Undergraduate Definition and 599 Threads

I am currently enrolled at a US university as an undergrad physics major, and my interest is in theoretical particle physics/quantum mechanics. I am wondering if for the sake of theoretical physics it would be wise to dual-major in mathematics as well at the slight expense of some of the other...

I am an undergraduate student and I am currently trying to decide whether to take undergraduate or graduate Quantum Mechanics. I plan to do a PhD in physics later on, so I assume that I will eventually take a graduate course in Quantum Mechanics, so I figure I might as well take it now, being...

Before I begin, I would like to make it clear that I am only a Junior in high school, so I have at least a little time before any important decisions need to be made about college. As such, this post will likely contain a good number of "what if"s. I am, of course, interested in obtaining a...

Recently me and my friends started undergraduate courses following our interests(mostly engineering, science and maths). can anyone suggest some great books for reference and to use as guides for the respective courses? (like electronics and communication engineering : 1.abcd book 2.some...

I'm 18 years old and I would like to know if it is possible to me to take the GRE exam and let's assume I passed the exam and got a good score would that guarantee me a scholarship?

I’m graduating with a Physics degree next year but for various reasons I cannot go straight to grad school and get a PhD. I probably won’t be back to school for some time (I’m projecting 10-15 years). Will it be hard to start a Physics PhD after so long? Is there ageism in academia? Thanks

If you need more informations about this case just ask away. I'm a professor from an African country and I recognized back a student who is brilliant enough to convince me to create this post. At his age other kids are struggling with solving quadratic equations or at very elementary number...

Hey all! I am currently doing a computer science project for a scientific collaboration at an REU this summer. I am a physics student and I plan to be a researcher one day. I really do not want to continue this project for two main reasons: I simply do not know the computer science...

I have a graduate admissions question for anyone who might have been part of a graduate admissions committee. How do you view undergraduate research projects that are not cutting edge or particularly interesting? My project is on the effect of ball milling on production of a bulk high-Tc...

Calculate the Reynolds number at a location χ= 0.3m along the chord length of an aircraft wing at each of the following velocities;u= 20,40,60,80 and 100 knots. Assume International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) conditions for pressure and temperature. Take; R =287 J/KG;μ= 18 X10 -6 Kg/m s; 1 knot =...

Hello, I have just finished my second year of a theoretical physics degree (MPhys) at the University of Nottingham in the UK. I now have three months with relatively few commitments, and would like to learn some additional maths that would be useful, but am unsure what topics I should study...

Hello all, I have a bit of a dilemma. I have two free electives to take and I am considering taking two "advanced" math classes and get a math minor or two semi-good classes from whatever. If I take two math classes and I get A's, it would be lovely. But, If I get low grades, my GPA will...

hi I'm a math undergraduate and looking for books about fluid dynamics, electromagnetism, classical mechanics and quantum mechanics. introductory to intermediate level. would prefer books with lots of examples and include good amount of graphs and diagrams. thanks!

I am a maths undergraduate and looking for a book that covers many applied maths topics, such as electromagnetism, fliud dynamics, Newtonian mechanics etc., about introductory to intermediate level. I know it'd be hard to find one that contains all of them so if u have any suggestion on only 1...

I've been looking at tips and articles about how to create a successful CV for applying to graduate school in the US, but I'm getting confusing results about certain things. I plan on applying to Bioengineering/Materials Science and Engineering programs. My undergraduate degree is in Physics at...

I currently have Classical Mechanics by Douglas Gregory. I found that there are a lot of errors in his text mostly in Chapter 6 (Energy Conservation). Before I read some parts of Classical Mechanics by John Taylor but felt that he is too verbose that is why I have tried to scan other text. Any...

I have to do a project of some kind for my digital signals and systems class and I really don't have a clue where to even start looking. ANY IDEAS OR DIRECTION WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

Hi all, So I'm a first year undergrad and I really don't like the book I'm currently using at uni; Matter and Interactions by Chabay. I have been searching PF a lot and found out that the best book is Halliday/Resnick/Walker or Krane but I'm not sure which one to get? There are the books...

Hi guys, I'm a 2nd year physics student at uni and until recently i was planning on going to graduate school for condensed matter physics, but i realized I'm most interested in medical physics. What courses would those of you who are in medical physics recommend to prep me for grad school? I'll...

Hi friends, I realize that my question is probably not particularly clear cut, but I would like to hear some opinions on it. I am wondering, is it better as an undergraduate to diversify your research experiences, or to specialize? Would it be better to try out a number of different fields...

Hi guys, I'm going to be starting my senior project in computational physics by next semester, and my goal is to do something publishable in the fields of either analytical or quantum mechanics. However, I'm having difficulty determing what exactly that could be; the idea is either so...

What degree would you think as beneficial/necessary to enter the shipbuilding industry? I am specifically (as per this forum) asking about the engineers who design the hull and/or internal structures of modern cargo ships (containerized and bulk carriers), not really construction crews or...

I am a Final year (3rd year) student studying BSc Physics in India. My undergraduate course is getting completed in one month. As I want to pursue my career in field of physics, I like to do a project especially a theoretical project (kind of writing a junior level thesis) before joining...

Im a senior in high school who is currently going through the process of choosing a college with the intent of majoring physics, then getting a phd in Astronomy. I sincerely want to become an astronomer and have my choices down to two universities. One is a large state school with a well...

All, Do you think that it would be possible for me design my own curriculum and teach myself all of undergraduate physics and the appropriate level math in a year potentially? I know that I will have to work lots of problems to become really good at the content. I was also thinking about taking...

Hi, I'm starting a (theoretical) physics degree this year and I have a choice between a rigorous proof based calculus/linear algebra class and a non-rigorous calculus/linear algebra class for the first semester. I wanted to ask which one is more useful for undergraduate physics. Here are the...

So, I'm trying to decide which career to go into. I've already taken a bunch of high-leveled theoretical math and physics classes, and I've enjoyed and done well in them so far. However, I'm not specifically interested in a specific area of math and physics, mostly interested in a diverse array...

I need some advice for what engineering major to choose as an undergraduate. I understand that it is ultimately my decision, but a little advice would be extremely helpful. A little about me: Right now I am a freshman in electrical engineering. I do not find my introductory EE class...

Hello, I am from Ontario, Canada. I will be graduating from high school soon, and right now, I have to take care of my university application. First of all, I am interested in pure mathematics because I really like rigor, proofs etc. Thus, my choices so far are the mathematics programs from...

Hi everyone, I am Shing, I am 24 now. I start my college when I was 20. But unfortunately, 1.) I was facing serious medical problems at the same time for over the past years. 2.) I cannot agree the way my school does education. So basely, I couldn't do anything but endure those pain and...

I'm currently an undergraduate in electrical engineering. There aren't any nuclear engineering programs in my state, but I'm highly considering getting a graduate degree in nuclear engineering following my undergraduate degree, because it's very interesting to me. However, I'm wondering...

if i study physics as an undergraduate , do i get to study all the physics i took before in high school ? like fluid dynamics , thermodynamics for instance , do we start from the very beginning ? or am i supposed to have a background on them ?

Hey everyone, Just started my first year of study as a Physics undergraduate in the UK, and was wondering if any of you have any tips in getting the most out of my 4 years and how to get a first etc. Advice would be much welcomed.

I am writing about some crazy hypothesis I have about the impact the quest for the Higgs Boson, thereafter designated as HB, might have had on the number of people who declared physics majors during the years following its discovery. The preliminary data I have concerns two universities in my...

Hello all, I'm considering writing a senior thesis this year and I'm trying to come up with a suitable topic before presenting my ideas to one of my professors. I'm leaning towards something to do with number theory and possibly cryptography, or perhaps something more algebraic. Honestly, I...

I am in my last year of high school. I do not know if I will become a mathematician or physicist. Right now, I enjoy physics more but I will double major in math and physics anyway. I know that research experience is important in undergraduate physics. However, how important is undergraduate...

Although it seems that the consensus is that Cal is better for undergraduate physics than UCSD, I'm wondering how substantial this difference might be. Several factors (mostly money) make it more convenient for me to live at home and go to UCSD for physics, but this could be dealt with if there...

Hello All, I graduated from Georgia Tech ~3 years ago with quite a low GPA. I ended up with a 2.84 cumulative for my BSEE degree. I know this is not good. Since then, I have done a couple of small personal electronics projects and have been working in industry for 3 years. I also started...

So I'm curious which course(s) PF found the most difficult during undergrad, whether it's a math course, physics, engineering or art history! Difficulty is subjective as well as it's definition. It doesn't matter if it was your lowest grade or what you spent the most hours studying for, or some...

Hey everyone, I read the pinned topic in this forum as well as a few other topics regarding whether transitioning from a non-graduate field to a graduate physics program is remotely possible. Most threads suggested that doing well on the physics GRE is necessary to be accepted/prepared...

I'm currently a Computer Engineering undergraduate student at the State University of Campinas (Brazil), and according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings, my university is ranked second best in Latin America. I'm considering to pursue a graduate level education on a top-tier...

Undergraduate "Mini-thesis" (project-level) Topic(s) Hi. Just to give you some background, I am in my third year in college and am currently taking up Fundamentals of Physics III (which is primarily about relativity, quantum mechanics, wave nature of particles, wave mechanics, and statistical...

I'm interested in getting some research under my belt starting during the 2014 academic year. What should I study over the next year, so I can try and get some research in right away? The obvious ones: Undergrad QM, EM (in the process), Class Mech (doing Morin now, the questions are much...

I'm looking for a text which explains the subject very well, without making too many assumptions of the readers prior knowledge (this will be my first thermo course), but at the same time is not too light. Undergraduate level, but if possible, an 'intermediate' text. I won't really be getting...

So I am currently going to be entering my 3rd year of an Applied Math BS at Fresno Pacific University (I know its a nobody school but I am there for athletics). I have always wanted to do engineering but my school does not offer it. I was wondering if having an Applied Math BS and getting a...

I will be graduating in one year with a B.A in math. I do plan to transfer to graduate school in area of statistics. The problem is I have no analysis or abstract algebra background since I will be taking those this next semester and I would like to do a "research project (I am interested in...

Would you recommend me some good universities in Europe where I can study Physics/Theoretical Physics? I'm a student in Sofia at the moment but under some circumstances I'd like to continue my study abroad. It would be perfect if the courses are in English but German goes, too :) Thank you in...

Currently I am intended to start next fall as a Physics major at the University of Delaware. My interest lies in Fluid Dynamics particularly in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. I understand it's really early in my college career and I may change my interest, however I was surprised to find that as a...

I was wondering how much graduate admissions look at your research experience. I have worked with two projects with a professor, and I am going to be working with him on another project this summer. Two of these things were not "new" physics, but they were either new for our department, or were...

So at this point, I have been accepted into both Ohio State University and the University of Michigan. I plan on majoring in physics and continuing on to grad school. I know that Michigan has a better physics program than OSU. The only problem is that Michigan will cost roughly $15000 more...