineering courses to get up to speed. I was hoping that someone could provide...

Since I am posting this on behalf of a friend (who's in a slight slump and could use some advice), I am probably lacking some information. However, hopefully you guys can get the idea. While my friend did well his first semester at the regional campus at his 50-60 ranked university, his...

So I'm currently an undergrad physics major, and looking to pursue a Ph.D in physics. I was recently talking to one of my friends, who is a grad plasma physics student, about his research. He seems to like physics a lot, but when I talked to him he said his research is boring. I replied with...

When applying to grad programs in the US, is it be a good idea to attach documented proof of having received scholarships/financial awards if they were on both sustained academic performance and need-based grounds? In my country, the grants I got throughout my undergrad are kind of a big deal...

I am currently a senior at a no name liberal arts college studying math and physics. I am unsure about want I want to do in the future, but I am considering engineering for graduate school in the far future. Field yet to be determined. Last year I took an advance physics lab course and...

Before quantum mechanics and relativity were incorporated into the physics curriculum, what did physicists go to grad school for? It seems like classical mechanics, thermodynamics (I believe stat mech was not well developed at the time), and electromagnetism were the only things that were...

I have a GRE score of 6.0 writing, 170 reading, and 168 quantitative, and a 4.0 GPA. I also have 4 semesters of soft matter theory research and 1 summer of particle physics theory research. I'm applying to do theory to many schools, including MIT, SUNY Stony Brook, Stanford, Harvard, UMass...

I want to compute the flux surfaces using FEM but i haven't found any good source to read. any help will be appreciated. Thank you

I had two questions regarding grad school stipends. For starters, about how many hours per week do you have to typically spend working to earn your stipend? Second, I have heard that the amount of grad students receiving stipends is extremely high in most colleges, where actually not getting...

I posted a question a while back on medical physics and got great feedback so I'm back again in with another dilemma... I spent the summer doing med physics research and I liked the radiation physics and computational aspects of it quite a bit. I'd like to apply for grad school in nuclear...

I recently did an internship at my university in which I worked more closely with the engineer in charge of the lab rather than the professor. Would it be okay to ask the engineer in charge to write a letter of recommendation for grad. school since he is more capable of detailing my performance...

Hi guys and gals, first post here, but I've lurked here before but just now registering and posting I'm getting ready to apply for my graduate schools. I'm not sure what exactly I'm seeking, so I want to provide a little background. I've always been a tinkerer, ever since I was young I've...

If ∇ x v = 0 in all of three dimensional space, show that there exists a scalar function ##\phi (x,y,z)## such that v = ∇##\phi##. (from Walter Strauss' Partial Differential Equations, 2nd edition; problem 11; pg 20.) I'm not really sure where to begin with this problem. I asked a few of my...

It's difficult to get anywhere with a "general" STEM major like Math, Physics, Chemistry, Statistics or Biology, unless you know specifically what type of job you want and you know how to use your major to market a specific skill set related to that job. It's okay to choose one of those majors...

I was just wondering if this is a common thing that people do. I am a junior in college and I had a software engineering internship and enjoyed it very much and I think it'd a career i'd enjoy. However I've always wanted to get a phd in computer science and do research in computer graphics. At...

Hi there, If any people who have sat on grad school admissions committees are lurking out there, I would love to hear your opinion on this: I'm reapplying to grad school for next fall after I took my Masters and left at another institution. I made a right mess of things there; was going...

I am wondering if it is possible to study abroad if you are a graduate student in a science related field. I have a BS in geology and I am applying for grad school for geology/environmental science. Is it even possible to study abroad?, if so, are there certain programs that are more...

Hi, I'm starting off grad school this fall. My adviser mailed me some published papers that have been written by our group. I've been through them, and although I understand the basic idea, I don't understand many of the formulas and theories used. Is this normal? Usually, how do people start...

First, this is my first time actually posting anything so hi PF!Second, I have been working out of Div, Grad, Curl and all that. This problem has me stumped for some reason. My answer never comes out to be the same as the books. If you could help me figure out where I am going wrong I would...

I would like to apply to grad schools next Fall. If the school requires 3 recommendations, is it ever a good idea to include more? Also, what do you guys think about including a CV?

Hello all, I'm looking for advice from people in any physics/astronomy/astrophysics graduate program. If you're short on time, please feel free to skip to the last paragraph; I would really appreciate any help. I did my undergraduate degrees in physics and math, and if you don't mind me...

Hey all, I'm a Math major (most of my coursework was in PDEs) and just got accepted into Grad school (yay) for Mechanical Engineering. I need to be very familiar with fluid mechanics and have about 5 months to do so. Trouble is, the last fluid mechanics course I took was about 3-4 years ago...

Hi All, Is there any Good University that provides Under Grad degree in Maths or Physics through distance education ? Thanks, -D

Hello MHB, I'll soon be applying for Masters and PhD programmes in mathematics to universities in the US. I need help with my statement of purpose. I am not sure what I should put in it since I am largely self taught (in math) and have little formal research experience. (Formal research...

I'm a junior doing a physics major. I've almost finished the physics major and I've taken more than the required electives, and as I'm not 100% sure whether I want to go to graduate school, I'm considering double majoring in economics. I know that a double major in economics will open more...

Hey guys and gals, I am at a bit of a stand still right now. I am a third year P.h.D. student and I have an advisor, but I am not exactly sure what area I want to research in. I went to talk to him yesterday and I said that I wanted to study General relativity, but he says that is not specific...

Hey, I know there's a sticky on top of the page kind of about this but I read through the thread and I have a pretty particular case that which isn't really addressed. I just finished my undergrad studies, received a B.A. a few months ago in May, and I was thinking about going to school...

Hey everyone, I was hoping to get some general career advice. I am currently working on my Physics BS and am almost done with all of the physics requirements. However, since I was a transfer student I have been able to take a lot of courses in fields I also enjoy. I'll end up graduating with the...

Hey PF! So I just finished my undergrad degree in Astrophysics, and I'm interested in going back to get my PhD. I really love physics, and I don't mind the kind of grind and time that it would take to be a successful PhD student. I'm not looking to get higher paying jobs after I get my PhD, I...

I haven't take the PGRE yet, but would it be beneficial to me to visit institutions I would be interested in now to get my name out there? Or is this unheard of / faculty has no time? Thanks.

Hi, I got my degree in E.E. but I've been pretty interested in the physics, and I am evaluating my prospects of getting a graduate degree in that area. I graduated with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering GPA of about 3.8. However my school was near the bottom of the top 50 in rankings. I...

Hi everyone. I think for grad school I want to do work on neutrinos. Anyone know of any good and up and coming schools with good faculty working on these experiments? My application should be good, but not great with great grades/research but very average GRE and PGRE scores.

I am a rising junior physics major and math minor at a small liberal arts school. I'm interested in possibly pursuing materials science for grad school (hoping to complete a PhD). However, I haven't yet taken intro-level chemistry. Originally I was planning to complete the intro sequence...

Hello, I am currently beginning my Junior year of college, and the time is coming far too soon for me to choose grad schools to apply to. My goal in life is to study all kinds of foundational physics, such as quantum foundations, quantum gravity, and string theory in order to complete...

I recently received a Physics Ph.D. but I had previously studied and earned an Aerospace Engineering masters degree. After spending several years earning my Ph.D. I have decided I would much rather practice Aerospace Engineering professionally. Unfortunately, I have had little success in...

Hey everyone. This is something I've been wondering about lately. I'm currently in a community college, with plans to transfer to a university, and eventually go on for my doctorate(I'm majoring in physics). How unusual would it be to spend an extra year as an undergrad to take more upper...

Is that weird? I live in apartment, so when I order stuff from Amazon, they just leave the stuff in the foyer for anyone to pick up on. Maybe I could just send it to my "office" at "work?"

Hello all, First, to tell you a little about my background, I have just finished my undergraduate degree in geology and geophysics. I also attained two minors in astronomy and mathematics. Thus, my physics and math background includes a year of freshman physics (mechanics & E&M) plus a...

Hi, I am going to list the various courses I plan on taking as part of my physics major (though not all the courses are contained in the physics major). I would simply like to know if the following will sufficiently prepare me for graduate school in theoretical physics (focusing on high-energy...

I have a degree in electrical engineering, but I would like the opportunity to do physics in graduate school. A significant issue I have encountered is that I have no research experience, and seemingly no way to acquire it. It seems these opportunities are just for undergraduates; it seems there...

I'll be applying for graduate studies(M.S) in Physics in a couple of years, so I would like to know the best universities in Europe but NOT UK as I cannot afford it. The reason I'm asking this now is because I will be learning the language of the country I decide to go to - even if they have...

Advisor I am applying to graduate school and there is a professor I want to work with. According to the university, he is an active faculty. I checked his profile and all I could find was his name, the university's address and his research which tersely states: "geometry". So I looked him...