Grad Definition and 1000 Threads

Since I am posting this on behalf of a friend (who's in a slight slump and could use some advice), I am probably lacking some information. However, hopefully you guys can get the idea. While my friend did well his first semester at the regional campus at his 50-60 ranked university, his...

So I'm currently an undergrad physics major, and looking to pursue a Ph.D in physics. I was recently talking to one of my friends, who is a grad plasma physics student, about his research. He seems to like physics a lot, but when I talked to him he said his research is boring. I replied with...

When applying to grad programs in the US, is it be a good idea to attach documented proof of having received scholarships/financial awards if they were on both sustained academic performance and need-based grounds? In my country, the grants I got throughout my undergrad are kind of a big deal...

I am currently a senior at a no name liberal arts college studying math and physics. I am unsure about want I want to do in the future, but I am considering engineering for graduate school in the far future. Field yet to be determined. Last year I took an advance physics lab course and...

Before quantum mechanics and relativity were incorporated into the physics curriculum, what did physicists go to grad school for? It seems like classical mechanics, thermodynamics (I believe stat mech was not well developed at the time), and electromagnetism were the only things that were...

I have a GRE score of 6.0 writing, 170 reading, and 168 quantitative, and a 4.0 GPA. I also have 4 semesters of soft matter theory research and 1 summer of particle physics theory research. I'm applying to do theory to many schools, including MIT, SUNY Stony Brook, Stanford, Harvard, UMass...

I want to compute the flux surfaces using FEM but i haven't found any good source to read. any help will be appreciated. Thank you

I had two questions regarding grad school stipends. For starters, about how many hours per week do you have to typically spend working to earn your stipend? Second, I have heard that the amount of grad students receiving stipends is extremely high in most colleges, where actually not getting...

I recently did an internship at my university in which I worked more closely with the engineer in charge of the lab rather than the professor. Would it be okay to ask the engineer in charge to write a letter of recommendation for grad. school since he is more capable of detailing my performance...

Hi guys and gals, first post here, but I've lurked here before but just now registering and posting I'm getting ready to apply for my graduate schools. I'm not sure what exactly I'm seeking, so I want to provide a little background. I've always been a tinkerer, ever since I was young I've...

If ∇ x v = 0 in all of three dimensional space, show that there exists a scalar function ##\phi (x,y,z)## such that v = ∇##\phi##. (from Walter Strauss' Partial Differential Equations, 2nd edition; problem 11; pg 20.) I'm not really sure where to begin with this problem. I asked a few of my...

It's difficult to get anywhere with a "general" STEM major like Math, Physics, Chemistry, Statistics or Biology, unless you know specifically what type of job you want and you know how to use your major to market a specific skill set related to that job. It's okay to choose one of those majors...

I was just wondering if this is a common thing that people do. I am a junior in college and I had a software engineering internship and enjoyed it very much and I think it'd a career i'd enjoy. However I've always wanted to get a phd in computer science and do research in computer graphics. At...

Hi there, If any people who have sat on grad school admissions committees are lurking out there, I would love to hear your opinion on this: I'm reapplying to grad school for next fall after I took my Masters and left at another institution. I made a right mess of things there; was going...

I am wondering if it is possible to study abroad if you are a graduate student in a science related field. I have a BS in geology and I am applying for grad school for geology/environmental science. Is it even possible to study abroad?, if so, are there certain programs that are more...

Hi, I'm starting off grad school this fall. My adviser mailed me some published papers that have been written by our group. I've been through them, and although I understand the basic idea, I don't understand many of the formulas and theories used. Is this normal? Usually, how do people start...

First, this is my first time actually posting anything so hi PF!Second, I have been working out of Div, Grad, Curl and all that. This problem has me stumped for some reason. My answer never comes out to be the same as the books. If you could help me figure out where I am going wrong I would...

I would like to apply to grad schools next Fall. If the school requires 3 recommendations, is it ever a good idea to include more? Also, what do you guys think about including a CV?

Hello all, I'm looking for advice from people in any physics/astronomy/astrophysics graduate program. If you're short on time, please feel free to skip to the last paragraph; I would really appreciate any help. I did my undergraduate degrees in physics and math, and if you don't mind me...

Hey all, I'm a Math major (most of my coursework was in PDEs) and just got accepted into Grad school (yay) for Mechanical Engineering. I need to be very familiar with fluid mechanics and have about 5 months to do so. Trouble is, the last fluid mechanics course I took was about 3-4 years ago...

Hi All, Is there any Good University that provides Under Grad degree in Maths or Physics through distance education ? Thanks, -D

Hello MHB, I'll soon be applying for Masters and PhD programmes in mathematics to universities in the US. I need help with my statement of purpose. I am not sure what I should put in it since I am largely self taught (in math) and have little formal research experience. (Formal research...

I'm a junior doing a physics major. I've almost finished the physics major and I've taken more than the required electives, and as I'm not 100% sure whether I want to go to graduate school, I'm considering double majoring in economics. I know that a double major in economics will open more...

Hey guys and gals, I am at a bit of a stand still right now. I am a third year P.h.D. student and I have an advisor, but I am not exactly sure what area I want to research in. I went to talk to him yesterday and I said that I wanted to study General relativity, but he says that is not specific...

Hey, I know there's a sticky on top of the page kind of about this but I read through the thread and I have a pretty particular case that which isn't really addressed. I just finished my undergrad studies, received a B.A. a few months ago in May, and I was thinking about going to school...

Hey everyone, I was hoping to get some general career advice. I am currently working on my Physics BS and am almost done with all of the physics requirements. However, since I was a transfer student I have been able to take a lot of courses in fields I also enjoy. I'll end up graduating with the...

Hey PF! So I just finished my undergrad degree in Astrophysics, and I'm interested in going back to get my PhD. I really love physics, and I don't mind the kind of grind and time that it would take to be a successful PhD student. I'm not looking to get higher paying jobs after I get my PhD, I...

I haven't take the PGRE yet, but would it be beneficial to me to visit institutions I would be interested in now to get my name out there? Or is this unheard of / faculty has no time? Thanks.

Hi everyone. I think for grad school I want to do work on neutrinos. Anyone know of any good and up and coming schools with good faculty working on these experiments? My application should be good, but not great with great grades/research but very average GRE and PGRE scores.

I am a rising junior physics major and math minor at a small liberal arts school. I'm interested in possibly pursuing materials science for grad school (hoping to complete a PhD). However, I haven't yet taken intro-level chemistry. Originally I was planning to complete the intro sequence...

Hello, I am currently beginning my Junior year of college, and the time is coming far too soon for me to choose grad schools to apply to. My goal in life is to study all kinds of foundational physics, such as quantum foundations, quantum gravity, and string theory in order to complete...

I recently received a Physics Ph.D. but I had previously studied and earned an Aerospace Engineering masters degree. After spending several years earning my Ph.D. I have decided I would much rather practice Aerospace Engineering professionally. Unfortunately, I have had little success in...

Hey everyone. This is something I've been wondering about lately. I'm currently in a community college, with plans to transfer to a university, and eventually go on for my doctorate(I'm majoring in physics). How unusual would it be to spend an extra year as an undergrad to take more upper...

Is that weird? I live in apartment, so when I order stuff from Amazon, they just leave the stuff in the foyer for anyone to pick up on. Maybe I could just send it to my "office" at "work?"

Hello all, First, to tell you a little about my background, I have just finished my undergraduate degree in geology and geophysics. I also attained two minors in astronomy and mathematics. Thus, my physics and math background includes a year of freshman physics (mechanics & E&M) plus a...

Hi, I am going to list the various courses I plan on taking as part of my physics major (though not all the courses are contained in the physics major). I would simply like to know if the following will sufficiently prepare me for graduate school in theoretical physics (focusing on high-energy...

I'll be applying for graduate studies(M.S) in Physics in a couple of years, so I would like to know the best universities in Europe but NOT UK as I cannot afford it. The reason I'm asking this now is because I will be learning the language of the country I decide to go to - even if they have...

Advisor I am applying to graduate school and there is a professor I want to work with. According to the university, he is an active faculty. I checked his profile and all I could find was his name, the university's address and his research which tersely states: "geometry". So I looked him...

Here goes another wild stab in the dark: As a quick refresher, I will be graduating with a bachelors in physics in a month. I was not successful in getting into grad school this year (I got waitlisted at UMN but was ultimately turned down, I also should have applied to more schools/bigger...

Hi everyone, So I'm starting grad school in ME in the fall, but my bachelor's degree is in physics. I went to a school with no engineering college, but I think my knowledge on anything related to physics in engineering is sound, with the exception of fluid and solid mechanics (I know the...

"Electives" in grad school? Hello PF, I am an undergrad student majoring in one of the STEM field. I have a strong interest in particle physics, but I am not really interested in any other discipline of physics. For this reason, I don't think going to grad school in physics is not a...

A question I have always had is what sort of graduate school programs are open to you with a Physics undergrad. Obviously Physics and Astrophysics. But I have also heard Materials Science and Electrical Engineering. Is this true? What other programs would be open to a Physics major? And how...

Hello PF community, I've used this site for quite a while for references on self learning and just plain entertainment. I figured it was time for me to make my own cliche "Can I make it?" thread. Thanks in advance for any responses. I'm going to skip the long part about my history with...

Hello guys, I just want to share my situation, to see if I can still get into a really good grad school. For the most part of my 3 years in college I have gotten straight A's however in fall of 2011 my grandfather and one of my best friend died suddenly. I was mentally broken, and...

This has been a long standing issue of what I should do with my last year and a half of undergraduate education. I really would like to get into a top physics program (obviously), but I am also really interested in applied math and computer science. I would say I am equally interested in applied...

I'm an undergraduate who finished up my junior year this past Spring. I've been looking around at grad schools for physics. However, I find myself about as unwilling to study physics in grad school and leave pure math behind, as I am unwilling to do things the other way around. Math so far has...

I'm mostly looking into fusion but also traditional fission power systems. Good schools seem to be Michigan, Illinois, Cal, MIT maybe a few others. I go to the University of Maryland. Right now I have a 3.71 GPA, downward trending though 4.00 -> 3.55 -> 3.53 over the first three years. I got my...

Hi everyone, I am a biology major (doing premed) as undergraduate right now. I was doing premed, however I volunteered at hospitals and such, and I am strongly starting to believe it is not for me at all. I loved physics in high school, took AP Physics and actively participated in Physics...

grad, curl , div operator got any meaning?? ∇x F (t) same as the first derivative of F with respect to t , or will get the gradient of F which is normal to the F ? ∇ dot F (t) , will get the scalar value of what?? lets say F is force , then can anyone please give me the meaning of those...

Okay, for financial reasons I am just a tad late to the party on where I will be attending school for my Freshman year in college this fall. I have been accepted to several schools in state (I do live in Alabama though, so nothing special) but I feel like saving an incredible load of money at a...