Graduate school Definition and 485 Threads

Hey everyone, I'm an American senior Physics major and I've been looking at New Zealand (and possibly Australia) for grad school. I wanted to ask if anyone could describe the system over there and answer a couple questions. First, is a bachelors good enough to start the PhD without doing a...

Hello all. I had a few questions about obtaining a PhD in UK and/or Europe. I am currently an Undergrad physics student from Brazil studying in the US, once I am done I will pursue my PhD in some other university, since my current one, unfortunally, does not have a Physics Grad program. My dream...

I'm currently actually a first year masters student in Software Engineering at a small state school in Wisconsin, but my Bachelor's is in Physics w/ a computational emphasis from the same school. For an undergrad, I had a fairly large amount of research experience in nuclear physics (2...

I am applying for master's degree programme in Nuclear Engineering for this year and considering universities from the following countries: Russia, Korea, Japan, China I have a B.Sc. (Hons) in Nuclear Science degree which I've got it in 2009. Could anyone recommend me any good graduate school...

i have been to two schools the first a community college and now in a university and i may transfer to a third one, for family reasons, will this matter to graduate school? that I've attended three universities instead of one?

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, So I am currently an undergrad student majoring in math and physics wanting to pursue a PhD in either applied math or physics. I definitely lean toward the theoretical side of physics and really enjoy mathematics (which has become somewhat of a hobby). My question is, what program of...

Hi everyone! This is my first post here, hopefully of many, as I love internet forums and physics. I just graduated from a small private university with a B.S. in physics (and a minor in mathematics) I'm finishing up my grad school applications. I'm having panic attacks almost every day...

Hey all, This is a really embarrassing question, but one that I feel is necessary. I am not too intelligent, but feel as though for most of my life it could be made up for by work ethic. My senior year, when having an honest discussion with my advisors about my capability for grad school, I was...

Hi everybody! To be concise -My undergraduate majors are math and physics -I want to go on and do research in physics (probably theoretical/mathematical physics) and be a professor. -My GPA is a 3.98 and Real Analysis and Abstract Algebra will likely drag down my GPA (I'm currently in these...

Hi Everyone! I am a senior student going at a liberal arts college currently majoring in Physics. I am applying to graduate schools in Astronomy this fall semester. I would like to ask what are the odds of getting into the best astronomy programs with the following background: Major GPA: 4.00...

In graduate school for physics, the competition in certain fields(for example High Energy Theory) is very intense. Does anyone know how the situation is in fields of mathematics. So, which areas of mathematics are the most difficult to get into for grad school ? I would be particularly...

Hello, Sorry for the longer post, but I would appreciate any advice offered. I have been reading this site ever since starting my undergrad in physics, first time posting. I am posting as I have been having trouble gather info/opinions on a situation I find myself in and am looking for...

I am going to be applying to graduate programs for theory in the fall, and after discussing research with a few of my professors, my top research topic choice is Conformal Field Theories. Are CFT's a large enough area of study to be the focus of research for a graduate student? Also, will saying...

This is silly, you can say it's silly and I respect that. It also seems like a thread that I would roll my eyes at and say "if you have to ask this, you probably are." The situation is as follows. I'm a second-year graduate student working in an experimental lab. There is a postdoc here who is...

Hello everyone, I have a couple of questions. I'm an incoming graduate student starting in the fall, and working with a group at my future graduate school this summer. I do not want the pity of anyone in my department (especially as a new student) so I'm aware that the answers I get here may be...

Hi everyone, I've read a few posts on this forum and thought they were helpful enough that I should try to get some help as well. My situation is a little unusual in that I am a third year undergraduate student majoring in biochemistry, minoring in mathematics. I want to tackle biological...

Hi, Little about me: I'm a fourth year physics major(graduating fall 2017). I currently have a 3.6 gpa with 164(verbal) and 165(math) . I took the physics GRE and got a 800 which sucks and I would like to score above a 920 which I am studying for next year. Two publications with a fair amount of...

This may be a silly (and, as a first year grad student, premature!) question, but I am wondering about the possibility of going into the Peace Corps after getting my Ph.D. in physics. My field of study is condensed matter physics, and I have begun working with a group doing some nanotechnology...

Hello all, I am interested in both physics and applied math. One of my professors is willing to work with me to get into a great applied math school, but I don't want to abandon my passion for physics. Is there work being done at the intersection of applied math and physics? Is it reasonable...

I have transferred from community college, so I am supposed to finish in two years. However, some people can petition to stay for three years I believe. I'm an undergraduate physics major thinking of staying for three years, where there is guaranteed financial aid during that time frame, to take...

Hello, I am in a situation and need some guidance and help and would appreciate your input. So I graduated May 2015 from a state school with Astrophysics bachelors and applied for graduate school for Fall 2016. Here are all my scores - Overall GPA - Less than 3.3 PGRE - Less than 600 GRE...

Hello all, a friend of mine is considering switching to an engineering technology degree but still plans to attend graduate school for engineering. This just got me thinking, what would the draw backs be? How easy or hard would it be for someone in a engineering technology program to go to...

I've seen a few threads discussing a topic similar to this, and I've been making some serious considerations and thinking about things. I'm currently debating switching over from a Physics major to a Math major and minoring in Physics. There are a few various reasons to do this, one being it...

Can anyone recommend good study resources before entering graduate school? I'm going from an "unknown" state school to Cornell, and I'm worried about being underprepared for courses. I have taken two semesters of E&M and Quantum (Griffiths), one semester of mechanics (Fowles & Cassiday) plus...

I am an international student and I was admitted to UT Arlington with 100% tuition scholarship for fall 2016. The reasons why I couldn't make it to a better university are lack of guidance and lack of funds. But now, I will have all the guidance in the world since I'm going to an American...

I have worked with a professor within my Physics department for almost a full school year now on electron scattering simulations. I run some programs on my computer and analyze them with ROOT. This work has been rewarding as I have learned a lot, but I recently got offered a position in a...

Hello, my name is Charles and I am experiencing some doubts about my physics career; I am hoping that other people here have felt the same and can give me some advice. I am presently at a crossroads career-wise and am rather lost. I have just accepted an admissions offer with very good funding...

Here's a long shot... I go to a very small school with only ~8 graduates per year. Of those 8, 4 or 5 will apply to graduate school, and every year only 1 or so will be accepted. I'm preparing to approach the chair of the department to propose a one-hour seminar every year (or semester) to...

Hi everyone, I'm currently a third year Economics major hoping to switch to the Economics and Mathematics by the end of this year. Considering I should have been a Physics major in the first place, I have started taking Physics course starting from my third year in an attempt to eventually go...

Hi everyone! I'm brand new to this, but hopefully I'll pick it up quickly... I had a very general question about going to graduate school for physics. I'm a junior undergraduate going for my B.S. in general physics, so naturally I'm thinking about grad schools at this point. I've got a 3.98...

Hi, When I finish my undergraduate physics degree here in the USA, I would like to go on to get a PhD abroad, in particular in the United Kingdom. I have noticed that a lot of Universities in the US have programs that allow a BS in physics to go directly into a PhD program, rather than getting...

Hi all, I'm a college sophomore studying physics and computer science, and I was hoping to get a bit of perspective on graduate school and careers with respect to physics. In high school, I was very much a slacker, who would slide by in the "Honors Classes", but would occasionally do quite well...

Greetings, So first of all, I am not in this situation. I am just wanting to know about a hypothetical scenario. Yesterday I heard that I've been admitted to an Ivy League and though I couldn't be more thrilled, I'm also terrified to the highest degree since I'm not sure that I have the...

My Current Situation: I am currently a second semester sophomore at university going for a double major (BS in Physics and BS in mathematics). I went to college to get a physics degree . The mathematics degree is added on because I love mathematics and due to my strange circumstances had quite a...

Hello, I'm a senior undergrad at a liberal arts institution. I'm pursuing two majors one in studio art and the other in physics (BA). I just finished my [revolutionary] research project in cosmology and my grades are all over (everywhere from A to C+ in math+science, no comp sci classes). I am...

I have been asked to interview for a job that entails no access to internet for a few months. I am also currently in the application process for engineering graduate school phD programs. I have applied to the schools I am interested in, but have not began the interview process yet for those...

Greetings, I recently got my Bachelors in Physics, and took a year off to help my family move out of state. The move is complete, and I am looking into Master's programs. My question is how can I effectively prepare for this? I don't think my skills have declined terribly, but I know they...

PF, I am a junior physics major hoping to work in nuclear engineering. The problem is that I would like to stay in school to get a PhD. I have a love of learning. However, I would like to get a Master's degree to start working and making a living earlier. I would not like to work in academia...

I have a bit of a dilemma with graduate school applications that I feel many people here would have encountered. Part of the applications requires either a CV or a resume, and I find that the list of my expierences, educations, presentations and awards is a little to short to be considered a CV...

Hi it's too late for me to apply for Fall admission since it's already December and I haven't started my applications. Can I apply for Spring admission since I don't want to wait a whole other year to apply for graduate schools and get in again.

I'm currently a freshman a MIT. I was planning to do a Chemistry and Physics double major but after looking at the requirements for a Chemistry minor, it wouldn't take any additional classes to do a Physics and Math double major with a minor in Chemistry. The reason this is appealing to me is...

Okay, so I graduated in May with a B.S. in EE and want to attend graduate school for EE with a concentration in solid state devices. I had around a 3.6 GPA and over 160 quantitative and verbal on the GRE. I took a device physics graduate course in my senior year (did well in it too) and after...

Hello all, I am currently an undergraduate studying chemistry with a question regarding physics graduate school. I know many threads have been started on whether or not one can get into a physics grad program and I have come to the conclusion that it is possible, so I won't ask that question. My...

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...

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 am a rising senior at a small liberal arts college, with an incredibly small (and therefore unrecognized) physics program. I am seeking advice regarding which Ph.D programs are within my reach. I plan on applying to AMO (Atomic, Molecular, and Optics) Ph.D programs with the intention of...

Ideally I'd like to apply to graduate school for physics (leaning towards Astrophysics or Condensed matter); however, I don't think my course work or research is sufficient. I'm already using an extra year to complete the degree (I changed to physics the end of my Sophomore year) and wouldn't...

To begin, I've had a fairly long college career. I was a wellness science major for 3 years and decided it wasn't challenging enough at my small college. I switched to physics and jammed 4 years of math and physics into 2 years. I have one more year left and then I will be in graduate school...