Sonoma State University Department of Physics and Astronomy

Steps Toward Graduate School

1. Start thinking about it well before your senior year. Attend the What Physicists Do lectures, ask questions of the speakers, read Scientific American and Physics Today. Look into the Career Planning Aids listed near the top of the Jobs page. Talk to people, including those now in grad school. It is good to visit graduate schools and talk to the graduate program advisors and students well before finishing your undergraduate education.
   
   
2. Do you want to go to grad school? Decide by the beginning of your senior year.
   
   
3. Choose a field. In some fields, including physics and astronomy, there are currently more Ph.D. job-seekers than jobs. This may change by the time you enter the job market, as many physicists and astronomers are approaching retirement, and the average physics Ph.D. spends 7 years in graduate school. Still, you may want to consider other fields. Fortunately, physics graduates are in demand in many disciplines. Sonoma State University physics graduates have earned doctorates in

   applied physics astronomy atmospheric physics bioengineering biophysics chiropractic computer science geophysics

   law materials science mathematics medicine physical chemistry physics psychophysiology radiobiology

   Other graduates have earned master's degrees in

   biochemistry biomedical engineering business administration civil and environmental engineering earth and space science education electrical engineering energy engineering geography history of science international management

   management mechanical engineering nuclear engineering physical science political science psychology public administration scientific instrumentation security management systems management theology

   Other possibilities include

   forensic science library and information science

   meteorology

   Take a look at the careers of some of the SSU physics students who came before you. You will find information about many at the Graduates Achievements web page and in the latest issue of the department's annual newsletter, The Physics Major.

   It pays to plan ahead. Some of these fields require specific undergraduate preparation. You may wish to choose SSU’s flexible BA program, which has many electives and requires you to earn 12 units in one other subject.

4. If you decide that you want to go to grad school in physics, astronomy, or a closely related field, you may be required to take one or more of the Graduate Record Exams). While physics graduates tend to do very well in the general GRE, the subject test in physics is difficult. It consists of 100 multiple choice questions which must be answered in 170 minutes. The Educational Testing service has posted one sample test (2.9 MB), and Prof. Gergely T. Zimanyi at UC Davis has posted the same (GR177) plus three more. You may wish to take the test twice. Take it for practice in April of the year before your senior year. You may have the score cancelled so it does not go on your record, if you do so at the end of the test. You will then be better prepared to take the test and have it count during your senior year.

5. In the fall of your senior year choose some departments — perhaps as many as 20 — to investigate. There are at least two ways to do this:
   
   • You can explore hundreds of graduate programs on the web. There is a worldwide list of physics and astronomy departments at PhysLink. Another rather complete source for the U.S. is Shortcuts to Departments of Physics, Engineering, and Mathematics provided by Waubonsee Community College. The American Institute of Physics provides a guide to graduate programs in physics and related fields. Note that you can leave some fields blank if you don’t want to specify the state or specialty.

     There are many astronomy departments on the web. You can learn a lot about what departments are doing from the Annual Reports of Astronomical Observatories and Departments published in the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society Unfortunately, these were discontinued in 2006.

     There are sites providing information about and links to programs in medical physics and in biological physics. A number of optical science programs are on a list maintained by the Optical Society of America and the International Society for Optical Engineering, while the Acoustic Society of America lists programs in acoustics and sound. See the Mathematics Department Web for math programs.

     The American Society for Engineering Education maintains information on engineering programs, including undergraduate programs. The Engineering Education Service Center maintains a list of colleges of engineering. The Computing Research Association lists departments of computer science and computer engineering.

     The American Meteorological Society maintains a list of degree programs in the atmospheric, oceanic, hydrologic, and related sciences as well as an online booklet, careers in atmospheric research and applied meteorology. Also valuable is a list of oceanography sites.

     GNet links you to environment and technology programs.

     There is a list of programs in history of science at the history of science society. North Carolina State University provides a list of Science, Technology, & Society Programs.

     You can find another page providing information to prospective graduate students in physics at PhysLink. A list of graduate programs in all subjects with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses is at gradschools.com.

     Once you have found a program which appeals to you, you may request applications for admission and financial aid on the web or by e-mail.

     You might consider trying Get Recruited, a program which collects information about you and sends it to a number of participating graduate schools, which may then contact you.

   • Graduate Programs in Physics, Astronomy, and Related Fields,  published annually by the American Institute of Physics, is a great reference book, sent to all undergraduate physics departments. At SSU copies may be borrowed from the department advisor.

6. By November or December you should narrow your interest to five or six departments. Your choice may be based on the reputation of the department, difficulty of gaining admission, strength in your specialty if you have one, diversity of offerings if you have not yet chosen a specialty, size of school and department, geographical preferences, and other criteria. Note that you need not distinguish between public and private universities or between in-state and out-of-state institutions. Nearly all those admitted to Ph.D. programs in the sciences are supported by teaching or research assistantships, and most tuition is waived. It is helpful to visit some departments. Make an appointment with the graduate program advisor. Take the tour, then talk with some grad students. Don't forget to ask where the graduates go after they finish. Most applications are due in January, February, or March. The SSU calendar wisely allows you time in January to fill out all the application forms. Be certain to allow adequate time for those who will write letters of recommendation for you.

   Find out whether you need to take the general or advanced GRE and whether you must take it by November. Plan ahead! NOTE: A few departments, notably UC Berkeley and Princeton, have earlier deadlines. To apply to these schools you must take the GRE in November and have your application in by December.

7. By April you will have your offers. Now is the time to visit departments not yet visited. Happy choosing!


8. Before or after beginning grad school, you may be interested in the web pages of the Association for Support of Graduate Students. Another very helpful website for those aspiring to Ph.D.s is that of PhDs.org
9. You might wish to read Careers in Science and Engineering: A Student Planning Guide to Grad School and Beyond, an online book prepared by the Committee On Science, Engineering, And Public Policy of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.