Graduate Definition and 1000 Threads

Several universities say that taking courses pass/no-pass or credit/no-credit during terms disrupted by COVID-19 will not necessarily harm those applying to their graduate program. There are also more open-ended invitations for applicants to discuss how the pandemic has impacted their lives. In...

I am particularly interesting in QFT, and I am going to be a graduate student in quantum optics and quantum information this autumn. Strangely, I find that there is no courses for QFT. After all, I though QFT are about quantum and field, and quantum optics are about quantum and field, too...

I am a high school who will be graduating next year. I am almost done with Purcell and Morin which I worked through in my past holidays. However, I am still not proficient in various topics like Linear Algebra, Basic Analysis, and I quite often encounter various new things that I haven't even...

The Amplitudes 2020 Conference (on the physics of calculating probability amplitudes in quantum mechanics) was to be held in Michigan this year. But, this year, the conference was cancelled, for obvious reasons, and held via Zoom for Zoomplitudes 2020 instead. Physics blogger 4gravitons explains...

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...

What books are recommended for a course in condensed matter physics at a graduate level?

Hi folks, I am considering two universities. My goal is to do well enough that I could get into graduate school for physics, most likely here in Canada. I have been unable to speak to an adviser, as my school's science adviser does not meet with students until they finish their second year. So...

Hi, I am a physics major in my second year . So far, i did not do any research and with the current Coronavirus situation, getting into a research program in my university is unlikely (since most of them are experimental). I had some questions about the research experience of graduate school...

Hi folks, I'm currently working through Griffith's E&M text for school. It is my favorite subject and I am hoping to find another textbook or problem book on electrodynamics or electromagnetics. I was hoping for something at the level of Griffiths or slightly above, something that'll prepare me...

Below is an email that I am planning to send to someone that I would very much like to work for as a graduate student. Are there any red flags I should avoid? Anything else in particular I should mention? Thanks in advance. Hello Dr. [REDACTED], I am an undergraduate physics major (junior)...

Hello, I would like to understand as well as possible what (quantum) coherent states are. Can anyone advise on what books (or other materials) I should read? Please assume I have an introductory level in Quantum Physics (where by "introductory" I mean the material introduced in books like, for...

Will finish B.S. in molecular biology in May. Have found asking vague questions about where to go/apply to next are pretty unhelpful. I believe that going through indexes of interesting research is the closest I can get to finding a place to advance myself and be happy in. here is an example...

I’m a physics major currently in the second semester of my first year at a US university. I have recently become very anxious about my future with a physics degree. Don’t get me wrong, I love physics. One semester in, I’m doing very well academically. However, I’ve heard a lot of negativity...

What are some things a freshman physics major can/should be doing to get a head start on becoming a competitive applicant for graduate schools?

Summary:: Need book suggestion for following syllabus. (Globally available hardcopy is preferred) I'm a civil engineer and need to study graduate level physics for an exam. I need suggestion for a book consisting basic to moderate depth of the topics below. I've comfortable with both, algebra...

Hi everyone, I’m in the process of choosing graduate schools and realize most of schools seems out of reach for me. I have a low combination of both gpa, pgre and gre. I know the low pgre as a reinforce of my low gpa. I come from a normal state public school and have about one year research...

Hi. Since I started looking for books to learn physics I've had a problem understanding what exactly is meant by "graduate level" and "undergraduate level" textbooks, given how two books in each category can seem to cover the same topics. A good example of this is Weinberg's "Lectures on...

Summary: Chemistry undergrad attempting to go to graduate school in physics. Would appreciate advice. Hello, I am in my fourth of five years at a solid school studying chemistry. I changed my major at the start of my third year from economics to chemistry after being inspired by a course in...

I am 25 and I have graduated from Oxford university in Chemical Biology but strongly believe that I want to do Physics all my future life. I did my Masters by research on the department of Chemistry and I was co-supervised by Professor in Organic Chemistry and Professor in Physical Chemistry. So...

Hello all: I had a debate about physics and medicine. The topic of that debate is can a physics graduate , enter medicine by studying radiology for few years less than it requires , for normal high school students, for example 2 years The other topic is about radiology equipment, how much...

I am an incoming graduate student in Theoretical Physics at Universiteit Utrecht, and I struggle to make a choice for one of my mathematical electives. I hope someone can help me out. My main interests lie in the fields of Statistical Physics, phase transitions and collective and critical...

Hello, I'm considering taking the graduate level quantum mechanics course offered at my university (based on Sakurai/Shankar). I am currently reading Sakurai's QM, and mostly understand the topics (I'm currently reading the theory of angular momentum). There have been some steps where I still...

Hi, I have to study for a solid state physics course and I'm not sure what textbook would be the best. Our professor suggested "Principles of the theory of Solids" by Ziman, or "Solid state physics" by Ashcroft. I'll intend to use both: one I buy, the other one I borrow from the library. But...

I'm very interested in the Engineering Physics major, however I'm not sure what people with this degree do after university. I've heard that a large portion of people who graduate from Engineering Physics go on to study a master's on either Engineering or Physics. Is thus true? Would...

When first encountering them, did you find your undergraduate physics courses or your graduate physics courses to be more conceptually and technically challenging?

Hi everyone. In 2017, I received a bachelors degree in physics. I liked the subject and wanted to go to graduate school for something more practical, so I did. A year ago, I failed out of a PhD program in engineering. I was the worst student at that point. I was too shy to ask questions in...

So, basically I need a roadmap of the math required for nuclear theory. I've completed Calc (1-3) and teaching myself ODE. My roadmap currently is PDE, Complex Analysis, Linear Algebra and Numerical methods. I'm going to work through Arfkens 2nd edition of math methods. Any thing else I should...

I am an undergrad in physics and math (pure). I want to do msc in Applied mathematics . There are few things that worry me : 1. Topology, complex analysis, differential equations, calculus, Probability, 3 Analysis and 3 Algebra - these are roughly my courses. I didn’t take any “applied” kind of...

Hello everyone! I graduated from UIUC with a 3.00 GPA in physics last year. (I managed to get this exact number) And my GPA of physics courses are not much higher than my overall GPA as well. I plan to apply for grad school this year and go to grad school next year. And currently I am working...

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...

Why is it paired with materials science? I have not been able to find too much about it online apart from their own stuff. How different is it from their pure physics PhD program? It seems that they have a lot of required courses, although you do not need to take them if you have a sufficiently...

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 prepping for my spring Graduate E/M I course (official textbook: Jackson) and will like to know what math topics in PDE/Math-Methods/ODE/Linear-Algebra to brush up on or hone down on as I prep? Which topics are most frequently needed for Graduate Electrodynamics I?

I'm currently almost done my first semester at University here in Canada. I want to go to a good graduate school in the US to study astrophysics in the future. Here in my University, and a lot of Universities in Canada have a 4.33 GPA scale. My GPA here is around a 3.3, that's roughly a B+ and a...

Hi. My company will pay about 70% of my tuition cost per year for graduate school. Leaving about 2-4k un accounted for, depending on course load. Any recommendations on scholarships or other options to pay the remaining balance?

I am currently an undergrad in pure Math. Until now, the courses I found the most fun/interesting were Probability 1&2, Geometry and Group Theory. I still have 3 semesters to go. Prior to math I did some university courses in physics which were Classical Mecanics1, Optics and Intro to modern...

I want to get a poll going... When U.S graduate schools consider applicants for physics, what are the most important factors they consider in admissions? —RANK THEM— *Consider both theoretical and applied applicants.

Do graduate schools in physics look more favorably upon undergraduate students with published research, rather than just research experience? How would an admissions committee weigh two students if one had done published research, but not in the field of physics of which he was applying for, and...

Hi, I'm a junior at a Ivy League (H/Y/P/C - going to remain anonymous for privacy reasons) and I wanted your honest opinion on what my chances are for graduate school in computational astrophysics and where I should look for the best chances. GPA: 3.5/4 (working to raise this, had a bad...

I'm currently compiling materials for my graduate school applications this fall, and I'm having a bit of trouble deciding what to emphasize in terms of my experiences as an undergraduate, as well as my future career goals. I have a couple years of research experience (in computational...

TL;DR: Not yet feel ready to graduate so decided to take a one-year internship in the middle of final undergrad year to get things straight. Adviser think it's stupid to come back for one semester after the internship and think I should just get graduate requirement ready before I go. I don't...

Hi, So I'm due to start my master's degree in September, with an Astrophysics research project. I have zero astro background, and want to keep my previous physics knowledge in case I don't enjoy astro as much as I thought I would. If I end up wanting to do a PhD in a different physics field...

Hello, I've found some similar posts, but as the answers heavily depend on the individual, I decided to present my own case. I want to apply for the physics graduate programs of the big universitie MIT, Harvard, Standord and UC Berkley. For this I need to decide on a specific field of study for...

I’m currently trying to decide which of the following schools to attend: Ohio state University Indiana University Florida State University I would like to go into nuclear or high energy physics. I’ve contacted the schools and I had great interviews with the professors and I enjoyed the...

Let's say I'm getting a PhD in an area of gravitational physics. Upon getting that diploma, what is expected of me in terms of knowledge of GR? I hope my question can be useful to other students in other concentrations, so substitute QFT, or condensed matter, or whatever. For example, is it...

Hello. I'm looking for recomendations on what would be the two best handbooks of physics to buy, one for undergrads and another for graduate physics students. The purpose is for the handbooks to cover undergraduate and graduate theoretical physics, with details on the core subjects. Thanks in...

I applied to a fairly prestigious engineering school in france, taught in english. I was taken for an interview 2 weeks ago and it was very casual, didnt go great nor badly. I was told I'd receive a response to my application by the "end of next week", problem is that was last friday, and I...

Hey guys, so I am about to graduate in May with a double major in physics and mathematics and I don't really know what to do. So my grades are not the best, but they improved as I've gotten further into my academic career, and this year I am hoping to make the dean's list. I want to get my PhD...

I like to start a graduate program in scientific computing within the next 4-5 years, once my kids are a little older, my wife finishes her degree, and I have more money saved. In the meantime, I’m not going to waste time. Using the MIT challenge completed by Scott Young as inspiration, I’ve...

Physics is one of the hardest discipline to master. Yet physics graduates, on average, have a tougher time finding jobs and very often earn less than finance/engineering graduates. Why do you guys do this to yourself? Are you masochists? Do you enjoy pain? On a serious note: Seriously, why?