Get a Ph.D. in Physics

How to prepare for a Ph.D. in physics, beginning with undergraduate experience and curriculum through the defense of your thesis. There are a lot of steps, but the process usually takes 8 or more years.

Steps

Is a Ph.D. in physics a good choice?

  1. First and foremost: Ask yourself "is physics for me?" Can you become so interested in something that you're willing to do it for the next 50 years? Are you doing it because you're interested or are you doing it for the "glory"? People who go into physics because they want to be the next Feynman or Einstein are soon disappointed. You have a successful career in physics because you enjoy it and find it compelling.
  2. There is practically only one reason to get a Ph.D. in physics: to be a physicist. It's a tough road, but very rewarding. You get to use your mind for a living, which is a rare privilege. You'll work with people from around the world. The time flies when you're really into a subject. And you get to grow old with other physicists - for the most part you'll find that they have wonderful senses of humor: quirky and creative.

Undergraduate degree

  1. Undergraduate curriculum: Of course, you should take the courses required to complete an undergraduate degree in physics. For the most part, the other courses you choose don't matter, though a minor or a double-major in math can't hurt. You can take courses in other areas that you find interesting, since it's mostly the GPA that matters when applying to graduate school. However, you should ensure that your coursework includes the highest-level quantum mechanics and electromagnetism courses. Also, statistical mechanics can be really useful.
  2. Undergraduate performance: Your application will be evaluated using four criteria: 1) grades, 2) GRE scores, 3) your institution (internationally recognized physics program is best), and 4) undergraduate research experience. Different schools place different levels of priority on these items. For the most part, you can assume that each factor matters equally.
  3. Undergraduate experience: You should definitely obtain experience with a physics research program, by working with a faculty member or an undergraduate research program. This means an activity that usually doesn't give college credit. It plays three roles: 1) you get experience in a lab, so you get an idea of what you're getting into, 2) you establish a close relationship with a faculty member who can write you a strong recommendation, and 3) you have evidence that you can function in the field of physics. Fortunately, most of these jobs pay - you can work hard over the summer and work part-time over the year. It is never too early to get started.
  4. To choose the research you do, go to your undergraduate adviser to determine which opportunities are available in your department. Always interview upper class students to help you avoid bad programs. A web search will also help you identify summer programs outside your college. The advantage of these external programs is that they typically are run by extremely reputable institutions, and one of your recommendations will come from outside your college faculty.

Applying to and choosing a grad school

  1. GRE Preparation: The Graduate Record Exam in physics is a *major* determinant in your grad school application. Get practice exams and preparation manuals. You can never be too ready. You may even want to take it a couple of times, just to increase your odds of getting a good score (ask whether it's to your advantage first).
  2. The test questions mostly involve basic principles of your undergraduate courses. There is a wide range of topics. *Do not assume* that the questions will only be from the courses you've taken. In all likelihood, there will be questions from courses you haven't completed yet.
  3. You don't need to worry about the general sections as much. Of course, the better score the better, but you'll probably already be good at the quantitative and analytical problems, and the verbal section doesn't matter as much. You should definitely take a look at the practice tests, though, to see where you might have trouble and know if you should prepare.
  4. Make sure you'll get the results in time for the grad school applications.
  5. Choosing a grad school: It's tough to tell whether you'll enjoy a particular grad school. Talk to the faculty you're most familiar with, and see if they feel strongly about certain schools. That way, you'll be more likely to choose a school is compatible with your interests, and more importantly, the faculty member will be an ally in the process and will probably increase the odds of you being accepted.

Grad school coursework

  1. Once you're accepted and have started grad school: Believe it or not, the grades you get in your graduate courses aren't nearly as important as your qualifying exams and research performance. The qualifying exam is a major hurdle, and determines whether you'll be able to start your Ph.D. research. The sooner you pass the exam, the better - you'll get your pick of thesis advisers if you pass quickly. Programs can vary, but usually the exam is 1/2-1 day long, covers all topics, and should be passed by the end of your primary coursework.
  2. Preparing for the qualifying exam: It's like an advanced physics GRE, and you can't prepare enough. Ask students who've survived the process how you can do the same.

Thesis research

  1. Finding a thesis adviser: in most cases, you should try to get a thesis adviser as soon as possible. Being a teaching assistant is great experience, but you've got to focus on graduating eventually. *You should choose a topic and adviser you'll enjoy!* This can't be stressed enough. If you choose an adviser or topic for any other reason, you may not enjoy the work, and your performance will suffer. Additionally, many students who choose an unnecessarily difficult course end up hating physics and leaving the field. Remember, you'll be doing this for decades.
  2. Oral exam: Take your oral exam when your thesis adviser says you're ready. Usually, the oral exam is *much* easier than the written exam. The exam is to determine whether you're ready to start your thesis work. You'll be asked questions on your research topic, and you'll probably also be asked some general physics questions as well. Always try to answer a question. Perhaps you won't know how to solve the problem, so you should show that you have an understanding of the underlying physics. Most times a student doesn't answer all the questions completely or correctly. Some oral exam committees will even ramp up the difficulty of the questions until they're out of your league, just to see how you perform. Practice reasoning out loud and keep chipping away at a problem - this is always better than just saying you don't know.
  3. Research activities: Read lots of journal papers in your field. It's painful at first (you may not understand a word of it) but it gets much easier over time. You need to become conversant in your research field.
  4. Try to get a couple of refereed publications under your belt. It means a lot when you're trying to find a position after grad school. Also, try to present a couple papers at conferences. It'll get you more exposure and it's a great (but sometimes stressful) way to see how your research fits into the rest of the field.

Surviving writing your thesis

  1. Writing your thesis: Ouch, ouch, ouch. Nearly every one hates this part. You probably like your thesis topic, but writing hundreds of pages about it can be really horrible. If you have some publications, definitely use them to fill chapters. Just add more general comments, but the description and figures save you labor and definitely should be included in your thesis anyhow.
  2. A *major* problem is that you'll probably get distracted by something you're writing about at the time. You'll be tempted to explore some topics further or you'll be reminded of something you meant to do earlier. And your mind will probably be trying to find *anything* else to think about.
  3. Start with the outline. You fill in the verbiage last, usually. Figure out what you need to say, divide it into chapters, and work on the supporting figures next. You'll need plenty of figures and tables to support your conclusions. Additionally, reviewers on your committee may not read *every* word, but they usually look at all of the figures and read the captions to get the gist of what's going on.
  4. Filling in the verbiage is usually the worst part. it often helps to say it out loud - explain the items as if you're giving a complete talk on the subject, and record it. Then you'll have everything covered and it makes sense - you just have to translate it to a more passive tense.
  5. When you write, *only* write. Give yourself a time span where you allow yourself no option of doing anything else but writing. Sometimes it helps to write in the same office/coffee shop/etc. with another student working on their thesis, if you both can keep each other on task. You can take breaks together and take the heat off a bit.

Finishing up and completing your degree

  1. Defending the thesis: This is by far the easiest part. Unless your adviser is *really* sadistic, you won't be asked to defend until you're almost sure to pass. You'll have to give a talk on the subject = stick only to the main points in your thesis. Remember to do this like a talk at a conference, not like an exam. Most of the questions won't involve quantitative derivations, especially when it's a topic of current interest in your field. Defending your thesis is the easiest of all these steps - it's more of a celebration of the completion of your thesis than a trial.
  2. Enjoy, and have a great career.

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