Exploring Quantum Computing: Top Universities for Postgraduate Studies

[Baggio]

Hi

Does anyone know which universities in england and US do post graduate study in Quantum Computing?

Raj

 

[Pengwuino]

I don't believe quantum computing is really a 'subject'. Its like... think of it this way

You have airplanes. Theres no major called "Airplane making" but you do have subjects such as physics, aerodynamics, materials science, electrical engineering. Thus, for quantum computing i think all you have is again, subjects like physics, electrical engineering, computer science, etc. and not something called "quantum computing". But i could be wrong.

 

[juvenal]

I don't believe quantum computing is really a 'subject'. Its like... think of it this way

You have airplanes. Theres no major called "Airplane making" but you do have subjects such as physics, aerodynamics, materials science, electrical engineering. Thus, for quantum computing i think all you have is again, subjects like physics, electrical engineering, computer science, etc. and not something called "quantum computing". But i could be wrong.

I don't think the OP was asking whether it was a major. I think he was asking more about what schools offers PhD's, say in physics, where your research is quantum computing.

Caltech has a couple physics profs doing quantum computing. John Preskill is one. I would look at quantum computing papers online (search via google) and find out which universities the authors are at.

 

[Pengwuino]

Ohh... well then does it even matter? Coudlnt you just do your thesis on whatever you really want as long as its related to the major?

 

[Baggio]

Yeah Juvenal that is what I meant. I've heard of J. Preskill.. his online lecture notes helped me a lot with my project on Q.C... Caltech is an option but I've heard it's so hard to get into and expensive especially for an international student :(

 

[Pengwuino]

http://www.gradoffice.caltech.edu/financial/est_budget.htm

But you can get a lot of TAships or RA's and fellowships to help out. Plus you can get a loan... and hell, come out of Caltech with a phd and that loan can be a million bucks and you'll still pay it off within a decade! or well... slight exageration but you get the point.

 

[HallsofIvy]

Ohh... well then does it even matter? Coudlnt you just do your thesis on whatever you really want as long as its related to the major?

YES BUT- it would certainly help to have professors who are knowledgeable in and have done research themselves in that particular area!

Seems to me the best way to answer that question is to look at journal articles in the area and see where the authors are.

 

[Baggio]

Pengwuino,

Yeah I checked that page out earlier - it's their maximum projected budget so considering it's caltech it's not too bad if you manage to get funding.. I'm not too familiar with the system you guys have there, how easy is it to get in?

 

[juvenal]

Pengwuino,

Yeah I checked that page out earlier - it's their maximum projected budget so considering it's caltech it's not too bad if you manage to get funding.. I'm not too familiar with the system you guys have there, how easy is it to get in?

It's not easy to get into, especially if you're applying as a theorist.

But Pengwuino is right. Physics grad students in the United States typically get fellowships (either teaching or research) and that means that tuition is paid for, and at Caltech you receive a stipend that is somewhere over 20K a year - enough to live on for a single person. I don't think there is a PhD candidate at Caltech who is not funded.

 

[Pengwuino]

Pengwuino,

Yeah I checked that page out earlier - it's their maximum projected budget so considering it's caltech it's not too bad if you manage to get funding.. I'm not too familiar with the system you guys have there, how easy is it to get in?

Ever hear of the old bible verse of 'its harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle then it is for a rich man to get into heaven"? Well... you have a camels chance of passing through the needle lol. Just kidding though... but its incredibly hard. Perfect scores are a must, national recognition for things is needed... only a few hundred get in each year to the undergrad program alone so grad school is... woo, you understand..

 

[juvenal]

Ohh... well then does it even matter? Coudlnt you just do your thesis on whatever you really want as long as its related to the major?

You need an professor to be your thesis adviser, and it's very hard to find one to do so if you decide to strike off on your own area of research. A professor wants grad students to work on topics that actually interest that prof.

 

[Baggio]

Haha ok, thanks for the rude awakening.. I guess I'll look at other options

Oh yeah, I'm hindu I don't read the bible :p

 

[Shockwave]

That would mean you read the Gita?

 

[Baggio]

My sister does, I'm not that religious at this point in my life.. maybe one day when I'm not spending 13 hrs a day studying :D

 

[loseyourname]

This is directly from the Cal Tech site:

What kind of financial aid is available?

All students admitted into the Physics Graduate Program are awarded a (GRA) Graduate Research Assistantship, (GTA) Graduate Teaching Assistantship or Graduate Fellowship and full tuition. Caltech Fellowships are awarded at the discretion of the Physics Graduate Admissions Committee, no additional application is required. It is strongly advised that you include your specific areas of interest among the various physics research groups in our department, in the space provided on the first page of the application, especially whether your interests are more theoretically or experimentally inclined. This will assist the Committee in evaluating your application and to best determine your source of funding. Current stipends for Caltech Fellowships range from $18,000 to $25,000. US students who are awarded NSF (National Science Foundation) Fellowships will be supplemented by the Physics Department up to the level of our initial offer, if applicable, during their first academic year of graduate study. In subsequent years NSF recipients may elect to add GRA or GTA funding to this fellowship. Typical stipends for GRAs over a twelve month period currently are $20,700 (beginning rate) to $22,350 (advanced rate). GTA stipends over a nine month period currently are $13,068 (grading) to $14,922 (teaching). Summer support is available by either a reading grant of $4140 for unattached first and eligible second year GTAs, or a GRA of up to $8280 over a three month period.

In short, you needn't worry about funding, should you manage to be admitted. Most US universities (especially privates) do the same with regard to graduate programs in the natural sciences.

By the way, here's the link to the entire FAQ page for applicants:

http://www.pma.caltech.edu/GSR/faqapplnt.html

 

[Baggio]

Excellent thanks

 

[cronxeh]

You don't need people to chew the knowledge for you and put it in your mouth.

Go to the library and dig into it. Start with the solid foundation - there are about 3 dozen topics that you must know before you think of getting into the quantum computing part. Off the top of my head you need:

Math
-Linear, Differential Equations, Partial Diff, Discrete, Statistics, Probablities, Multivariable (Vector analysis), Conformal mappings, Complex analysis, Topology

Physics
-E&M, Quantum, Statistical mechanics, Nuclear/Modern, lots of labs and knowledge of equipment

Computer Science
-objected oriented programming, combinatorial optimization, computational geometry, data structures, algorithm design - preferably in C/C++, Visual, or .NET

Electrical Engineering
-Circuits, Analog & Digital processing, EM fields, plasmas, fusions, VLSI, sensors, solid states, lines, fields, guided waves, nonlinear analysis, nonlinear optics, em diffraction & radiation, coherent optics, holography, estimation theory, chaos theory

You can go to any big university and major in either Physics, CS, EE, or Math and after you've spent 2 years in your basic classes covering aforementioned stuff, you can do your own research on Quantum computing. You won't be the guy that invented first ever quantum computer - so don't get your hopes up. However you might be one of the many guys who will work on hard algorithm and problems, optimizing and integrating new methods.

 

[Baggio]

Your post gave the impression that you think I've never looked into Q.C before?? I spent 10 weeks on a project about the subject which involved learning new maths in order to understand the various algorithms etc.. Everything you mentioned there I've done before though I only know perl/vb/fortran mainly but I can pick up C/C++

I've already looked into which universities offer QIS courses... I just want to get an impression of which schools are among the elite as I don't live in the U.S and don't have much experience of them.. Hope that makes things a little clearer

 

[cronxeh]

No it wasnt aimed at OP - matter of fact I forgot who original OP was. But rather to the concept that you need some specific college or university (CalTech particularly) and some particular people to be able to advance forward. In this age of information you can be "with" a researcher through his publications and e-mail half a world away.

Among the elite? Well whoever has the funds is 'elite' even if they don't have the profs. You'll need expensive equipment to run these tests and fabricate. You can find top schools here: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/natudoc/tier1/t1natudoc_brief.php Obvious choices are UC*, Stanford, Caltech, MIT, Harvard, Columbia, *SNIP*

There is another option. You can look into Canadian schools - some are great and very affordable. If you don't live in US, some other countries are easier to get into - you might as well save yourself the headache of INS

 

[e(ho0n3]

There's an excellent website, www.qubit.org, that should answer the original posted question.

 

[marlon]

I don't believe quantum computing is really a 'subject'. Its like... think of it this way

That is incorrect. Just check out : http://www.qubit.org/

regards
marlon

 

[Serpent Joe]

Lots of very helpful stuff so far in this thread. Thanks to everyone who's contributed.

I'm a computer science / computer systems engineering dual undergrad at a respected engineering school, about to finish my junior year, planning to graduate next spring, expected GPA above 3.5. I've done no undergrad research, but I could get in on a project next semester. I'm interested in (being a part of) actually constructing a QC, rather than writing algorithms.

Of the four disciplines listed in cronxeh's post, I'm most interested in physics and EE, yet neither of these are my major. I have two semesters left, not enough for a minor but enough to do some good. What's the outlook for someone like me?

 

[exequor]

For Q.C. I have read a lot of papers from MIT, not that I am really into it but I was just learning what it was all about... bottom line, I think MIT has done a lot of work there at the PhD level.

 

[neurocomp2003]

Canada's a lot cheaper-> University of Calgary and Mcmaster both have researchers in the field and so does waterloo now that they opened up a reserach institute...All 3 schools are pretty wellknown

 

[Alem2000]

I believe the original question was, is there a school that offers a mojor in quntum computing. The University of Maryland offers graduate studies for physics majors in
Quantum Electronics: Relativity & Quantum Mechanics
Spintronics & Spin Quantum Computing
Superconducting Quantum Computing
these are not all, just some of the most relevant to the original question.
http://www.physics.umd.edu/rgroups/exgroups.html. There is the link..enjoy

 

[Nenad]

U of Waterloo in Canada had a Quantum Computing sector designed just for that purpose.

Regards,

Nenad

 

[David Watson]

I am doing my masters degree in Physics along with B.Tech Electronics in INDIA. Do I have to appear for GRE to get admission to the PhD program in physics in MIT? What will be the research job prospects in quantum computation in the next 3 years?

 

[Baggio]

Thanks for your thoughts, I found that UC santa barbara has a lot of research going on quantum computing related so I'm going to check them out and probably not bother with caltech.. I may still apply to caltech but for some reason I have a good feeling about Santa Barbara