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pettni
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I am one year away from completing a master in Dynamical Systems (previously I have a Bachelor in Engineering Physics) at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden. It is considered a top school in Sweden but in international rankings you will have to look way down the lists to find it. I have started to think about applying to a Ph.D program in Electrical Engineering for next year and would like to do it in the states. The problem is that I don't know what chances I have to get in, or how high I should aim. The dream would be to go to Berkeley or another top-school in California.
The swedish system is quite different. Usually you apply to a 5-year Bachelor+Master program and then you already have a master when applying for a Ph.D. Also, the students are not very involved in research so I probably lack in research experience. Especially compared to 2nd-year Ph.D's in USA.
Short bio:
I had 100% A's in my Bachelor's degree. My master will have some B's and a C, but the average is still high. I have done a one-year exchange at École Polytechnique, a top french school. I did summer research at Caltech last summer which resulted in an accepted conference paper I presented recently. This summer I am doing another project at Polytechnique, with a bit of luck and blessing from my mentor it will result in a publication. I think I can get three strong letters of recommendation from my mentors in these projects and a contact at my home university. I can most likely get a very decent GRE Math score, but most EE programs don't seem to require it so I don't know if it would be a plus. I will be a tutor in a freshman Linear Algebra course during the autumn.
Questions:
Is it an advantage to already have a master when applying? If admitted, can I expect a shorter time until graduation? Europeans doing a phd in the states are especially welcome to answer.
Which US schools are strong in Electrical Engineering (specifically Dynamical Systems and Control)? Where could I have a shot at getting admitted?
The swedish system is quite different. Usually you apply to a 5-year Bachelor+Master program and then you already have a master when applying for a Ph.D. Also, the students are not very involved in research so I probably lack in research experience. Especially compared to 2nd-year Ph.D's in USA.
Short bio:
I had 100% A's in my Bachelor's degree. My master will have some B's and a C, but the average is still high. I have done a one-year exchange at École Polytechnique, a top french school. I did summer research at Caltech last summer which resulted in an accepted conference paper I presented recently. This summer I am doing another project at Polytechnique, with a bit of luck and blessing from my mentor it will result in a publication. I think I can get three strong letters of recommendation from my mentors in these projects and a contact at my home university. I can most likely get a very decent GRE Math score, but most EE programs don't seem to require it so I don't know if it would be a plus. I will be a tutor in a freshman Linear Algebra course during the autumn.
Questions:
Is it an advantage to already have a master when applying? If admitted, can I expect a shorter time until graduation? Europeans doing a phd in the states are especially welcome to answer.
Which US schools are strong in Electrical Engineering (specifically Dynamical Systems and Control)? Where could I have a shot at getting admitted?
