Phd Definition and 1000 Threads

So I've been thinking of continuing after my MSc degree to do a PhD. But I have trouble getting a good feel on research groups of quantum optics and nanophotonics in the world. So my situation is: I life in the Netherlands and I have a good feel on most research groups in the country, but I'm...

Hello everyone, I have a request. Can someone please provide me with a metallurgy research design template? I'm starting my 5th year in a MSE PhD program and for the last 3 years my advisor has instructed me to perform experiments on my alloy without reason. And while I thought this was...

I will soon start a Master thesis in Lattice QCD. There I will spends lots of time developing C++ code and running it on different supercomputers. After that I consider doing a PhD if the Master thesis runs well. For the experimentalists I can see a lot of almost-engineering jobs where they...

Hi, I am new here and this is going to be my first post. I am pursuing an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and I am absolutely fascinated by control engineering. I want to know whether I should take advanced math courses in order to better prepare myself for a PhD in Control...

Hi there! It has happened to me these days when I went to a conference that I realized maybe my PhD topic is something I would like to work in after it (IF I continue in the academic path). My current research is based on applying QFT in condensed matter physics, particularly related to the...

Hello all, I presume that this is the best place to ask. I'm currently doing my undergraduate degree in Physics. I'm in the UK and taking an MPhys(Hons) which is a four year course of an integrated Bachelors and Masters instead of the conventional Bsc of 3 years (I understand that they are 4...

I've just graduated with a Masters and am starting my PhD in September in LHC collider phenomenology (in another institute). My Masters consisted of a final year dissertation and introductory to more advanced courses in quantum field theory, statistical physics and symmetries of space time...

Hello Dear PhysicsForum members, I am mechanical engineering MSc student. My undergrad gpa is 2.68/4 and my master gpa is 3.79/4. I would like to apply for PhD in USA to modest universities (not top one)Do you think my master gpa will offset my undergraduate gpa if i get good scores from...

Hello, I'm new so I couldn't find a spot to put this in. I was wondering what's the minimum GPA for a plasma physics grad program especially fusion, I don't want good schools, I just want something that is enough to take me further. The thing is I dropped the ball hard my first year of college...

So, I've heard that rankings do matter if you want to go to academia; however, I've also heard that a PhD from the University of Hawaii in observational astronomy will be more valuable than one from MIT. So, where can I find universities' rankings by program (for example, cosmology or...

Hello, I have a friend and she is very troubled. She is studying mechanical engineering in Turkey's top 10 to 15th university. She wants to change her school but she needs to study for the university exams again which steals one year of her life. She believes that graduating from her school...

Math grad student here. I'm currently finishing up my first year in a PhD program, and I based on my experiences so far I can definitely say graduate school is something I want to continue. I spent my first year taking courses in preparation for prelims rather than doing research, but I did well...

Hey everybody, I am at the end of my Master's degree (Europe) and I am considering doing a PhD. My master thesis topic was mostly about a simulation in quantum optics. I find the field of quantum optics interesting and quantum physics in general fascinating, but it's definitely not where I want...

I'm a 3rd year graduate student doing atomic physics experiment. I was thinking of changing my group to do theoretical biophysics for a few reasons. Did any experimentalist here change to theory? What was the transition like?

I am entering my senior year at a liberal arts college where I am earning a BA in Physics. I have some research experience in optics and by the time I graduate I will have more. I am fairly certain that I do not want to continue doing research for my career and that I am more interested in some...

Hello, I'm a mechanical engineering student, graduating next year. But I'm interested in getting a PhD in physics. I know this has been asked a lot, I read through ZapperZ's excellent essay on the subject, his post, and many other related threads. But I'm still somewhat confused. Now I know for...

Many physicist have been awarded their Phd in physics after a long time of study or after a good discovery likr einstein when he was 26 and wrote 5 papers on different subjects in physics . Nowadays if a person started his studies in university in physics at age 19 and he has made a good...

Hi, I am an undergraduate student from India. Pursuing double major in Physics and Mechanical Engineering. I have completed 4 semesters(2 years) of my college. I had taken a class titled "Quantum information and computing" and it interested me a lot. I really love math and computations...

Here is the deal: I got accepted into a PhD program, fully funded, stipend, and tuition waived. The PhD would be in an area outside my expertise, but I am ok with this because the area is interesting and something I want to study. As I am communicating with my advisor I am getting potential red...

Hi everyone! I wanted to pose this question to those who PF members who are current PhD students or postdocs in physics. What area of physics research are you involved with? I tried to list out all areas of physics research that I'm familiar with, but I also created an "Other" category for any...

Hello PF, I have searched this subject over the internet for a year now but still can't get a clear view on it since the ideas and specialisations of a PhD are far too wide. Next year i will get into university and i really want to do a major in physics to then go for a phd in the field that i...

Advice before joining PhD research group, if I have a personal problem with one of the group members? One more student from my cohort wants to join the same research group as me. We will be doing our research rotation together. He has an overbearing attitude and is insolent towards anyone...

I want to be a theoretical physicist. I have great interest in astronomy and want to pursue the same. Because of lesser research opportunities in India, I want to move out to US in the future. I have just given my board exams. I intend to do my B.Sc. Physics Honours from India. I have read that...

I wanted to ask something that should have been asked in the past... What are the chances to find a PhD in Astroparticle Physics [Experimental] if you have done something with LHC/ATLAS at your masters, mainly associated to data analysis and not hardware? Thanks.

I've been accepted by the PhD program at my safety school (where I am completing my undergrad), and have been declined admission at my reach schools. While my safety school's offer is solid, I would prefer to attend a better school in a different city. I am still completing research for my...

I want to be a theoretical physicist on astronomy and have just passed out of school. To achieve my dream, I should get a degree in a Physics course (like B.Sc. Physics Hon.), followed by a Masters and then apply for PhD. I have also read that some students got a PhD in physics after completing...

I'm happily headed to an astrophysics PhD program in the fall, but without a good idea of who I want to work with. What considerations usually go into choosing? How did you personally go about it? Any good stories? My PhD program involves short research projects with different faculty...

Hi, I have just started a PhD on Beyond SM physics. I had a chat with my supervisor, and he told me to look around to find out what sort of topics interest me. Is there any good idea about a good PhD topic on BSM? I appreciate any ideas...

Hello Everybody, I'm new to this interesting forum and this is my first post :) So i wonder if can i use a Trial version of Matlab to perform some simulation for my Phd. Is the Trial version allow doing some important tests ? Thank you for your answer

Hi everyone, I have read here several times that in Europe you only need 3 years for the PhD, but almost every person that I know has needed between 4-5 years for completion. This added to the 2 years for the master, gives an average of 6-7 years for the PhD, which is the average time in the...

Hi everyone. This scenario does not apply to me, but I've seen a number of threads on Reddit as well as here on PF about those who have "failed out of" a PhD program (be it in physics, math, or some other field), due to not passing the comprehensive exam or not passing their PhD courses. What I...

Hello folks, I know that Master`s degree is not a requirement for a PhD degree. Despite that, I am finishing my Bachelor`s of science in physics at June 2017 and I want to go to a PhD program. I am afraid that I cannot do it right away because I don`t have much time to study for GREs (difficult...

Let's say that I was given unacceptable conditions for returning from medical leave; basically I had to self-fund at least the following year of a physics PhD. Knowing that doing so would result in a financial disaster, I am definitely withdrawing from the program, with the understanding that...

Hi, I am writing up my PhD thesis in the UK (Uni of Birmingham) and getting absolutely no guidance from my supervisor or the grad school about plagiarism. I'm being passed from pillar to post as no one wants to give an opinion so I thought I would ask here. How much of my papers that I have...

Hi all, new poster here, I graduated First Class with a BS and an MS, specialisation Electronics, from Calcutta University, scoring University highest grades in my special paper, Electronics. Since then, for the past 15 years, I have been teaching at various schools, colleges, and currently an...

I have a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from a good university in India. I studied physics in Senior Secondary(10+1,10+2). But I have no individual research experience in physics at bachelors level because in the engineering college we had no choice of major/minor subjects like they...

Hi PhysicsForums, I was hoping to get a little guidance on my chances for PhD programs. I am a second-semester junior. I feel like I'm going at this totally blind and am starting to get nervous, I'd mostly like to know how strong my credentials are so far, what kind of GRE score I might need...

Hi. I am a perspective PhD student interested. It seems Pitt is the best offer I can get.Does anyone know about the PhD program at University of Pittsburgh? Is Pitt a good choice for my future academic career?

Another way to ask is if I can go to my PhD in Cosmology through Astrophysics. Many people will thought that obviously yes, but notice Cosmology isn't a branch of Astrophysics, but of Theoretical Physics. Now you'll think this is a completely nonsense, so that Astrophysics is very similar to...

I have a Master's degree in Physics and currently have PhD offers from the Purdue University (Department of Physics and Astronomy) and UIUC (Biophysics and Quantitative Biology Program). I am mainly interested in Computational Biophysics and Image Processing. How do the two programs compare in...

... literature review that we are thinking of attempting to publish? The review will be around 20,000 words and currently I have around 16000 words and 230 references, which seems quite a lot, is there a limit to how many references are present in a published review? This is not a thesis, but...

I used to be a chemical engineer for a bad company that treats its employees very poorly. Ever since leaving that place, I've been trying to transition into the tech industry, because it's where all the new, and exciting stuff happens. I'm particularly interested in battery technology, because I...

Hi everyone, Hoping someone can give me insight on this. I am visiting two schools next week - CU Boulder and University of Maryland, both of which I have been accepted to for quantum information experiment (PhD.) Both are very highly ranked and seem to have great departments, and I'm...

Hello All, I just got my B.S. in Physics and am now beginning a PhD program in Nuclear Engineering focusing on radiation detection using semiconductors. I very much enjoyed my Physics degree and want to stay in fundamental research for my career, in which case I would also say, I have no...

I got accepted into a PhD program this Friday! I am both very excited and nervous for this opportunity. I received a RA (19 grand for 9 months and an additional 6 grand for over the summer, totally 25 grand/yr), which states that I will be working on stochastic stability and control of...

Can someone tell me what the career options are for a biomedical engineer with a bachelors vs a masters vs a phd? Thank You

Everybody knows Mathematics it's an important field in every Science; and in Physics even more. So, if you have a PhD in Physics, for example Astrophysics; is it worthly to get a degree in Mathematics? I know that maybe there's some courses that would be completely useless in Physics, but you...

Hello, I've read a few of the responses in the guidance section on this site and had some conversations with guidance personnel at my college, but I was hoping to get some other, potentially more objective insights from the group here. I will be 34 this year and am currently a sophomore at a...

Due to extenuating circumstances that I am not going into at this point (however, I may provide additional details if necessary), I am considering I have a MS, which I earned prior to dropping out from my PhD. My MS project was on a theoretical project involving topological defects. Thus far, I...

Hello, I'm in a situation where I may have to leave my PhD program (math). Let's not go into the details because I'm not sure how anonymous I am on here. I'm just trying to figure out what my options are at the moment. I have an undergrad in applied math and an MS in physics (not ABET). I'm...