4 th ANNUAL GRADUATE SCHOOL INFORMATIONAL MEETING Jonathan Feng Undergraduate Advising Committee Department of Physics and Astronomy UC Irvine Monday, 25 January 2010, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Natural Sciences II 1201 These slides, NSF Graduate Fellowship advice, Physics GREs from ‘86, ‘92, ‘96, ’01 and other resources available at

PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING Juniors –~10-15 UCI students apply to graduate school in physics and astronomy –Would like detailed information and advice: the grad school application process, timeline, GREs, etc. Sophomores, 1 st years –Many considering grad school –Would like general information and advice: research opportunities, etc. Complements individual advising sessions –Many students have the same questions –Gathers experts from various viewpoints –Not all will agree! This is one of many resources

Who is Here Professor Jonathan Feng – professional track advisor Professor Thorsten Ritz – chair, UCI Graduate Admissions Committee Professor Virginia Trimble – NSF Graduate Fellowships selection committee, physics GRE exam writer Professor Bill Parker – chair, UCI Physics Department UCI grad students: Tom Boatwright, Jessica Goodman Eileen Powell – physics student affairs officer

The Plan Timeline Components of the Application GRE Recommendation Letters Essays Research NSF Graduate Fellowships Where to Apply Questions, advice, comments welcome at all times

Timeline Research –Sophomore, junior, senior years Professional track advising: May 2010 GRE –General: any time –Physics subject: April, October, November (register 1 mo earlier) NSF Graduate Fellowship deadline: Nov 2010 Application deadlines: Dec 2010 – Jan 2011 Acceptances: Feb 2011 – Apr 2011 Prospective visits: Mar 2011 – Apr 2011 Decision deadline: 15 Apr 2011 Enter grad school: Fall 2011

Components of the Application Transcripts (up to Fall 2010) GRE Scores Recommendation Letters [Research] Essays [Research]

Physics GRE Importance – uniform, quantitative Weird format –100 Multiple Choice questions –170 minutes Stresses ability to work quickly –dimensional analysis –limits –order-of-magnitude estimates 86, 92, 96, and 01 exams available (86 may be a bit obsolete) Useful Physics GRE websites:

GRE Topics and Weighting

Recommendation Letters Almost always 3 Recommenders write paragraphs, rank in various categories (intellectual ability is only one) Best if based on personal knowledge –Good: “Jane Doe got an A in my course” –Great: high praise from research mentor

Essays Demonstrate excellence, commitment –Not impressive: “I’ve wanted to study physics since I was a young child” –Impressive: tangible evidence demonstrating real interest Discuss some physics topic intelligently; doesn’t have to be your eventual field Research experience is vital Suggestions –Present facts about your research experience – don’t assume its covered by recommendation letters –Ask faculty members to read your essays –Mention relevant faculty whom you might work with, provided you have looked into this carefully

Research Importance –No better way to decide if grad school is right for you –Learn how research is done, any subfield will do –Helps inform choice of subfield –Counts twice in application (letters, essays) UROP: Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program –At UCI, $3000 for summer (SURP), $1000 for school year –SURP Deadline: Typically late April REU: Research Experience for Undergraduates –Summer research positions at many universities –Competitive – typically must have previous research experience –Deadline: Typically February - March Also possibilities at national labs and observatories

NSF Graduate Fellowships Extremely valuable –3 years of funding, freedom from teaching –Provides freedom to choose advisor –Prestigious For example: Awards in 2007 (success rate: roughly 1 in 8) –35 in Physics –11 in Astronomy –Also 81 Honorable Mentions Stresses Physics GRE, broader impacts See handout for additional advice Also others, for example: –DOE Office of Science Graduate Fellowships: deadline November 30 –Hertz Fellowships: 5 years of funding, “applied physics,” 5 Physics and Astronomy awards in 2007 –National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowships: 3 years of funding, 15 in Physics in 2009

Where to Apply Rankings –Useful 1 st step, but… –Usually out-of-date –Enormous variations by subfield Talk to UCI faculty in your field(s) of interest Select a range in –Selectivity –Geography Gradschoolshopper.com –Physics and related fields NRC