Physics phd Definition and 176 Threads

I was looking a Leonard Susskinds background, and I noticed he obtained his Phd in 3 years from Cornell. Is this unheard of in theoretical physics these day. Was he just that special?

What is the most important factors that determine if a candidate can be admitted into top theoretical physics PHD program? Since undergraduate students are most likely not able to produce significant research paper, will universities put more emphasis on GRE and GPA?

I have recently started a Physics PhD program. The first two years are mostly coursework, and the requirements are somewhat flexible. Once you pass all your courses, you pretty much automatically get a Physics masters. But, if I choose my courses wisely, I could probably end up with an EE MS on...

Hi guys :) I am in the uk and will be going to university to study physics and the aim is to go on to do a phd in fundamental theoretical physics either in the uk or in the usa However I am getting confused on what is better to study at undergrad between maths and physics as a lot of the phds...

This is a very rough draft of my statement of purpose. The plan is to use this as a base and customize it for different programs to include why those specific programs will help me achieve my purpose. The conclusion is missing because that will be specific to each program I'm applying to. All...

Just wondering if it is possible.Thanks

Hello everyone, Head of our Physics department has asked me to teach a programming course for a few of their PhD candidates (mostly theoretical) who unfortunately are very bad in programming. He has shortage in his department and he wants someone from CS to do the job. I looked around and it...

Hello, I have just graduated from university with a decent (but not outstanding) result: 2:1, not far off of a first, with good references. I did my final year project on accelerator physics and I am currently working at the same university over the summer doing similar work on an accelerator...

Hi guys, wassup? I am a physics undergraduate motivated to get into top graduate programs, namely MIT. It is not its name or prestige (only a small amount!) which attracts me to it, but the experience I desire, that is, to immerse myself to an environment, surrounded by other students of diverse...

What advice would you give to students who aspire to study physics at the PhD level? Do you think there is an oversupply of PhDs? Do you feel a conflict between pursuing what you like and being realistic (about getting a job)?

Well, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia almost three years ago during my Masters degree when I was homeless since I was too paranoid to live in a house/apartment. Since then I have been on heavy anti-psychotics, completed my thesis and now am at the end of my second year of PhD of a top...

Hi, I'm currently thinking about what area I want my physics PhD (which i want to do anyway) to be in. I'm interested in condensed matter physics, although I'm not stuck on that idea. (I'm an experimentalist by the way.) What area is best to do a physics PhD in, in order to have a good chance...

Hey everyone, I'm a 24 year old junior working on a BS in Physics. (Like everyone else) my main interest is theoretical astrophysics/astronomy. I'm a good student (3.2) and work at the observatory at my school and do a couple of other various jobs in the Physics department. I am particularly...

I finished a Physics PhD in middle age, mostly just for the love of learning about Physics. The wisdom of that choice is questionable, but it's done now so no going back. I'd hoped to return to my previous career in software development, but at nearly age 50 I find that line of work is hard to...

My interests are mainly computational physics and theoretical soft matter physics. How good is the PhD program in (Computational) Physics at CMU (and the Physics Department in general)?

Hey Everyone, So I was set. I studied and re-took the pgre. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do in graduate school. I thought about career goals. I talked to professors and graduate students. I even submitted two apps! Two schools that I would be extremely happy to attend...

Hello all, I'm an EE student who is curious about the possibilities of going to grad school in Physics. When I first started college I was a Math and Physics double major. However, I was pressured by peers and family to go into Engineering because of job prospects. Even though I've been content...

It seems to me, correct me if I'm wrong, the vast majority of physics PhD's do not work in physics, science, or even related disciplines (applied science, engineering, etc). From what I understand, the majority seem to be working in finance, software development, and data mining. At one point...

First of all I read a lot info from post by twofish-quant but I am not sure if its outdated already. So I am currently in the second year of my grad school (PhD program) in physics, specialized in observation cosmology (galaxy survey aiming at Dark Energy/inflation/BAO/...). As much as I like...

First of all I read a lot info from post by twofish-quant but I am not sure if its outdated already. So I am currently in the second year of my grad school (PhD program) in physics, specialized in observation cosmology (galaxy survey aiming at Dark Energy/inflation/BAO/...). As much as I like...

I’m graduating with a Physics degree next year but for various reasons I cannot go straight to grad school and get a PhD. I probably won’t be back to school for some time (I’m projecting 10-15 years). Will it be hard to start a Physics PhD after so long? Is there ageism in academia? Thanks

Dear all, I am currently a physics PhD student and will finish my PhD at a quite respectable university (top 25 in world rankings) soon. Therefore I have to think about my plans for after my PhD. And here comes the difficulty. I don’t really know what I should do (actually I really don't...

can I make myself eligible for pursuing Ph.D if I compltee graduation and Masters from some distance course... Currently I am in India

Hello again PF! I think I ask excessively often here so I tried my best to search in google. The result I got was this: http://superstringtheory.com/math/math1.html Well, that appears as all the math there is (no offense to mathematicians)! Likely the field of super string theory is the most...

Undergrad here. Does anyone on this forum have experience working in a computational physics research group at the graduate level? I noticed Carnegie Mellon has "computational physics" as a research area for its physics PhD students. It sounds like it would be right up my alley but it's unclear...

I'm a Physics student in the UK planning to apply for a PhD in Plasma Physics this autumn, in the area of Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF) specifically. The UK has a rather limited MCF university network, with only 3 universities playing a significant part. Two of these, Oxford and Imperial...

Hello, I am in my third year of a 4 year integrated MPhys at the University of Liverpool, and I'm starting to think about applying to PhD places. Me and my girlfriend are intending to move to London when we graduate, so I'm planning on getting a job as a graduate software developer or some...

Historically, I can only think of http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Pierre_Maurice_Marie_Duhem.aspx#1, whose first thesis in physics was rejected, but his second thesis in mathematics was accepted. But, Are there other famous physicists who wrote a PhD thesis that was subsequently...

So I have been reading this forum for a while and I have heard more than a few people say things like the employment rate for physics PhDs is worse than it is in the humanities and way, WAY worse than for med school, so that doing a physics PhD as opposed to a med school degree is a huge...

I graduated 4 years ago from a small university and received a dual BS in EE and physics. I went into a decently ranked EE PhD program but dropped out after a year. I attempted to go back a couple times but just didn't care too much for the courses and dropped my classes both times. I have...

Hi guys, I did have a search through the forum but I didn't find anything quite like my question. Perhaps someone might offer me some advice. I'm a UK physics PhD student, with about 18 months before I graduate (in principle). At this point I am beginning to get a little fed up of academia and...

Hi, currently I have the following sections: Personal info, education, research experience, computer skills, extra-curricular activities. Is there anything I am missing? Also, in the education section should I include breakdown on marks in different subjects, or my class each year (UK...

Hi I will be graduating with an MChem (4 year integrated Masters Chemistry Degree) next year and I'm thinking about potential PhD's to go into. I was just wandering what kind of flexibility you have in choosing what field you go into. I was looking at some programmes in physics that have...

Hi, I am looking for an interesting new career after a physics phd. I had obtained my phd in physics about 7 years ago. In the last few years, I've fallen behind in publishing papers due to some unfortunate events in my personal life. Despite my interest in research, I think that maintaining...

Greetings Physics Forums, Yes, checking for typing errors apparently is not my strong point! I'm a few months away from my defense, and have been considering the next step for a few months now. My PhD will be from a physics department, but I have been doing what amounts to biological...

I am a rising junior in a US college and I plan to apply to a top physics PhD program. I am both a physics and a math major, and I am more interested in theoretic physics rather than experimental. So should I also take the GRE Math Subject Test?

My question is whether it is a bad idea to be a physics graduate student with an EE advisor. I ask this because I'm interested in nanophysics at Carnegie Mellon University. On the physics website on the nanophysics page they have listed 6 EE professors and 5 physics professors. It seems likely...

I'm looking to apply for a PhD program in Medical Physics. I am currently majoring in Medical Physics, but my GPA is only a 3.33. I have been doing research and see people who are applying with much higher GPAs than mine. My question is: if I don't get accepted anywhere, what should I do?

I've often heard on PhysicsForums that career prospects are bright for theorists who paid attention to their math fundamentals and learned to program. That's me! It's also several of my fellow grad students. I suspect many others on this forum are in similar situations, and they may also benefit...

(I've been reading PF for years now, and decided I should finally contribute. Unfortunately, my first significant post is a question, but I hope that will change in the near future!) I'm graduating in May with a double major in Physics and Mathematics, and I have a couple offer for graduate...

I feel like this question has probably been asked but i couldn't find it anywhere. Is getting a PhD in physics from just a local university that's not highly ranked worth it? In general, how better off would someone be if they graduated from an ivy league? Do the majority of the tenured...

I'm currently a second-year university student considering applying to a PhD program in physics. I'm leaning towards theoretical physics, although I haven't really experienced enough to make a clear decision. I'm beginning to be involved in research with a theorist this semester, but I was...

Finishing up my B.S. in Computer Science, with a minor in physics. My GPA is only about 2.5 and very little academic research experience. Yea, I agree I messed up. But I'm fixing things now, reading up hard and practicing for GRE. I plan to attend George Mason's computational science M.S...

For those of you who have experience with these programs, I have some questions. How competitive are they generally? They don't seem like they get a lot of applicants. Is it a bad idea to ONLY apply to chemical physics programs as a chemistry major? There are 5 schools I know of with chemical...

Hi all, I am just looking for some help in applying for a medical physics Phd, preferably in the area of Radiation Therapy. A bit of background: I have a B.A. in Physics and a M.Sc. in Medical Physics from Trinity College Dublin. I also have two years experience as a part II clinical...

I have accepted an offer to study physics at Warwick University in England this September, however I have not decided yet as to whether or not I would like to proceed into an experimental or theoretical career and would just like to know whether or not it would be possible to get onto a...

Hi all, I'm wondering if there are any PhD programs in the US (or abroad, for that matter) that do not have formal coursework requirements. That is, suppose someone took a standard graduate load while in undergrad and was prepared for quals right away: are there any programs that allow you to...

My friend enrolled has a BsC in Physics and he also did a Master's in math in order to be able to cope with the math needed for Theoretical Physics. Can he pursue a physics PhD in USA (he studied in Greece)?

Normally students in America start a PhD degree after their undergrad, since there the so-called "Master level education" is glued together to the "Doctorate" (correct me if I'm wrong!). So what is the usual track for students from Europe who have done their Master degrees in Europe but would...

I should be getting my physics phD in a year. I wouldn't say I will have done a great job of it. The earlier years were spent more on writing software, and in the later years I find the research to be contrived. I have my name on two papers, and I'm trying to write my first first author paper. I...