Graduate program Definition and 50 Threads

I know this might be a stupid question, but I am serious. Some of my friends are in graduate programs not much related to their major (a number of my friends majored in math but are in computer science grad programs, and vice versa), so I am curious whether the same holds for physics. In my...

Why is it paired with materials science? I have not been able to find too much about it online apart from their own stuff. How different is it from their pure physics PhD program? It seems that they have a lot of required courses, although you do not need to take them if you have a sufficiently...

I'm not sure if this is the correct thread, so please accept my apologies if I've posted in the wrong section. My question is for meteorologists and atmospheric scientists who did their undergraduate degree in different, but related fields, such as physics, chemistry, Earth science, etc. and...

Hello. I'm currently studying theoretical physics and planning to continue my study in theoretical physics. I know that there are two interesting places to pursue the education in this field, the International Center for Theoretical Physics (pre-PhD program), and the Perimeter Institute for...

I need some advice with a tough choice between two great programs. On the one hand, I have University College London, a 1 year program in Astrophysics which covers 6 courses and an original research project. On the other hand, I have Leiden University, a 2 year program in Astronomy with ~12...

I have received an invitation to interview for a graduate program in the U.K. The email came from a professor who previously expressed interest in working with me and helped me write a fellowship application. Now, my question is: what makes a graduate interview in physics "informal"? Mind you...

Greetings everybody, Right now I'm applying to graduate physics programs, but since it's an expensive process I'm trying to be at least a little selective in my approach. Since my research interests are in plasma physics, I've limited myself to schools with a program in such. So far I've...

HI everyone, I am currently a senior at a big university who will be finishing up my BS in physics in either Fall of 2018 or Spring of 2019. I would like to go to graduate school after undergrad, but as of this moment there is no way I would get accepted to any school at all. To give you some...

So I just finished up a masters in math (my undergrad was in physics) and I was considering applying for physics graduate school next year. However, I recently got accepted to a physics masters program. My question is whether I should accept the offer, or apply for a doctorate program next year...

Hello! I am interested in learning about the art of missile defense; I am particularly interested in the mathematical applications to calculate the missiles' orbits and how to countermeasure them once they are fired from the modes. I am confused where can I start searching for relevant...

What are strong graduate programs for researching foundations of quantum mechanics?

I was wondering if you guys know of any funded masters programs in physics - tuition waiver + stipend; or only stipend enough to cover tuition and modest living expenses. I am not too particular about the country but I am looking for programs where the norm is that the department funds all their...

I made Dean's List my senior year of undergrad, I double majored and double minored, I volunteered often and I communicate in both the social and scientific realms well. So why am I still getting turned down or "wait listed" from graduate programs? One theory; three semester near the middle of...

I finished my bachelors in electronics and communication in 2014 from India. Since then I have worked as an Application Engineer in the VLSI domain at a reputed company. I would like to transition to Nuclear Fusion Physics. I am planning to give my Physics GRE in October 2015. Some background...

Hello, I am new to this community and appreciate greatly any insight or guidance you may have. I am currently in my fifth and final year pursuing my bachelor's in civil engineering with no emphasis. I've worked full-time and part-time for the past year for a larger local firm, and will...

Hi all. I have never posted anything in PhysicsForums, but I am a long time follower. I was lucky enough to get admitted to both the MIT's graduate program in Physics and to the DPhil in Theoretical Physics at Oxford in the condensed matter theory group. I am unsure which programme to choose...

Hi, I have a few years left on my undergraduate degree but I wanted to see if anyone has experience applying to Stanford for graduate school. I started UCSD as a liberal arts major and then switched to physics about 10 months ago. I have about 130 community college units (you only need 80, I...

I'm looking for advice on obtaining a degree in physics. I'm older, 52, and have a BSE in Computer Science and Engineering and a MS in Computer Science. While I have a history of being both an undergraduate and a graduate student that was 30 years ago and in areas with little connection to...

I will be graduating with a BA in physics and BS in Electrical Engineering in May. I want an optics PhD. I attended an info session on Sandia National Labs at my university, and the recruiters made me think about a PhD program through a national lab. If someone has experience with the National...

Hi guys, I was wondering whether atypical preparation is needed for admission to a mathematical physics program? i.e. Do you need to take Real Analysis, Topology, and other "rigorous" mathematics even if you are only a physics undergrad, or will such mathematics be taught from the ground up...

Hi everybody, Like many people at the moment, I'm in the position of having to choose where I'm going to go to graduate school for a PhD. I'm contemplating two different schools. The first school is my undergrad institution, where I would work with a well known and influential advisor that...

Hi, Last week I finished M.Sc. degree in Medical Physics. Now I'm pondering what to do next. I have a few questions mainly for Medical Physicsists or Medical Physics Residents: 1. Recently I got very interested in reasearch in the area of the X-ray phase-contrast imaging (PCI). As far as I...

I'm an undergraduate studying math and will be applying to grad school in the future. The top graduate programs are MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Berkeley and Chicago. However, I doubt I would be near the top of the class at these places (if I got admitted, that is). This could have a...

So I was wondering what mathematics I will need under my belt before starting at a brand name graduate school(MIT, UChicago, UC Berkely, CalTech, Harcard, etc...) if I were going to specialize in particle or soft-matter physics. Thank you!

I'll be starting a graduate program in a computational science department in September. My research will be in the field of Fluid Mechanics. However, I don't come from an engineering background. My undergraduate degree is in Applied Mathematics where I studied ODEs, PDEs, Calculus, Algebra...

Suppose for a moment that you found just the one professor that you wanted to do a postdoc with. However, that professor works for a university that does not offer a physics graduate program. Can you still attempt to get a postdoc with that professor or you'd be better off finding another...

I recently started a terminal masters program in physics. Shortly after starting, I had a big anxiety issue that I never had in my life before. In my undergrad I worked 2 jobs, was in a fraternity, was in a physics program full time and had a social life. I managed to make it all work and life...

I am going to graduate school for math and i think i am interested in computational mathematics (I say think because i don't fully know what computational math is). I have taken a numerical analysis class in my undergraduate program and i can program in a few different languages. I'm just...

Hi, everyone. I am a junior student major in physics, and after an internship in a NMR lab this summer, I am really interested in this field, and I decided to learn it in my graduate program. Does anyone know any program of nmr, cos I find out that most of these programs are set up by medical...

Will I be in disadvantage while applying to american top universities (MIT, Harvard... you know...) if I had an undergraduate degree from an South African, Portuguese or Chinese university? please, answer about each case.

Hi, I just finished my second year of mathematics undergraduate program from a well known institution in India(Indian Statistical Institute).Next year I will be applying for mathematics graduate programs in US. My overall percentage is 90 which translates to 3.6 in GPA and my average in...

Hello PF, I did a quick google and couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so here it is: I am an undergrad graduating next year with a bachelors in Engineering Physics. So far my concentration has been in physics. I took one Intro to EE course which I liked, and I am taking a circuits...

Hello all, I'm currently a junior in the Mechanical Engineering program at the University of Utah. I'd like to go into either the MS or PhD program in Nuclear Engineering there. There is no BS in Nuclear Engineering offered there, but there is an NE minor for undergraduates, which would allow...

Hi, i am currently studying Industrial engineering in Peru, i will graduate in 2 months. (i will get the equivalent of a BS in industrial engineer) All my life i have been into technology, computers, math, science, etc. Anyways i was wondering if i have a chance of getting into an electrical...

Hi, I'm an international student and I'm looking to apply to a few colleges in the USA. However, due to the random nature of the admissions process, I may or may not get in. Experience has taught me that I have to think of a rough course of action in case things don't go as I would like them...

I've heard that some employers/universities look down upon going to the same Undergrad as grad institution (unless the program is top ranked, or circumstances, etc) but what about going to a different university campus within the same university system? I would see nothing wrong with that...

Hi pf, I am currently a fourth year student who has recently switched majors from biochemistry to EECS (so I'm going to get my bs sometime around 2013-2014). And since I'm pretty much back to square one, I am in need of some basic advice with regards to how to get into a top tier EECS program...

I am a math major, physics minor senior. Generally speaking, how does the difficulty of an economics master's program compare to my undergrad? Well, I put this in the Social Sciences forum because I thought the people who post in there would have a better idea. This forum really just seems to...

I am a senior deciding between graduate schools right now. I have heard back from all programs but one (I know this program has sent out both acceptances and rejections). I have sent this program two emails, one two weeks ago and another last week, but I have yet to hear a response. I was...

I made the mistake of actually graduating. I had a low GPA at the time but was planning to go overseas anyways and didn't realize just how much such a low GPA would affect me. I now have a BS in Physics with a GPA of 2.9 in a no-name state university. What are my options? My goal hasn't...

I am almost done with applying to graduate schools in mathematics. My new question now is whether to apply my undergraduate institution's graduate program. First of all, all the professors that I have talked to told me that I should go somewhere else for graduate school. And I strongly agree...

I will graduate with a BA in Industrial engineering from a university in Peru. I was wondering what doors does my bachelors degree open? I really like science and engineering. So far i can only think of MBA, something to do with OR, stochastic simulation or statics. If i had to choose...

Hello all... First, let me say that I am currently a graduate student in mathematics who would like to change graduate programs to something involving geology. I've always been fascinated with the internal Earth and how it behaves. To me, this seems like a big jump. My questions are the...

Hello all, I am currently a Biosystems engineering senior at a Research 1 university and I am in the process of applying to graduate schools. I just wanted some advice on my chances of getting into a good Biomedical engineering program. My current GPA is sitting around a 3.1, and it will...

I'm a biochemistry & molecular biology major... My university requires two semesters of research (one during the summer) to graduate with departmental honors. You also have to present your results/conclusions and have your presentation approved by faculty. Are these two semesters enough to...

Hi, I'm planning to apply to graduate school this fall and have come to choice of whether to apply for biochemistry or (organic) chemistry programs. I would prefer to go straight into organic chemistry, but I have been told that it may be easier for me to apply to biochem/bio and then switch...

I'll be graduating next year with an EE degree, and I decided to take a shoot at a VTech MSc program deployed here in Egypt, by which I will be traveling to USA for one year to complete my courses, although based here in Egypt, I will be compared to undergraduates from all over the US, and...

I'm doing my bachelors of science in chemistry, but I may want to do graduate work in molecular biology instead of chemistry. Would a BS in chemistry and maybe 15-20 hours of undergrad biology be good enough to qualify me for graduate programs in biology? I will have a biology minor when I...

This doesn't really classify as a homework question, but this is the best place I could think of to post this. My apologies if I am in the wrong. I'm planning on continuing my math education all the way through the doctorate level. However, at the moment, I have only the barest of ideas as to...

Hello everyone, I'm entering my senior year of undergrad this fall so its about that time to find a grad school. My majors are physics (emphasizing in optics) and mathematics. I've done research for 2 years mainly in spectroscopy. I'm interested in finding a grad school for a PhD in Optics...