A graduate school (sometimes shortened to grad school) is a school that awards advanced academic degrees (e.g., master's and doctoral degrees) with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. A distinction is typically made between graduate schools (where courses of study vary in the degree to which they provide training for a particular profession) and professional schools, which offer specialized advanced degrees in professional fields such as medicine, nursing, business, engineering, speech–language pathology, or law. The distinction between graduate schools and professional schools is not absolute since various professional schools offer graduate degrees and vice versa.
Many universities award graduate degrees; a graduate school is not necessarily a separate institution. While the term "graduate school" is typical in the United States and often used elsewhere (e.g., Canada), "postgraduate education" is also used in English-speaking countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and the UK) to refer to the spectrum of education beyond a bachelor's degree. Those attending graduate schools are called "graduate students" (in both American and British English), or often in British English as "postgraduate students" and, colloquially, "postgraduates" and "postgrads". Degrees awarded to graduate students include master's degrees, doctoral degrees, and other postgraduate qualifications such as graduate certificates and professional degrees.
Producing original research is a significant component of graduate studies in the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. This research typically leads to the writing and defense of a thesis or dissertation. In graduate programs that are oriented toward professional training (e.g., MPA, MBA, MHA), the degrees may consist solely of coursework, without an original research or thesis component. The term "graduate school" is primarily North American. Additionally, in North America, the term does not usually refer to medical school (whose students are called "medical students"), and only occasionally refers to law school or business school; these are often collectively termed professional schools. Graduate students in the humanities, sciences and social sciences often receive funding from the school (e.g., fellowships or scholarships) or a teaching assistant position or other job; in the profession-oriented grad programs, students are less likely to get funding, and the fees are typically much higher.
Although graduate school programs are distinct from undergraduate degree programs, graduate instruction (in the US, Australia, and other countries) is often offered by some of the same senior academic staff and departments who teach undergraduate courses. Unlike in undergraduate programs, however, it is less common for graduate students to take coursework outside their specific field of study at graduate or graduate entry level. At the Ph.D. level, though, it is quite common to take courses from a wider range of study, for which some fixed portion of coursework, sometimes known as a residency, is typically required to be taken from outside the department and college of the degree-seeking candidate, to broaden the research abilities of the student. Some institutions designate separate graduate versus undergraduate staff and denote other divisions.
Title says it all.
I am interested in studying the physics complex systems and nonlinear physics, however i find it very hard to find a good program as it seems this area of study is not the most mainstream of them. I found out about Max Planck but still want to know if there are other strong...
Hello all,
I did the classic mistake of overestimating my application and submitting only to some high profile universities (all above 150 on the QS physics [i know no the best indicator but I used it]). I got rejected from nearly all and I can't be hopeful that the rest won't follow similarly...
Is it advisable or possible to get a Master's in physics or astrophysics while doing a PhD in medical physics? I chose to pursue a medical physics PhD over physics. I love the rigorous coursework of physics, however, and my medical physics program is separate from the physics program and is...
Good night to all,
I would really appreciate if everyone could give me their opinions on:
MS in Medical Physics in Duke University
MS in Medical Physics in Columbia University
MS in Medical Physics in Vanderbilt University
MS in Medical Physics in Cleveland State University
Ph.D in Radiological...
Hello everyone,Upon my comment on the insight "Applying for Physics Graduate School - Comments", Mr. Bill (bhobba) suggested that I need to write an individual post regarding my inquiry.
I am looking for physics graduate programs (PhD). My senior project/thesis was on classical field theory and...
I am currently applying to physics graduate programs (considering both Master's and Ph.D.) in both Europe and North America. In choosing programs, I really care about teaching quality: emphasis on pedagogy, well-designed syllabi, and professors who are passionate about teaching. The QS World...
Hello. I'm currently studying theoretical physics and planning to continue my study in theoretical physics. I know that there are two interesting places to pursue the education in this field, the International Center for Theoretical Physics (pre-PhD program), and the Perimeter Institute for...
Greetings everybody,
Right now I'm applying to graduate physics programs, but since it's an expensive process I'm trying to be at least a little selective in my approach. Since my research interests are in plasma physics, I've limited myself to schools with a program in such. So far I've...
How useful is experience with software like VASP as an undergraduate when applying to graduate programs in solid state physics?I'm not asking if they expect you to know how to use it,but can it come across as something important in the application?
Hello Guys,
I'm currently entering my final month of my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. I've always wanted to learn more about robotics and Artificial Intelligence ,But never really put the time into it during my bachelors. I'm considering taking a break next year and applying for an MS...
Hey everyone!
I am interested in applying to a medical physics graduate program, but frankly I don't know a whole lot on the process. I am currently a junior majoring in biophysics with 3.4 major GPA. I have taken a majority of the pre-med prerequisites (i.e organic chemistry), if it will help...
Hi Everyone,
I am currently going through the interview process for several medical physics M.S. programs. I have a very hard time getting a read on how various programs compare. I was hoping that any of you with academic or professional experience in the field could give some advice. As of...
Hi all,
I am looking for advice on what physics graduate programs to apply to. My original list was:
University of Maryland - College Park
Harvard University
Columbia University
Caltech
Pennsylvania State
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
Colorado University - Boulder
UC-Barbara...
A bit of background: I am currently a fifth year Mathematics and Chemistry double major with a minor in Physics. My interests (as well as my degree plan) has greatly evolved over the course of my undergraduate career, and I am in my final year with a great interest in furthering my knowledge of...
Dear Physics Forums friends,
I am a college senior at US pursuing the mathematics and microbiology majors. Getting to the core of my question, I am curious if the graduate programs in physics (at least in US) also consider applicants from no official background in physics.
I started out as an...
Would you be able to provide an assessment of the high energy/string theory theoretical physics ranking of the four programs below:
Graduate program in University of Florida
Graduate program in University of Alberta
Graduate program in UC Davis
ICTP Postgraduate Diploma (High Energy, Cosmology...
Greetings Physics Forums,
It has been a while since I last contributed to these forums. However, I had the opportunity to job shadow some of the Medical Physicists at U.A.B. yesterday and I thought I would pass on what I learned to prospective Medical Physics students.
First off, shadowing was...
Dear Physics Forum personnel,
I am an undergraduate pursuing a major in the mathematics. My current undergraduate project in the computational virology really got me interested in the worlds of microbiology. The project involves both the biology and computer science, which is specifically...
Hello Forum members,
I am very interested in pursuing a degree in Medical Physics and I have found the field of proton therapy to be quite interesting. I have been looking at various CAMPEP accredited programs to see which ones have strong proton therapy research faculty members and facilities...
I am applying to graduate programs and I'm interested in biophysics, but I want to study the brain. I have yet to find a university that has a biophysics research project that is studying the brain/nervous system.
Any information on people doing biophysics research concerning the brain would...
I'm currently in 3rd year of Medical Physics and hoping to work in the hospital as Medical Physicist. After going through the forum, it seems like the field is saturated and the PhD in accredited program is basically required to get into the residency program. Does it matter which graduate...
Purpose:
Seeking general advice! "What would you do in my shoes?"
My situation:
All of my undergraduate research (and passion) has been related to computational projects-- Monte Carlo simulations, data analysis, and more recently image analysis (all in Python). My summers have gone into this...
Dear Physics Forum advisers,
I am a rising college junior (five-years tract) with a major in mathematics and an aspiring mathematician in the fields of theoretical computing and cryptography. I apologize for this sudden interruption but I wrote this email to seek your advice on the impact of...
Hello all!
I've been on and off this forum for a little bit now.
Background: Graduated from top 50 (US News, as if that means anything) school with a degree in applied chemistry with a 3.2 gpa. I had two papers published in organic chemistry, one poster in analytical and did research abroad...
I have a master's in physics. I'm looking at PhD programs, but I really don't want to take the same courses over and take comprehensive exams (or the damn GRE). I managed to squeeze in a few math classes before I finished. I would like to do research in physics, but from a more math-heavy...
I am currently looking to pursue a master's degree in physics - stand alone or integrated with a PhD program. I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering and want to make the switch to physics - with an interest in quantum mechanics, particle physics and string theory. As you can imagine...
As I'm researching graduate programs, I've noticed a few well-known universities and programs do not require the GRE for admission. Is this a bad sign? Or just the preference of the admission committees?
I don't want to turn this into a whether or not the GRE is a good indicator discussion...
I'm applying for graduate school but am from a basically unknown state school. My stats can be found here: http://www.physicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=5735.
I am looking for a low ranked or unranked theoretical cosmology/hep-th school or a similarly ranked observational astronomy program...
I am looking to find out if my choices of graduate programs for a MS in applied physics are reputable. I was accepted to both CSU long Beach, SFSU, and Fresno.. Does anyone have an opinion on these schools?
Is it normal that they don't offer tuition waivers? They are very vague on what they...
Hi all,
I was wondering if you had any advice as to "flexible" graduate programs that have do nanofabrication research. Nanofabrication doesn't fit neatly into the physics or engineering categories, so I would like to find a program that is flexible enough to allow me to perhaps do...
Hello PhysicsForums!
I'm currently a senior undergraduate physics major looking at grad school options. I hope to pursue a future career in industry rather than academia. I've found a couple graduate programs that are very interesting to me.
1) Georgetown University Industrial Leadership...
Hello all,
I'm trying to compile a list of schools (mainly in the US) that offer Ph.D. programs with research in radio astronomy.
Here's what I've come up with so far:
Caltech
Cornell
Harvard
New Mexico Tech
Ohio State University
UC Berkley
UC Los Angeles
UC Santa Cruz
University of Arizona...
Hi everyone,
I'm currently an Applied Mathematics major at a local university. I have finished two years. I'm trying to decide if I want finish my applied math degree or transfer and take up electrical engineering at a different school.
On the one hand, finishing my applied math degree...
I graduated in May with a BS in Physics and I am interested in going into either Medical or Health Physics. I'm still trying to decide which I'd rather go to school for, but I will probably apply to both types of programs in the meantime. Does anyone have advice about what the best graduate...
Anybody know of any nuclear engineering graduate programs where I can study advanced reactor designs and fuels. I would like to research liquid fluoride thorium reactors. I was looking at NC State but I don't see anything on their that suggest they have any research in those areas.
I'm a graduate student in experimental condensed matter physics. Over the last few months, I've found my motivation for physics decreasing substantially going from "I'm definitely doing my PhD in this" to "grabbing my MS and change fields"; now I'm not even sure I can withstand the MS.
As I...
I attend UC Davis and have a total GPA of about 3.3. I recently took the general GRE and earned a 158 quantitative and a 154 verbal. I am taking the physics GRE this coming saturday, which I anticipate getting a mediocre score. I am currently looking at applying to a few universities:
Carnige...
Hi guys, this is my first time posting on this forum. My question is about choosing a graduate program to study.
I'm a double math and CS major and to be quite honest and I'm not 100% sure on what i would like in a career. What i do know is that i have 0% interest in being a professor or...
Hi,
I've been trying to find a list somewhere of some of the better HEP graduate programs in the US. I can't find anything specific to HEP though.
Does anyone know where I may be able to find this information (online)?
I know the some of the more prestigious schools have some of the...
Hello,
I would like some recommendations on universities that have nuclear engg. graduate programs that specialize in design and analysis of GEN IV reactors. My professors have recommended the following:
1. Michigan
2. Penn State
3. MIT
4. North Carolina State
Any info regarding grad...
I have been searching for the requirements for entry into physics graduate programs.
I am seeing GRE + physics GRE + 3 LORs
Is it understood that the student has a strong background in physics or mathematics or do they really not require it?
I have signed up for higher mathematics...
Hi guys. I'm a freshman computer science major just finishing up discrete math and calculus I. I am strongly considering graduate school as an option, which I am sure is quite a bit more math-intensive than undergrad is (which obviously doesn't stress theory as much). Right now, my is to take...
Hi everyone,
I am currently a math major with an emphasis in physics, and I will begin looking for the right graduate programs to apply to in the fall. I am a rather silly case however, and I was curious if anyone had any advice or potentially some reassurance on my potential to get into...
Hello, I'm a graduate with a B.Sc. in Nuclear Science from National University of Malaysia (UKM) with a CGPA of 3.23 and very much interested to further my studies in the field of Masters degree in Nuclear Engineering. But so far, there are no such programme offered locally in my home country...
When choosing a graduate program, how much weight should be given to its US News ranking?
I've been accepted to two schools which fall within the top 10 for general math, but for my particular subarea in math, one of them ranks about 15 spots ahead of the other. Do people actually care about...
I searched for topics on relevant past questions but I didn't find any, so I hope you guys can help me.
I'd like to get some suggestions of good graduate programs (master degree) in mathematical physics or theoretical physics (and here I'm pushing the envelope a bit) with a focus on research...
For example, a program like the one below. I'm graduating in May with a B.S. in Mathematics and Physics Minor. I'm looking at all the options I have. I'm just wondering if this degree or ones like it are worth the time. I don't know anything about the University of Central Missouri, though...
I am currently in the process of finding schools and programs that I would like to apply to for graduate studies, and I thought I'd ask around here for some advice.
Quick explanation of what I'm interested in: I am currently an undergrad applied math major with a minor in physics at a large...