- #1
Haorong Wu
- 415
- 90
Hi. I’m currently self-learning physics and hopefully will apply for a PhD in physics, but there are some problems troubling me.
I received my BS. and MS. degrees in EE in China. I’ve been working for five years since then.
From high school, my two major interests are physics and computer science. I always regret that I did not opt physics. Fortunately, my passion for physics does not fade. I started to study physics courses last year following the MIT open course. I’ve finished (unfortunately, without a exam) classical mechanics, electrodynamics, wave, mathematical method for physics. I’m currently learning Griffiths’ QM. I find QM fascinating and hope to pursue a relevant degree.
I still have some questions:
1. Since I have zero experience of any areas in physics, and my degrees are not physics, how difficult will it be if I apply for a physics PhD in US, ranking about 10th to 30th? (my GRE is 153/170/3.5; I haven’t taken TOEFL and GRE sub yet; my GPA of undergraduate school is about 3.5)
2. What are the possible interesting directions in QM? I’m currently thinking about quantum computation, but I wonder there are some other better choices.
3. Griffiths’ book is great, and easy to learn. What should I study next? The Shankar’s book or Dirac’s?
4. Are there any journals or bibliographic I should follow?
I’m looking forward for any other suggestions or tips from you.
Thank you!
I received my BS. and MS. degrees in EE in China. I’ve been working for five years since then.
From high school, my two major interests are physics and computer science. I always regret that I did not opt physics. Fortunately, my passion for physics does not fade. I started to study physics courses last year following the MIT open course. I’ve finished (unfortunately, without a exam) classical mechanics, electrodynamics, wave, mathematical method for physics. I’m currently learning Griffiths’ QM. I find QM fascinating and hope to pursue a relevant degree.
I still have some questions:
1. Since I have zero experience of any areas in physics, and my degrees are not physics, how difficult will it be if I apply for a physics PhD in US, ranking about 10th to 30th? (my GRE is 153/170/3.5; I haven’t taken TOEFL and GRE sub yet; my GPA of undergraduate school is about 3.5)
2. What are the possible interesting directions in QM? I’m currently thinking about quantum computation, but I wonder there are some other better choices.
3. Griffiths’ book is great, and easy to learn. What should I study next? The Shankar’s book or Dirac’s?
4. Are there any journals or bibliographic I should follow?
I’m looking forward for any other suggestions or tips from you.
Thank you!