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Introduction to

Graduate School

June 5, 2024

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

June 1, 2022

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Introduction to

Graduate School

Overview of Talk Series

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Who are we?

Graduate students in physics

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PGSC: Elected physics graduate students that work to improve our department (essentially graduate SPS)

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Polaris: Non-departmental partnership between grads and undergrads in physics/astronomy working on DEI initiatives

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Series schedule

June 5: Introduction to Graduate School & Selecting Grad Schools

June 12: Applications, Fellowships, and Asking for Letters

June 20: Personal Statements & CVs

June 26: Graduate Student Panel

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Introduction to

Graduate School

  1. What is graduate school?
  2. What to expect in grad school?
  3. Why go to graduate school?
  4. Why not to go to graduate school?
  5. How to choose a grad school?
  6. Q&A

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Introduction to

Graduate School

What does physics or astronomy graduate school consist of?

  • Core courses (Years 1-2)
  • Electives (Years 2-3)
  • Full-time research (Years 1-7)

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What do you learn in physics or astronomy graduate school?

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How do you pay for physics or astronomy graduate school?

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Introduction to

Graduate School

What does physics or astronomy graduate school consist of?

  • Core courses (Years 1-2)
  • Electives (Years 2-3)
  • Full-time research (Years 1-7)

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What do you learn in physics or astronomy graduate school?

  • General grasp of core concepts
  • In-depth knowledge of subfield
  • Technical skills
  • Research skills

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How do you pay for physics or astronomy graduate school?

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Research Skills

Technical Skills

Technical Skills

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Introduction to

Graduate School

What does physics or astronomy graduate school consist of?

  • Core courses (Years 1-2)
  • Electives (Years 2-3)
  • Full-time research (Years 1-7)

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What do you learn in physics or astronomy graduate school?

  • General grasp of core concepts
  • In-depth knowledge of subfield
  • Technical skills
  • Research skills

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How do you pay for physics or astronomy graduate school?

  • Research Associateship
  • Teaching Associateship
  • Fellowship

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Introduction to

Graduate School

Reasons to pursue physics or astronomy graduate school:

To do research and pursue a job that requires a physics PhD.

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What can I do with a physics or astronomy PhD?

  1. Academia
  2. National labs
  3. Industry

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Introduction to

Graduate School

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Introduction to

Graduate School

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Introduction to

Graduate School

Bad reasons to go to graduate school:

  • Clout
  • “I don’t know what else to do, so might as well”
  • Someone else wants you to go
  • You have career goals that do not require a PhD
  • The inevitable fame
  • The fortune
  • The notoriety

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Choosing the right graduate school for you

How to Choose the right graduate school for you

The list below is not complete but provides a good place to start thinking.

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Considerations for your graduate program

  1. Quality of Program / Potential Research Opportunities
  2. Financial Costs
  3. Employment
  4. Facilities
  5. Geographic Location
  6. Student Life
  7. Outside Interests

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Choosing the right graduate school for you

Quality of the Program

  • Rankings tell you little (US News Rankings)
  • Faculty
    • How many in area of interest
    • Research output
    • Possible collaborations
    • Are research groups taking students
  • Students
    • Average graduation time
    • Representation at conferences
    • Are they happy?
  • Program
    • Qualifying exams / other requirements
    • Curriculum is not that important

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Choosing the right graduate school for you

Financial costs

  • Application cost
  • Stipend amount
  • Hidden fees (student fees, healthcare, etc.)
  • How long is funding guaranteed
  • Typical years spent TA’ing
  • Cost of living in area
  • Travel costs

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Use a cost of living comparison calculator!

https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator/compare/columbus-oh-vs-los-angeles-long-beach-ca

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Example: Must earn $51,544 in Los Angeles to have same standard of living as $30,000 in Columbus

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Choosing the right graduate school for you

Employment

  • What are students doing after graduation
  • Common program extras
    • Internship
    • Externships
    • National lab extended visits
  • Professional development programs

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Choosing the right graduate school for you

Research Facilities

  • Individual labs
  • Office spaces
  • Public research centers
    • User Facilities
  • Computing Facilities

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Choosing the right graduate school for you

Geographic location

  • Do you want to live here?
  • Cost of living (again)
  • Typical housing
  • Typical commute
  • What is the weather like?
    • Natural disasters and day-to-day
  • Is it walkable or do you have to have a car?

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Choosing the right graduate school for you

Student life

  • Department culture
    • Diversity of grad student body
    • Community Atmosphere
    • Active progress on departmental concerns
  • On campus events
  • Student groups
  • On campus facilities
    • Gyms
    • Unions
    • Housing

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Choosing the right graduate school for you

Outside Interests

  • Ideally 30% of your time is spent not asleep or in lab
    • Is this true for grad students at your institution
  • Are there things to do in the location that align with your interests outside of school
  • Are there new things you hadn’t considered before that seem interesting

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Having outlets and other interests are how you survive grad school! This is a very important consideration that often gets overlooked!

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Choosing the right graduate school for you

Who to talk to about programs you’re considering?

  • Professors
  • Current graduate students
  • Graduate advisors
  • Their version of PGSC

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The best times to talk to people on this list are when you are determining which schools to apply to and once you have been admitted to the program.

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https://gradschoolshopper.com/

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Make a spreadsheet!

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Physics graduate school requirements

  1. Academics
    • Transcript
    • Standardized Testing*
  2. Research
  3. Extra-curriculars

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Academics

  1. Transcripts
    • Many schools require 3.0+ GPA (e.g. Ohio State)
    • Physics and astronomy curricula
      • Relevant electives courses and labs
      • Honors programs
      • Related out of department courses or majors

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2. Standardized testing

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Academics

  1. Transcripts
    • Many schools require 3.0+ GPA (e.g. Ohio State)
    • Physics and astronomy curricula
      • Relevant electives courses and labs
      • Honors programs
      • Related out of department courses or majors

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2. Standardized testing (some schools not requiring this anymore)

    • GRE
    • Physics GRE
    • TOEFL
    • You need to study

Focus of an upcoming workshop

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Research

  • Find out if you enjoy scientific research
  • Learn skills helpful for graduate school or post bachelor’s job
  • Find the subfield you are interested in for graduate school
  • Get letters of recommendation

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Research

  1. Never too early to get involved
    • Email professors
    • Try their offices
    • Each research group will have a different onboarding process
  2. Publications, posters, presentations
  3. Summer REUs are a great way to explore more research opportunities

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Research

  1. Never too early to get involved
    • Email professors
    • Try their offices
    • Each research group will have a different onboarding process
  2. Publications, posters, presentations
    • Not main goal of undergraduate research
    • Some subfields do not even lend themselves to undergraduate authors
  3. Summer REUs are a great way to explore more research opportunities

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Research

  1. Never too early to get involved
    • Email professors
    • Try their offices
    • Each research group will have a different onboarding process
  2. Publications, posters, presentations
    • Not main goal of undergraduate research
    • Some subfields do not even lend themselves to undergraduate authors
  3. Summer REUs are a great way to explore more research opportunities

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Extra-curriculars

    • Clubs (e.g. SPS, Sigma Pi Sigma, SWiP, Polaris, SEDS, etc.)
    • Outreach
    • Teaching
    • Do not need to be physics focused

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Application

  • Transcript
  • Test Scores
  • CV (possibly)
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Diversity Statement
  • 3 Letters of recommendation
    • Research related
    • Academic related
    • Research or academic

Every school will have a slightly different application but you should be able to reuse most materials for every one! Statements may vary school to school

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Cost of application

  • GRE: $205 + $27/school
  • Physics GRE: $150
  • Application fee: ~$100/school

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For ten school typically costs ~$2000

Can apply for fee waivers for school and tests

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Year 1-4: Pursue research opportunities

Extracurriculars

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Year 3: Surveying graduate schools

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Summer before Year 4: Study for pGRE

Study for / take GRE

Begin statements

Reach out to professors at schools

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August Year 4: Drafts of statements

Ask for letters of recommendation

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September Year 4: pGRE

Statement editing

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October Year 4: pGRE

Fellowships due

Finalize statements

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November Year 4: Finalize applications

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December Year 4: Submit applications

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January – April Year 4: Results and visits

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Graduate School Application outside the US

  • Canada: Similar, but they prefer you to apply to Int. PhD (MS + PhD) programs
  • Europe: (In a lot of cases they prefer students who have a Masters)
    • send a mail to the professor asking for a PhD position
    • attach your CV
    • apply for a fellowship separately
    • no GRE scores, sometimes no application fee
    • some Europe schools have a program and therefore an application portal
  • Other international programs are also good options, but follow similar processes as US or European schools

Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Any questions?

Email us at

osupgsc@gmail.com

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