I am in the final semester of my mechanical engineering bachelors, though I could have finished my bachelors about  4 months ago, but I failed to clear 2 of my subjects, for which I would appear again in the December examination. Physics has always caught my attention, but then, everything I see catches my attention.I want to study physics now after I get my degree. The problem is my grades. I have scored an aggregate of 65% in my bachelors, but I can learn and understand things once I decide to do so. I am from India. How can I apply in foreign universities for MS, considering that they take engineering graduates for MS in physics, what kind of entrance/competitive exams would I have to give. Thanks.
17458
Can I be admitted to graduate school in a different field from my degree?  Specific cases include:   If I've taken plenty of advanced courses in field X in the process of completing a degree in another field, can I apply to graduate school in X? What if I haven't taken many courses in X, but I have acquired a good grasp of X through self-study or working in a related field? What if I've never studied X, but I have done very well in an unrelated field?  Could I be admitted to graduate school in X on the basis of general intellectual promise, and then make up the missing background after enrollment?   Note that this question is an attempt to provide a comprehensive answer, to avoid the need for a profusion of field-specific questions on this topic (see the associated ). Please feel free to edit the question or answer to improve them.
109930
I'm an undergrad in Australia, and at this stage I want to go on to do further study in maths (or maybe physics/CS, still have a few years till then).  Should I do so, I imagine that I will want to complete a PhD overseas. Possibly at a university in the US or maybe Oxbridge in the UK.  In Australia, PhDs typically take 3 or 4 years, and I would be eligible to go straight into a PhD upon completion of my undergraduate degree (it is research focused and includes an honours year, see ).  But, much of what I have found for overseas institutions has been in the range of 5-7 years, or maybe a 3-4 year PhD with a few years doing a master's degree beforehand.  Does this indicate that the level of rigour and amount of work produced is significantly different for various PhD programs, or is it the case that some programs are more relaxed and simply spread the same amount of work over a longer period of time?
29369
Would it be out of the ordinary to get a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and then go for a Masters in something like Civil or Structural Engineering?  I don't know a lot about how transitioning to a Masters program works.. Do people usually continue on in the same field, or is branching out common?
83325
I would begin by apologizing for a soft question. Reading the FAQ, I have tried to formulate my  question precisely in the last paragraph and you may skip the following paragraph where I make subjective observations, which I think may be relevant and any comments would be more than helpful. By formal education I mean registering in an academic department in a university as a grad/Phd Student.  Subjective belief: I feel I am personally not upto the mark of high-quality physics students. I need to learn a lot more, and do a lot more problems to be any good. I've noticed that Physics particularly is a very selective field dominated by hard-working and primarily young people who accomplish a lot at an early age (olympiads/contests, early phd's from very good places, etc). Even among this bunch a lot get filtered out and wouldn't get faculty positions. Theoretical Physicists tend to be outliers in a field almost entirely composed of outliers. And to learn from such a community, I feel an academic environment is essential, and not just reading books in isolation. So I beleive academia is the only legitimate environment that functions to produce sane physicists who know their field. However, if one has been set-back for some reason but carries the self-beleif that he can be smart enough to do it, would ageing be a parameter. I read a statement in Kleppner's undergrad mechancis book that "by finishing all this at the age of 26, Newton set the trend which follows today, that great advances are made by young physicists". I haven't found a counterexample so I would trust academic departments have the same criterion.  Q: Do people who missed out all the action in their 13-20 ages miss out on having a good career? What are the possible reasons to take a hiatus of "self-study" for a 22-year old so that he may be a good candiate for a respectable physics career (Phd/postdoc etc) later.
90764
What are/ were some of your good mathematician's study habits that you found really worked for you?  I'm a CS major at a respected school and have a solid GPA...  However, I definitely lack when it comes to getting great grades in relatively higher level maths (300 and 400 level).  I feel that even though I study a lot, I perhaps don't study effectively enough.  I would like to ask for any tips/ tricks as to how you keep yourself focused, motivated etc that could perhaps help me or others.  Thanks in advance.
104332
I am a 2nd year undergraduate student in Aerospace Engineering, in India. I am really willing to go into Academia as a researcher. I am specifically interested in Aerospace Controls. Some points to consider :  1) I love the fast internet access in university, so that I can research and learn all I want.  2) I have read up a few research papers regarding error reduction in GPS measurements, when I was doing a Supervised Project under a professor. Reading research papers are gruelling, but after 2-3 days of bending your mind over them and finally understanding what the author intended to say, I feel elated. In this specific case, I read up a few algorithms and got excited on the prospect of developing my own algorithms for error reductions.  3) I have a fair academic standing with a cumulative grade point of greater than 9 out of 10  So I would like a few pointers on what I can do now, as an undergraduate student to prepare for my PhD.
64576
I am doing masters in physics. I recently did internship in high energy physics for 2 months. But my institute allows me to do 6 months project only in condensed matter physics. I want to pursue PhD in high energy physics only. So, is it possible to pursue PhD in different area than master's thesis?
116758
Background: Five years ago, I obtained a Master's Degree from a top 10 American university in the Social Sciences.  I was a novice in academia, only one year post completing my Bachelor's degree, and simply not yet ready for the rigors of professional academia.  I had virtually no quantitative background from my Bachelor's degree, but after my first semester during my Master's program, I became interested in quantitative analysis, and registered for a doctoral level course in quantitative analysis.  I was simply not able to keep up with the course, and I received a C-, and my performance in my two remaining classes for the semester was negatively affected, and I earned a B- and B+.  For my final semester, I got my act together and earned three solid A's, including in two very quantitatively oriented courses.  I went on to pursue a second master's degree in a foreign school where, although by no means as prestigious as the first, I had a 4.0 GPA.  However, I am quite confident that my low GPA of a 3.33 from the first Master's will immediately kill any chance I have of receiving an admissions from American schools, which essentially means that one poor performance five years, at a time when I was an entirely different individual, will forever preclude me from pursuing my life's dreams.  I do not believe that it is in any way immoral to want send the transcript of my second master's degree, which I feel better represents who I am and what I am capable of, though obviously I am well aware that this is not allowed.    I am not trying to avoid responsibility for my academic performance, I am simply looking to pursue my life without being kept back by one poor performance five years ago.    Questions   Is it possible to request from my first university to have my degree revoked and registration cancelled in a legal, open, and transparent manner?  Is there any way that I can, once again, legally and by the book, not be forced to send in a transcript which will assuredly destroy my chances of being accepted or looked upon as series student?
58903
This question recently appeared :     Slashdot posts a fair number of physics stories. Many of us, myself included, don't have the background to understand them. So I'd like to ask the Slashdot math/physics community to construct a curriculum that gets me, an average college grad with two semesters of chemistry, one of calculus, and maybe 2-3 applied statistics courses, all the way to understanding the mathematics of general relativity. What would I need to learn, in what order, and what texts should I use? Before I get killed here, I know this isn't a weekend project, but it seems like it could be fun to do in my spare time for the next ... decade.   It seems like something that would be a good addition to this site: I think it's specific enough to be answerable but still generally useful. The textbook aspect is covered pretty well by , but beyond that: What college-level subjects in physics and math are prerequisites to studying general relativity in mathematical detail?
40746
Suppose you do bad in undergraduate school in say computer science. But you do very well in a masters program in computer science. If you want to apply to a PhD program in computer science, will the masters degree grades offset the undergraduate degree grades?
112210
I am a second year undergraduate and studying quantum mechanics from sakurai's 'Modern Quantum Mechanics'. Is it a good idea to solve problems from sakurai, which are mostly mathematical in nature? I need a textbook that has physically relevant problems, maybe going even into condensed matter, or field theory in its exercises. This would probably help me to appreciate and understand qm better. Sorry if this question is too localised but I just had to post it.
112731
While it is an unethical academic practice, it is a fact that most recommendation letters for MS degrees in US and Europe from countries like India and China are written by students themselves. Students apply en masse; the faculty strength in departments in many universities is small; the few professors hardly get the time to write recommendations for all applying students. Moreover a 4-year engineering degree is dominated by coursework and professors are unlikely to get to know students outside the classroom.   Let us set aside the question of whom to blame for this practice and look at the question that comes up on most applicants' minds:    "In the event that I have to write a recommendation letter on my own, what are the points I need to bear in mind?"    I have the following points:   Ensuring similarity of language among all letters from a particular professor maturity of presentation and avoidance of blandishment Creating tonal differences among different recommendation letters.   Could someone elaborate on these points? The third one is oft-quoted but is found to be very tough to execute in practice.
91478
I'm doing a masters course at a different university than I did my undergrad (both in maths). I did well in my undergrad but now I'm finding it very difficult. The shock of the change is hard to cope with.  I'm not just finding it very difficult, but I get zero feedback: we don't have any tests and I was not able to make friends so I don't know how others are finding it. I'm starting to think that I might be an idiot.   How can I build some confidence in my abilities at the same time as I rush and struggle to keep up with the massive rate of new material I need to learn? How might I get myself some reassurance that I can actually pass, or stop worrying about this so much? (I feel terribly guilty using so much money from my family to be here) It's possible that I don't really have a chance at all but knowing that would be fine.
3142
Note: I will expand this question with more specific points when I have my own internet connection and more time (we're moving in, so I'm at a friend's house).  This question is broad, involved, and to some degree subjective.  (I started out as a physics-only student, but eventually decided to add a mathematics major. I am greatly interested in mathematics; the typical curriculum required for physics students is not deep or thorough enough; mathematics is more general (that means work!); and it only requires a few more classes. Naturally, I enjoy  immensely.)  This question asks mainly of undergraduate-level study, but feel free to discuss graduate-level study if you like.  Please do not rush your answer or try to be comprehensive. I realize the StackOverflow model rewards quick answers, but I would rather wait for a thoughtful, thorough (on a point) answer than get a fast, cluttered one. (As you probably know,  produces clear, useful writing; and a properly-done comprehensive answer would take more than a reasonable amount of time and effort.) If you think an overview is necessary, that is fine.  For a question this large, I think the best thing to do is focus on a specific area in each answer.    Update: To Sklivvz, Cedric, Noldorin and everyone else: I had to run off before I could finish, but I wanted to say I knew I would regret this; I was cranky and not thinking clearly, mainly from not eating enough during the day. I am sorry for my sharp responses and for not waiting for my reaction to pass. I apologize.  Re: Curricula:   Please note that I am not asking about choosing your own curriculum in college or university. I did not explicitly say that, but several people believed that was my meaning. I will ask more specific questions later, but the main idea is how a physics student should study mathematics (on his or her own, but also by choosing courses if available) to be a competent mathematician with a view to studying physics.  I merely mentioned adding a mathematics major to illustrate my conclusion that physics student need a deeper mathematical grounding than they typically receive.   And now I have to run off again.
10808
I'm currently an M. Phil student in Math and I failed a course last semester because I was not able to hand in a home work assignment (which was worth 40% of my grade) on time (I was 30 minutes late).   Apart from that I'd say I'm a fairly decent student, I got an upper second class honours bachelors degree, I have a B+ and A's for all my other courses in my current programme and I'm almost finished with my first paper to be published.   I've however been deeply worried about this failure as it would reflect poorly on my transcript if I were to apply to a Ph.D or another Master's programme.   Will my failing grade affect my chances of getting into a competitive programme or greatly lower my chances of getting a scholarship?
42320
I think this question has its place here because I am sure some of you are "self-taught experts" and can guide me a little through this process.  Considering that :   I don't have any physics scholar background at all. I have a little math background but nothing too complicated like calculus I am a fast learner and am willing to put many efforts into learning physics I am a computer programmer and analyst with a passion for physics laws, theories, studies and everything that helps me understand how things work or making me change the way I see things around me.   Where do I start ? I mean.. Is there even a starting point ? Do I absolutly have to choose a type of physic ? Is it possible to learn physics on your own ?  I know it's a general question but i'm sure you understand that i'm a little bit in the dark here.
44190
I have completed all the requirements for an M.S. degree and have filed the appropriate paperwork. All I have left to do is walk at the end of this semester. I want to put this on my CV, but it seems appropriate to differentiate it from my Ph.D., which is (only) "In progress", and another M.S. which I completed a few years ago.   How should I express this on my CV? Should I say "Anticipated" or "Expected", with the date?   My question is different than  because that question asks about a degree that was entirely incomplete, unawarded, and is not likely to ever be awarded. In my situation, the degree needs only to be formally awarded.