What is Grad: Definition and 1000 Discussions

Hello, I'm stuck on the decision of having my undergrad degree be an ME or my grad degree be ME. I'm currently listed as Astronautical Engineering (which is what I really want to get into) but I know that it's essentially specialized ME. I don't want to limit my job sphere, so I'm pondering...

Online degree --> Grad School in the USA Hi, I need a plan B, in case I don't get into the universities I applied to. (highly selective) My local university doesn't have an applied math major nor a stats one and they don't allow double majors. I was wondering if I could do an online degree...

2 Q's: overseas worth it & "how to" CV for grad school Hello, I'm doing my last undergraduate year this year in my country of birth (Central-Europe) and I've made up my mind about doing my graduate (in theoretical physics) abroad: desire for a more vibrant, stimulating scientific environment...

Is not going to grad school, right after undergrad, going to hurt one's chances at getting into any graduate program at some other point in the future? I think I would want to go (maths/physics/stats) but I would like to teach for a few years first.

I've been reading the depressing forums over at "thegradcafe.com" and am beginning to wonder if I can get into any graduate school. From the sound of things over there, it is as if I should have published 10 papers and have a statue in gold at my undergrad university in order to be able to get...

Homework Statement If scalar s=x^3 + 2xy + yz^2 and vector v = (xy^3, 2y + z, z^2) find: (a) grad (s) (b) div v (c) curl v Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I'm entirely lost at how to do this. I think that grad s is the derivative of the scalar. I think that div is...

Hello, I am thinking of going to grad school for EE or Applied Math, and I wanted to ask about personal experiences. What made you choose the grad school you chose? Are you happy there? Did the weather affect you? If you could choose a grad school over again, would you use a different...

I'm an undergraduate at a quality (though not highly ranked) private school in the US, but I think I'd like to go to grad school in Canada for the experience. My grades are decent (~3.70) and will have a couple of years of research by the time I graduate. I'm thinking of applying for a masters...

So, five years ago, at a pretty prestigious North American univ, I was accused of cheating on a take home exam. I hadn't cheated, but unluckily, I made careless mistakes that were similar to where I was supposed to be cheating from (and this was on a predominantly maths based paper) and so I...

Another Can I get into " " for Grad school? I couldn't find a good enough anwser. Topic I'll explain my situation, I'm dual major in Math & Physics attempting to get my Graduate degree in physics(Nonlinear systems :Optics, Q&M and Particle Physic). I know my 3.4 GPA is probably not good...

I have a bachelors in economics and am playing with the idea of returning to school for applied math or statistics. What would I have to do to get into graduate school? Would I have to return to school as an undergrad and get a second bachelors? Or is it possible to just take a few upper...

hi - does it matter if you do research or not in astronomy as an undergrad? is it ok to just do undergrad physics research for astronomy grad school? does it look any better to do astronomy research versus physics research as an undergrad, or any physics will do? I'm asking as a matter of...

We just started back at school on Monday and I am taking a graduate algebra course. I have taken undergrad Algebra I and Algebra II. Of course I expected that the graduate Algebra I would be much more in depth than the undergrad course, given that it is meant to prepare a student for the comps...

I'm senior UCSB phys program that currently has 2.6 GPA not good at all this year I'm retaking some classes and working hard to improve my GPA and plan on boosting to 2.9. Right now I'm studying for physGRE, and getting research. Right now I'm looking at masters programs at CSUs and wondering...

And man has technology in the classroom advanced at breakneck speed. I've only been away for 5 years and I'm having trouble trying to learn it. Is it me, or has technology actually made learning worse? Why can't things be simple anymore? All I want is a lecture, an assignment, and test. Now...

hi all, i am a graduate student, i need to choose 1 subject from A>> Broadband networks:: which is somewhat theoretical and deals with Physics of wireless and optical communications. Broadband multiplexing and switching methods. Blocking and queuing analysis. Network optimization...

Hello, I'm a physics BS and I'm considering pursuing a graduate degree. Ideally I'd like to pursue a PhD in physics, and I'd like a reality check on my chances of admission. What's really putting a damper on things is my mediocre GPA - 2.81 . I'm well aware that this hurts me lots on graduate...

I really want to go to grad school for math... preferably a master's simply because I don't want to commit to a 5+ year phd program (still considering various career options). However my background in math is weak because I'm attending a small state school with no reputation for math, and where...

Why do first-year grad students take classical mechanics, besides those wanting to analyze mechanical systems? This would be a course along the lines of Goldstein, etc. Do some of the concepts/methods show up later in quantum mechanics, nuclear physics? If they skipped this mechanics...

I'm an undergrad at Carleton University (Canada) in EngPhys. I just finished my third year. My interest is in semiconductor physics. I have a A average grade, and two years research experience. I was wondering, is aiming for MSE at Berkeley or UIllinois or Michigan too high for me? What about...

Is there anything "wrong" with applying to two programs at the same school, in different departments? Is this looked down upon in any way? I'll be applying for grad schools in the next few months, and I'm quite interested in an interdisciplinary area of research. Maryland has a "Chaos Group,"...

Hello, I'm an undergraduate in UC Berkeley who's considering going to an engineering graduate school. The problem is that I'm intending for a physics major. According to different sources, the fact that I'm majoring in physics itself isn't too much of a problem for getting accepted to the...

What fields can I get into with these two degrees?

After years of diligence, my undergraduate program will be ending after this year. I have yet to decide on any graduate schools to apply to and don't really think it is worth applying to schools I am sure I won't be accepted to. My problems are as follows: -My GPA is at a 3.23 entering my...

Grad School or Career??! Hello all. I am currently an undergrad student majoring in math and physics. I am experiencing extreme ambivalence currently so hopefully someone can give me some advice. I am a quite good student, especially in physics. My GPA is >3.9. I am a senior and will be...

So I have a problem that really isn't a problem. At my school, I have 3 professors that I know very well and have done research with. They all could write me very glowing and personal recommendations, but I go to a liberal arts school and I'm applying to school for Geophysics. Right now I'm...

I'd like some advice. I go to university of illinois. My phys/math gpa is ~2.6. An in-depth explanation for my poor grades is out of place here, and they are reasons that I certainly cannot put in an application (various personal issues, mostly confidence problems and test anxiety, etc). I've...

Hi guys, I'm just about to start university however because of some weird thing with advanced credits because I did IB, I have to declare what I want to take this year. I did a bunch of deliberation and finally settled on an Honours Physics degree. I'm wondering: what kind of job...

I am a prospective physics student currently attending a 4-year university. As I began to work in a lab in preparation for graduate school, I have been hearing cases of people with physics degree switch their graduate major/concentration and go to physics-related mathematics or engineering...

Well after reading tons of posts and talking to my friends who are headed off to grad school here is what everyone says: PGRE is really important, GPA is really important, publications really important, leadership roles really important, multiple years of research experience really important...

I've started to look at graduate schools and I am really interested in doing solar physics, although I am very interested in more general astrophysics as well. Of course we all want to go to a great school but I want to be realistic about where I can get in ect. Location is a big deal to me as...

Hello, I'm looking to get into grad school for physics, but I've done very little research. I did a little bit of astrophysics research early in my college career and a little bit in the field I want to pursue (nanobiosensor stuff), but nothing substantial. However, after college, I did...

Hi everyone, So my question is, do grad schools care about the topic of your research when you're an undergrad? I'm interested in high energy/particle theory but obviously I'm not doing research in that since I'm an undergrad. I did a semester's worth of work with the high energy exp group...

I'm an undergrad at an Ivy League school with very good grades and a lot of research experience. I want to go to grad school in Europe: England (Oxford, Cambridge obviously), Italy(I speak Italian), or Scandinavia (or anywhere where english is spoken in the physics world). I know in the US...

Hello PF, I'm currently an undergrad electrical engineering student at a large state university. I am hoping very much to go to graduate school, either for further development of my EE skills, or for something different such as economics. My situation is this: I will be a fifth-year senior...

What is the general strategy in solving vector equations involving grad and the scalar product? In particular, I want to express \Lambda in terms from \mathbf U \cdot \nabla\Lambda = \Phi but it looks impossible, unless there is some vector identity I can use. Thanks in advance.

Are there any specific math classes that grad schools prefer you take beyond the requirements of the physics major? I hear physics majors taking things like real analysis and other things I see no point in taking because of how little application I see. I'm pretty good with math in general and...

I just finished my first year as a math/chem. major and have been toying with the idea of going to grad school right after undergrad to go for a PHD.(Not sure if I want to do applied math or physical chem, yet). My question is though if you go to grad school, will your undergraduate loans be put...

Hi Everyone, I just finished up the GRE with with a Verbal:530, Q:780, A:5.5 and was wondering how much that low verbal score would hurt my chances at top grad schools in astrophysics. I know a lot of averages are ~600ish, but I have the following on my resume which I think is rather...

Do grad selections committees know... I am a Chinese student, going to apply for grad school in the US. I went on for exchange in a school that has quite good reputation in physics research, probably top 20 in the US. My experience: it is much harder for a student to get an A here than in...

Hey guys, So I'm a physics major who wants to go to grad school in theory. My current preference is high energy theory but I'm open to other fields of course. My question is, if I want to go into theoretical physics or any very mathematical field of physics is it better for my grad school...

Hello everyone, I am an undergrad double majoring in mechanical engineering and mathematics. I want to say, up front, that I cannot really see myself ever pursuing a degree in pure math. I expect (at least, for now this is the case -- who knows what the future actually holds), that I will stay...

Hello all, What are some safety physics grad schools, preferably in California. (I have 3.4 GPA). I'm going into spintronics/condensed matter. Right now I am applying to UCSB, Stanford, UCB, Caltech. Obviously all are quite a reach for me, so I am looking for some good safety schools...

I'm heading into my first semester as a senior physics major, and I'm still deciding how many courses I should take. I started studying for the physics GRE today and I plan on taking it, along with the General GRE, in October. Most of my graduate school applications appear to be due on...

I graduated with a degree in civil engineering in Dec 2010, but only after realizing a year prior that I would rather study physics, so now I'm considering going back to school. I'll be honest, the only CE class that interested me was fluid dynamics and I put as little effort into my other...

hello, This is going to be my first post on pf, even though I have been following the insightful topics for a long time.I have majored in physics and after that I have decided to follow a grad course and do something where I can apply my knowledge of physics and get a good job after it. can...

I am currently deciding between going for an aerospace degree or an engineering physics degree with concentrations in space topics (propulsion, system design, etc). I am interested in propulsion systems and possibly doing research and development in this this field. I think enjoy the science...

Hi everyone, does anyone know what the typical job market is like for recent graduates in the geophysics field. I mean given the price of oil and the global financial crisis does one even stand a chance. I like to hear from some of you who are in the geoscience field as well. I know Alberta...

I posted before when I was considering a career in the Navy as a Nuclear Propulsion officer. Though I have not fully thrown the idea out, I landed a civilian job in the nuclear industry. I was looking into the Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard, and was wondering how it would actually...

I had a question about becoming a Professional Engineer. My question is : can you be an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) and earn you Professional Engineer's license (PE) while go to graduate school for a MS/PhD at the same time?