PhD in United States after Imperial MSc QFFF

[lowea001]

Hello,

I've recently been admitted to the MSc QFFF program at Imperial College London for the 2019-2020 year and am seeking advice regarding possible career paths/was wondering if anyone is in a similar situation. My end goal is to do a PhD in the United States since (for non-academic reasons) -- preferably beginning in 2020 -- but I have 2 concerns which are making me hesitate to accept the offer, despite the fact that it looks really fun:

1. Due to the application timeline for US universities, I don't think my performance in this program will affect my applications (the transcripts will not be ready in time) unless I wait a year and apply in 2021. Therefore I'm questioning the value (against the fees) of the Master's degree.

2. My areas of interest are in condensed matter theory and quantum information so I'm not sure the compulsory content of the program is optimally relevant. That being said, the topics are exciting (quantum field theory, string theory, unification) and there might be some overlap in the couple of courses that I can choose as electives (quantum information, quantum matter).

Finally, my undergraduate degree is a 50/50 mix of computer science and physics and I'd like more background in theoretical physics topics to be competitive in PhD admissions. I realize this is all subjective but I would be grateful to hear any opinions since I've had a difficult time receiving any guidance from my university/peers on this matter. Specifically, to what degree would accepting the offer make me more competitive for top PhD programs in the US?

 

[Vanadium 50]

As you say, you won[t have enough track record with this university before applications are due to make much of a difference. So you need to decide whether a year's delay is worth it. Also, if it fits into your statement of purpose that will look better than if it looks like you are still in the exploratory stage.