What is Grad: Definition and 1000 Discussions

(I wrote a lot of text so scroll to the bottom if you want a synopsis) I'm a CS undergrad going to a crappy public school and recently I decided that I want to switch majors and get a PhD in math or physics. I've been interested in both subjects for a long time, math has been a big theme...

Its been almost 2 years since college & I am in my 3rd job(8 months each), or 5th(if i consider 5 days also), courtesy recession. It really messed up my career plans. First two were completely into project management & I had to get out of 'em. After more than a year, i got into what i wanted. I...

I'm an American undergrad in physics and math between my junior and senior years, and I'm planning on applying to a physics Ph.D. program in the coming year. Frankly I'm not a great-looking applicant. My GPA is a 3.465 (at a top-twenty university at least) although most of my poorer grades...

how much money did you receive for graduate funding are you in math or physics/masters or phd are you in Canada or the United States or somewhere else and what do you think is average, below average, above average for a domestic masters student per year? how do they make the decision...

Categorising Phy. Grad schools ... please help Hi, I am an indian student wishing to pursue physics grad school in us in about a couple a years time from now. i am having a hard time categorising schools. There are just so many of them. As a non-american it becomes really difficult to...

Hello, I'm currently attending university in the UK, and I'm on a 3-year physics bachelor course. Most people in the UK don't go straight into a PhD after the bachelor, but instead do a 12-month master first. As the bachelor is entirely taught and there are not many chances to do original...

If I applied to graduate schools for quantum computing (as a physics major), how easy would it be to switch to some other area in quantum mechanics, solid state, or optics? In particular, how easy is it to change both during and after graduate school, as a grad student and as a post-doc...

Could someone tell at what level the Quantum Field Theory appears in a typical physics coursework? Undergrad? Grad? Also, from my understanding, the first 1.5 years of grad work aim to prepare the student for preliminary exams on the knowledge of undergraduate physics. That said, how much of...

I always hear about physics PHD candidates receiving tuition waivers/stipends for grad school. Does this happen in engineering grad school also? Is it as common?

Would I be able to get into a grad school for applied math? By the time I graduate, I would must likely have a 3.4-3.5 gpa in my upper div math classes (around 3.5-3.6 if lower div classes are included) and a 3.6 overall. Currently, I have a 3.1 gpa in my upper div math classes (around 3.2 if...

What is the absolute best abstract algebra book for graduate students? I was wanting a book that covers algebra in the most comprehensive manner possible, at about the level of Hungerford's Algebra. I was wondering if Carstensen's Abstract Algebra in the Sigma Series in Pure Mathematics is a...

I am trying to understand the Grad Shafranov equation, and in particular its inputs and outputs. I understand that the equation determines the conditions under which plasma may be in equilibrium. In particular, the MHD equations of equilibrium state: \nabla p = J \times B and the...

Hi, I'm a math major coming to the end of my second year. Right now I'm leaning toward to studying Statistics or Probability in Grad School. From what I've read, Statistics doesn't use Algebra or Differential Equations at all, so classes in those areas aren't of much use. Would the same...

Hi, I will be starting my graduate study in mathematics in August 2011, and I was thinking of reviewing mathematics that I have learned while I was an undergraduate as soon as my summer vacation begins in June. The topics that I am considering to review include algebra (abstract and...

Grad school help: choosing a "concentration" Okay, so I will begin my graduate physics studies this fall. I'm incredibly excited, but very nervous, especially about the comprehensive/qualifying exams, but that's another story... I'm already in my early 30s, married, with a kid. Needless to...

Suppose I have a smooth scalar function f defined on some region in the x-y plane. Its partial derivatives with respect to x and y are well-defined. Someone explain this "proof" to me that the quantity: \frac{dx}{df} = \frac{f_{,x}}{f_{,x}^2 + f_{,y}^2} (similar expression for dy/df) The...

Hello, Next year I'll be graduating from a small liberal arts college (University of San Francisco) with a BS in Physics. By that time I'll have 2 years experience working for the Dept of Physiology at UC San Francisco. The experiments I've worked on have been in behavioral genetics, but I...

How does one "C" grade affect grad admissions? Hello all, I got a C in a junior-level math course. Should I bother applying to my top choices of physics grad schools (MIT, Illinois)? I'm a junior, physics and math double major. Good grades (almost all A's and a couple B's) up until now...

I just finished my sophomore year in Aerospace engineering and am weighing my options for grad school. I definitely want to go grad school, but not sure if I want to pursue a MS or PhD. I know when I finish school, I want to work in lab rather than an office building. I do like research...

These are the requirements for the grad school which I want to go to. I'm a high school student at the moment. Subject and semester hours Biology 8 English 6 Inorganic Chemistry 8 Organic Chemistry 8 Physics 8 All courses in the sciences must include both...

Hi, This thing just popped into my head. Although I am 2-3 years away from applying for grad school, is there any way to apply for grad school, fall session, if you can get your undergrad transcripts not before may-june? Typically, applications close before december of the previous year...

Hi, I am from India, pursuing an undergrad. course in Electronics and communication engg. from a NOT so well known university here in India. I couldn't pursue physics major due to some reasons I'll not delve into. I wish to apply for theoretical physics grad. program in the US. I...

I think I'm in a pretty rough situation. I struggle with depression off and on, and it's put me in a really bad place academically over the past two years. First, I'd like to say that I've been doing much better lately. I had straight As last quarter and will probably get As this quarter...

Hi, I'm trying to make a decision! I've gotten accepted into UCLA and UC Santa Cruz for astrophysics undergrad. I absolutely love Santa Cruz, and I've heard that there is more opportunity for undergrad research there, as well as smaller class sizes. However I also know that UCLA has a famous...

I made a post a day or two ago, but got no responses. This post is a simplification. How long is too long to take off in between undergraduate study and graduate study? I want to join the navy as a nuclear trained officer, but this would entail a 5-6 year obligation. Could this amount of...

Hello, I am a mechanical engineering and mathematics undergraduate, and am looking at the Navy's NUPOC (nuclear propulsion officer candidate) program as a potential right-out-of-college job prospect (well, technically, while in college, but for all practical purposes, it starts after I...

what do you think would be most beneficial to prepare for first year of grad school in math e.g. reading journals (or trying to), reviewing undergrad or learning more advanced topics also what can i expect when i get there

hi, so I'm just finishing up my junior year and would like to try to go to grad school for math. I got into an REU program this summer that ends around the beginning of August and plan to start studying for the GRE sometime during the summer. Right now though, I'm a little confused as to how I...

I currently grade homework assignments for my school's math department (and I tutor off and on). Will this job count for anything on my applications to physics grad schools? If not, I'm very willing to drop the job and spend more time on classes. Thanks for the advice.

Transcript vs Research -- grad school admissions Background: I'm a sophomore math/physics major with a 3.9 GPA at a top-ten school. I've begun grad-level studies in physics and have made room in my schedule for me to more-or-less complete the masters curriculum by the time I graduate two years...

Hi, I'm currently a sophomore in UC Berkeley, interested in majoring in physics. I am considering to go to grad school afterwards, and I have few questions. First, even if I don't go to grad school, would I have good job opportunity with physics Bachelors? Second, what is the GPA requirement...

Hello everyone, Is anyone else here planning on applying to grad schools soon? If so, please holler out! Maybe we can share resources with each other (in a place where there aren't many resources). I'm actually really into astronomy, but my area, modelling planetary atmospheres, is one...

I'll give a quick background on myself: I'm an undergrad soph this coming Fall, and I can take a upper div. course that prepares for the Putnam. However, I've never taken the IMO, AMC, etc., and so I have no experience with problem-solving tests. However, I do have a good deal of undergrad math...

Waterloo or Toronto? and what are better chances math or physics please don't bother lecturing me about "prestigious matters" "do what you wish" i have already had headaches thinking about those I was originally thinking UT can't send much people to US grad because of low GPA average...

hi all :) just curious for anyone that knows rankings well, which school/program is better for physics? suny buffalo (m.s. in physics) rochester institute of technology (m.s. in astrophysical sciences) thanks all

I am starting my third year of Phy. undergrad and have been looking over some resources to better prepare myself for grad school. In another thread "The_Duck" posted a link to a site where people have posted their GRE, GPA's, and research experience (and whatever else) and listed what schools...

I'll be starting my final year of college next fall and am looking at going to graduate school for Material Science Engineering. My school doesn't off a Material Science undergrad program, and it was not what I initially wanted to go into when I started school, so I'm currently studying...

For the following scalar field: \psi(x,y,z) = (y-1)z2 Find grad \psi Here is my attempt at: Multiplying out brackets: yz2 - z2 Therefore grad \psi = 0+Z2 J -2ZK Is this correct??

Hello there, i am doing a graduation project for my bachelor on Steer-by-Wire, i have to make a modeling and simulation on simulink. i reached the idea that the torque output from the motor that actuates the steering axles to rotate the wheel around the z - axis (Yaw) changes with the...

I have been accepted to a few graduate schools for a PhD in Math. I have been accepted to most schools for the fall but one said I could come during the summer with tuition and fees waived and a stipend. Can I attend this university for the summer only and then transfer to the school I want...

Hello, Since no one wanted to touch my last topic, let me ask something a little more narrow. I'm curious how many of you have seen 30+ year-olds in grad school? Also, how many of you have worked with/hired 30+ year-olds that have recently finished grad school? Money is not much of an issue...

Hello all. I am a currently working as a chemist (University of Delaware B.Sc. Chemistry 2010) in the US and have been sorting through my options for graduate school. My original plan was to work toward a M.Sc. in Applied Physics at the University of Granada (UGR) in Spain, and to follow that...

Hi all, I didn't hear from a particular school until today about my PhD application. Unfortunately, I already accepted admission at another school--is there a way to back out of that if I want to go to this other school? Advice much appreciated.

Hey all, I'm at a crossroads and feeling really stressed out. Below are my options: a) Complete a BSc in Physics, 4 - year Honours: It will take me two more years of intense work. I am already on my fourth year of the degree but messed everything up by taking only one course my second...

Hello everyone! This is my first post on physics forums. So, I have been accepted to the graduate programs in Physics at the University of Maryland College Park and the Ohio State University. I am having a difficult time deciding between the two. Both seem really cool places, but I do not...

I'm starting to get junk mail from honor societies asking me for money to join their ranks. I'm really not interested, and half of them sound like scams (well, at least one in particular does, the rest look legit). Do grad schools care what honor societies you've paid to join? Or can they...

Hi, I am a Junior in ChE and I currently plan to go straight to work after graduating. I do however hope to one day earn at least a masters degrees, (perhaps a PhD if I am up for it) My question is, does spending a few years working in industry give you any credentials for getting into a...

Well, I'm only a First Year Undergrad now but I know I want to go to grad school one day I have two subjects I'm very interested in, math and physics and I'm struggling with picking one, so I was wondering which am I worse off in with grad school prospects so far as that may help me decide...

For those of you who are currently in, or have finished, grad school, how important would you say it is to attend a school that is MUCH different than your undergrad? I ask this because I've always heard one should attend a school different from your undergrad. But I got into a school that is...

I'm a sophomore this year at a small liberal arts school - I've heard back on most of my physics REU program applications now, and have narrowed it down to two I'm seriously considering. However, I was in one of the programs last summer. Further complicating things, if I go with the one I did...