What is Grad: Definition and 1000 Discussions

Hi everyone, Hopefully someone out there has gone through this as well, or can weight in on it in some way. I have a MET degree from 2007 with a cumulative gpa below 3.0. I want to get into the aerospace industry, and I'd really like to get an advanced degree to maximize my career...

Hello there, So I'm 23 years old, been passionately studying physics for some time now. Oh it's been fun and fascinating, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I could apply for my B.S. in physics any day now. I've always been great at physics. My conceptual understandings, my neat and unique...

Hi i studied for three years in a community college, i had a lot of withdraws(withdrew from one year and three withdraws the following year). Got a 2.995 gpa. I have a letter from my counselor explaining the reason behind the withdraws(they`re legitimate believe it or not). I just got accepted...

I know that this post is going to get me labelled as a whiny baby, and I've embraced this. Throughout my ~4 years of undergrad, I've had a solid stream of roommates; I've lived in houses, dorms, apartments, with anywhere between 1 and 5 roommates. Most of them were fine: clean, nice, respectful...

Hi guys, I've been visiting the forum here for months now and really enjoy some of the discussions that go on here. I'm hoping you can help me out with this issue which is a huge source of nervousness for me. I know most if not all of you have gone through this so I'm hoping to get some advice...

Just wondering if anyone has preferences.

I am currently in a theoretical astrophysics research group. By the end of my undergrad, I plan to have done 3 years there. However, only recently did I consider doing theoretical, not experimental, physics. But I am worried that I won't have completed enough maths to be accepted anywhere. Right...

Book states: $\nabla f\left(u, v\right) =0 = \frac{\partial f}{\partial u}\nabla u + \frac{\partial f}{\partial v} \nabla v, \therefore \nabla u$ and $ \nabla v $ are parallel 1. I know $d f\left(u, v\right) = \frac{\partial f}{\partial u}du + \frac{\partial f}{\partial v} dv$, but how can...

So I am in my first year of my physics degree at a school that isn't really known for its physics program, (I don't believe it is ranked at all, not that that is a huge deal) and at least right now I am very interested in pursuing a ph.d degree. I had originally intended to do an engineering...

Greetings, In a few days, I'll be in the same city as my #1 choice for graduate schools, and I thought maybe it would do me well to meet with one of the professors there to try and get an "in" when it comes to admissions. This is definitely one of those times where I wish I were an extrovert...

Can anyone tell me the level of difficulty (approximately) of getting into QS world ranking top 150 theoretical physics graduate programs in Europe? ex. ETH Zurich, Durham University, University of Amsterdam, Uppsala University, etc.

I am a undergraduate physics major currently researching in a astrophysics lab. My PI is away this summer, so I will be unable to research with him between spring and fall semesters. However, I found an opportunity to do work with an organic chemistry group that I suspect I will enjoy (I enjoyed...

I hope this post won't become too tedious. I've completed my undergrad studies in physics and if things go well i will begin my master's degree in April. The thing is, since my path to graduation has been peculiar (to say the least) I'm kinda weak in maths skills atm and need to improve. I'm...

Hello fellow good people. I feel like i am suffering from a delima in my life and for my future, so i am reaching out for any guidence. I'm currently a junior at the University of Texas at austin studying my BS in physics. I transferred recently, and it is going stellar for me to my surprise...

I'm looking for some appropriate 1st year, or possibly 2nd year, level grad texts on galaxies and cosmology. The grad course at my university requires Cosmological Physics by Peacock and Galaxy Formation by Longair. I've noticed many old cosmology course websites require Weinberg or Dodelson or...

I absolutely bombed my first test so far since I started college (Junior in EE). The test was in a semiconductor devices course (theory of semiconductor devices), so it is a course in my major, and it is an upper division course. I wouldn't be worried if it was in another department, but since...

I am an undergrad physics major at a US university. I plan on attending grad school for condensed matter physics, so I've been looking for research opportunities here. There is limited condensed matter research, however, and most of it is done through the materials science/engineering...

I'm in the middle of the stressful process of preparing for the GRE and preparing grad school applications. However, as it stands, I will have been an undergrad for 6 years after next spring when I graduate. I did an REU last summer, which was an amazing experience, but a ton of work. And I took...

This is just a curiosity question for my own sake. I was wondering if it's a smart idea to marry before graduate school. Let's assume Ph.D for a minute. Pros: 1. Extra source of income if the spouse gets a job 2. Stress relief because of their presence 3. It probably wouldn't be any easier to...

I'm looking into some grad schools (electrical engineering in the US) right now that I'll be applying to next year. My research interests are in a sub field that doesn't have researchers at many universities (as opposed to something ubiquitous like, say, control systems or signal processing), so...

Hello guys, I am currently studying at a university in the UK en route to a MPhys degree (currently 3rd year). I was wondering if anyone has any information regarding if it is worth doing additional year for a MPhys degree in the UK if I am going to apply to the US for graduate school (I am an...

Hi, I am a 2nd year international PhD student in a mid-tier US university. When I applied to grad school as an undergrad I intended to do high energy phenomenology and theory. In the past summer I worked on a pheno project, which was my first project in grad school (was taking courses in...

This is just a quick question. I'm planning out my course schedule for next semester and my senior year (I'm an electrical engineering junior in the US), and I'm trying to work all of my important classes in before it's time to apply to graduate school. Let's say I want to do research in a...

I'm applying to grad schools and my undergrad has a very small Physics department - only 3 professors. I am having at least 2 of them write me letters of reference, but in regards to my third letter, should I ask the other professor, who I've only had a few classes with, or should I ask my...

I'm currently having a tough time deciding between engineering and physics. I find many of the topics interesting various engineering fields mainly, such as electrical engineering, chemical engineering, and aerospace. But i also have an interest in physical topics such as nuclear physics and...

Hello all, I am a first year graduate student in chemistry studying electronic structure theory. I am fascinated with physics, and a lot of what we work on deals with some heavy QM and mathematical methods. I've asked my advisor and he supports my choice to take some courses in the physics...

I have a degree in Electrical Engineering and I want to learn classical mechanics in my free time. I originally planned to just learn out of a textbook, but I saw the university near me has a graduate course in classical mechanics this semester, and I am considering enrolling in the course...

Will a 155 keep me out of graduate school? I hear the general matters very little and I didn't study. Should I bother taking it again for 160+ or am I wasting my time?

I've just completed my degree in maths and physics and am going for a maths masters the following year. Am I likely to loose any sharpness in this time? Without really knowing what modules I'll be doing and even if I did, each lecturer seems to approach a specification/ prioritise certain bits...

I finished my first year at university, my GPA is a lackluster 3.26 GPA. I'm doing a dual degree in mathematics and physics, but that's not important. My grades in physics/math classes were pretty good, A's and a B, but my gen eds really brought me down. No room for excuses, grad schools won't...

I graduated with a BS in electrical engineering with a 2.8 something GPA (can't remember the rest of the numbers ) I know it's bad. I was wondering if there was any hope for me to go to grad school? I was lucky to find a good paying job related to my degree despite my 2.8 GPA. I agent to school...

Hi! I have found a few threads discussing medical physics, however I am still have many questions. I am going into my senior year of college with my plan all along being to get my Phd and teach physics at a university. After spending two years researching in an acoustic/optics lab, however, I...

Hey all, I'm a math and physics graduate who will be starting math grad school in a little over a month, and, though I know I have time to decide, I'm a bit conflicted about what to concentrate in. I'm broadly interested in the applications of math in physics. Specifically, I've always had...

Hi Everyone, I am a high school Physics Teacher. I have a B.S. in Chemistry and a B. ChemE from a Big 10 University. I did a Post-Bacc. certification program to get my teaching certification in Wisconsin. I live and teach in southeastern Wisconsin. I have small children. I'm looking for a grad...

So I have decided on my first choice of school and program for my master's degree, (Medical Physics at University of Calgary if anyone is interested in knowing) and I am wondering how to go about emailing a professor. The program says you are not required to find a supervisor before applying...

< Mentor Note -- two similar threads by the OP merged into one > Senior. Thermal Physics, Nuclear Physics, Lab class = 10 credits. Debating to take either: PDEs, Vector Analysis, Mathematica class, but I hear Thermal is hard and I want to ace all my upper level courses. I'm also working 20 hrs...

Hi guys. I'm just looking for a little help with how "big" of a school I can realistically get into for graduate studies. GPA: 3.5 (for both physics and generals) Physics GRE: 850 Research: At the time of graduation I will of had 1.5 years experience. (I'm not sure exactly of how the...

Hello all, For any of you current or ex grad students out there in physics, what was your overall experience like in graduate school? Extremely stressful, working 80 hours a week for 6 years and hating life or more along the lines of 40-50 hours a week and enjoying life while being on the...

Background: I am an international student doing Mathematical tripos at Cambridge and I have just completed my first year with a 2.i. I did 'Maths with Physics' for my first year. The following paragraph is taken from the department's course website. "The Mathematics with Physics option consists...

Core being Thermal, Mechanics, E&M, Quantum? Say I graduate with a average 3.4 gap, but ace these courses, would Grad admissions care about a rough first year including Cs in Calc I and II and Bs in General Physics?

I want to study either solid state or relativity. I have taken CalcI-III + odes. I find most of the math I remember is taught to me in physics classes, e.g. Linear algebra in Classical Mechanics, Vectors analysis in EM. Would it hurt me if I didn't take Calc 4 - Vector analysis or PDEs which are...

Greetings fellow PFers, I am a rising senior in undergrad (physics) and am preparing to apply for graduate school for next year. My undergrad institution does not have many graduates that go on to graduate school so I'm in a bit of a pickle as far as advice on this matter goes. I've read some...

Greetings PFers, I didn't see a need to spam the forum with three topics, but I have three questions about graduate school. First question: Do most graduate schools (physics) have a summer "bridging" program? Maybe to prepare for the prelims, or to take some supplementary classes or...

Hey everyone! So, I am in a dilemma. I have a mathematics bachelors degree with a minor in physics, but many more course than just a minor, really it is like 2-3 courses away from being a second major. Anyways, after I received my math degree and physics minor I got cold feet about going to...

Hello,i am an undergraduate Civil Engineering student.When i finish my undergrad studies i want to pursue a masters degree in Physics(my ultimate goal is to get a PhD in Physics).Due to limitations in money i couldn't drop out of civil engineering and pursue an undergrad degree in Physics,so i...

Greetings all, I found some similar threads to this but none that answered my exact question. I am doing an REU at a school I would like to attend for graduate school, and some students there have said that in graduate school admissions, I am going to be judged relative to my peers from the...

Let me define the question better. For my purposes I'm saying a person "understand quantum mechanics" when they have what it takes to write a basic graduate level QM textbook. Maybe I'm setting the bar too high, but I'm a first-year physics grad student who can get good grades in QM classes...

Greetings all, I'll be applying to grad school in the fall, and I am uncertain on how to proceed. By the time I graduate, I will have done research with an AMO theory group for four years and will have four publications. However, all of these publications are on numerical work/methods, not pure...

Hello all. I will be graduating with a physics degree in the fall of 2016, and going to grad school. I go to a small university in the US, not very well known for its physics program, but I've been doing fairly well here, so I was aiming at a top tier university for grad school in physics. My...

I feel like most of my fellow students throughout my undergrad have already figured out what they enjoy most, they have their favorite classes based on the content, and the area of physics which seems most interesting to them. I haven't taken a course yet where the content wasn't interesting to...