Schools Should I Apply to Physics or Biophysics PhD Programs as an Applied Math Major?

AI Thread Summary
A senior undergraduate at a California state university is preparing to apply for PhD programs in computational biophysics, focusing on protein and enzyme structure and dynamics. With a GPA of 3.73 overall and a perfect 4.0 in physics, the applicant has participated in three research programs and presented at three conferences, though lacks publications. They have extensive programming experience in several languages and tools relevant to their field. The applicant seeks advice on whether their applied math major with a physics minor might hinder their acceptance into PhD programs and whether to apply to physics departments with biophysics research or directly to biophysics departments. The discussion highlights the importance of networking and personal connections in the application process, emphasizing that diverse academic backgrounds can still lead to successful admissions in biophysics.
strangequark
Messages
37
Reaction score
0
Ok, I know there has probably been a vast number of posts exactly like this one, but...

I'm a senior undergrad at a california state university and will be applying to grad school this semester. Preferably I want to get into a PhD program in computational biophysics, specifically I'm interested in computational studies of protein/enzyme structure and dynamics (like folding and signaling). I have a 3.73 overall gpa and a 4.0 in physics, and I've also done 3 research programs (in microbiology, mathematical biology and chemical physics). Though I've presented posters at 3 conferences, I've no publications (yet). Also, I haven't taken GRE's yet, but don't plan to do exceptionally well. I also have ALOT of programming experience (C, C++, Fortran, perl, charmm, namd/vmd, mathematica, matlab).

My first question is, as an applied math major (physics minor) will Ph D programs be hesitant to accept me? I'm not expecting to get into MIT or harvard, but somewhere?

Second, would I be better off applying to physics departments who have faculty doing research in biophysics (recommendations?) or to biophysics departments (there aren't many)?

Thanks for your input/suggestions.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I know a phd student in biophysics in a relatively well known school, soon to graduate (less than a month), who received a bachelor of arts (yes arts, not science) in math from a state university. He's a bright guy and took many physics courses along with his BA. It's definitely possible, find a department, meet the people and get that human thing going (getting to know them, they meet you and make that mental judgement 'yeah, we can abuse that person') etc. He met his advisor at a talk and started things that way. Good luck.
 
TL;DR Summary: I want to do a PhD in applied math but I hate group theory, is this a big problem? Hello, I am a second-year math and physics double major with a minor in data science. I just finished group theory (today actually), and it was my least favorite class in all of university so far. It doesn't interest me, and I am also very bad at it compared to other math courses I have done. The other courses I have done are calculus I-III, ODEs, Linear Algebra, and Prob/Stats. Is it a...
I’ve been looking through the curricula of several European theoretical/mathematical physics MSc programs (ETH, Oxford, Cambridge, LMU, ENS Paris, etc), and I’m struck by how little emphasis they place on advanced fundamental courses. Nearly everything seems to be research-adjacent: string theory, quantum field theory, quantum optics, cosmology, soft matter physics, black hole radiation, etc. What I don’t see are the kinds of “second-pass fundamentals” I was hoping for, things like...

Similar threads

Replies
3
Views
3K
Replies
12
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
7
Views
2K
Replies
63
Views
8K
Replies
9
Views
2K
Back
Top