Questions tagged [graduate-school]
On schools that award advanced academic degrees, such as masters and doctoral degrees. This tag is mainly for questions about the structure and organization of a graduate school or the fundamental experience of being a graduate student. Do not use this tag for questions about research in graduate school (use [research] instead), coursework in graduate school (use [coursework] instead), gaining admissions to graduate school (use [graduate-admissions]), etc.
2,044
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Should I ask for a recommendation from a professor in a different field?
I'm an undergraduate senior and will soon be applying for competitive PhD programs in computer science in the US/Canada. I already have three CS professors whom I have good relationships with (as a ...
2
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0answers
117 views
My original plan was academia. I'm a grad student. I'm uncertain if I want to keep this is my end goal
I'm posting this here because I frankly am not sure where else to ask a question like this. If anyone has a better idea where this should go let me know.
I'm a third year American graduate student in ...
-1
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1answer
96 views
Soft question: Transition from math to machine/deep learning
I am currently a first year grad student who is currently seeking a math M.S. degree in US a focus on differential geometry and topology. My question is, what efforts do I need to make to make a ...
1
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1answer
75 views
Can/should math majors consider graduate school in physics? [duplicate]
I am a math major in my early years of undergrad, and I'm wondering if math majors can or should consider pursuing graduate school in (theoretical) physics. I don't think there's a barrier in terms of ...
0
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1answer
148 views
Graduating from a terrible department in an ok University vs. a fantastic department in an obscure university [closed]
I'm a PhD student in a terrible department in my field, in an overall ok university, and have just applied to another program (also PhD) in a very new but fantastic department (research-wise at least -...
1
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1answer
52 views
Balancing location with school/department for PhD study [closed]
I am due to start a PhD in January in a school that has a very good department for my chosen area, but unfortunately is close to my home (2 hours commute by train) and to my previous university (also ...
1
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0answers
40 views
Alternatives to Grad School Political Science [closed]
I'm planning to apply to political science grad school. However, I've been having second thoughts. I'm incredibly burnt out this semester and don't want to be a workaholic in the future, though I see ...
38
votes
11answers
10k views
I got an offer from my dream graduate school days after starting grad school somewhere else. What should I do?
I have been offered a PhD in a European country which I have accepted and I started attending (my first month). However, just few days after starting here, I got another offer (from a different ...
78
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14answers
16k views
Should I seek professional help because I have a lot of math books?
I’m a graduate student in mathematics. One day, there was a discussion between graduate students about how many books a working mathematician has. Then each student would talk about their personal ...
1
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2answers
161 views
Confused about potential supervisor response
I asked my professor to supervise me. I took several courses with him. He replied to me that he is confused about whether he will have enough time to supervise me. He is extremely busy though! I ...
2
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0answers
74 views
How to prepare a talk for my PhD interview?
My PhD Interview in mathematics at an Austrian university is right around the corner and I need to prepare a talk of approximately 15 to 20 minutes about my "research interests" and present ...
1
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1answer
136 views
Is it weird to have a one-year, master's level “general studies” program?
I am a recent grad & my main goal is to do a Ph.D. in Computer Science, but I have some interest in math and physics.
I recently found this Masters in Science program offered by a very reputable ...
3
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4answers
246 views
Are letterhead and signatures necessary in the LOR?
My manager (one of the recommenders) said that he is working from home for several months due to coronavirus. It will not be possible for him to give the recommendation letter on the letterhead.
...
16
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3answers
3k views
How much course preparation, grading, and student question handling can be reasonably expected of a graduate TA? [closed]
I am creating all homeworks, quizzes (two per week), exams (2x75 questions), review questions (2x75), projects, 20-page lecture notes (two per week), and answering all student e-mails, along with ...
6
votes
4answers
837 views
Does the location matter in a PhD choice? [closed]
I am passionate about research, I believe in science and I get excited about it. For this reason, I have decided to start a PhD. Last year I started a PhD in a foreign country but it turned out to be ...
2
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1answer
100 views
Would it be a good or bad idea to start my PhD right after undergrad, in this situation? [closed]
I hope it is alright to ask this type of question here. I understand no-one can answer for me, but I would appreciate any perspectives from those of you have experience with academia.
I am a senior in ...
0
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0answers
68 views
How to make my application stronger for a master's degree in mathematics in Europe?
I want to apply for the ICTP diploma in mathematics and other master's programmes in Europe. I have a BSc degree in math/physics with a cgpa of 2.74/4. I did a master's degree in mathematics; I got 3....
1
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0answers
45 views
Relevance of Research Papers from another field for Grad Admission [duplicate]
I am a student of Indian nationality, currently pursuing my bachelor's in Electronics and Communication Engineering. I wish to pursue a Ph.D. and later a career in astronomy (with an inclination to ...
1
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0answers
48 views
Is it possible to get into a funded master's-level graduate program by applying to labs?
I graduated from a third-tier university majoring in Aviation engineering with a 3.2 GPA. I want to go to graduate school in order to pursue my dream to become a researcher/research engineer. I landed ...
2
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1answer
1k views
PhD in Biology: how time consuming?
I am currently pursuing my master's in bio-medicine. I am taking classes, doing research, and working as a graduate assistant at the same time. So far it has turned out to be very time consuming. I ...
1
vote
1answer
283 views
Graduate level advising - how to put limits to the nature of questions and make students independent?
I just started advising graduate level students, I am having a lot of problems. I thought I would be a patient, understanding, helpful advisor but really I am being tested. One of the students only ...
1
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1answer
82 views
Can someone get his previous credits counted in a new Master's programme in the EU? [closed]
Suppose, someone studied in a 120ECTS MSc program in CS in a country 'X' in the EU. He obtained 60 ECTS there, but he also has some failed courses. He then abandons the program.
Now, he moves to a ...
2
votes
1answer
86 views
Does waiting a few years before pursuing a PhD affect chances of getting admitted?
This is a somewhat long question. I hope you can take the time to read it carefully.
I obtained my bachelor's degree in physics in June 2019. I decided I wanted to go to physics graduate school in the ...
2
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0answers
54 views
Whether to submit mixed GRE scores?
I wrote the GRE recently and got very divergent scores. I scored exceptionally high in Verbal reasoning (168/170, which is 98th percentile) but exceptionally low in quantitative reasoning (147/170, ...
1
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1answer
223 views
Finding it difficult to keep up with coursework after joining a strong master's program in mathematics. How should I study? [duplicate]
I am doing M.Sc. in Mathematics from a reputed college in India. But I have a humble background in mathematics. At my undergraduate college most of my batch mates were not interested in mathematics, ...
1
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1answer
108 views
Will MCS be worth it for a Computer Science graduate?
I have completed my BSc in Computer Science from a local university in my home country. Universities in my home country are not that great! For example, the university ranked first locally was ranked ...
16
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9answers
4k views
What are the economic incentives for professors to hire and train graduate students?
I am a current graduate student at a research-oriented university. Nonetheless, for me, it is a big mystery why and how the professors are incentivised to recruit and train the graduate students.
In ...
1
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1answer
134 views
I'm worried my former collaborators are going to publish without including me as an author. What should I do?
I have worked for a project of a Ex-Postdoc, as I was promised an authorship. I was told “You will be a major author”. I did almost all the labor job as postdoc was my cosupervisor too. I trusted the ...
1
vote
1answer
136 views
Choosing between Bachelors's in a higher uni vs masters in less reputable uni? [closed]
I graduated with an EE degree last year and interned in two Physics labs, From September until March for experimental physics in Lab until COVID struck and lab closed and another one from Mid Summer (...
11
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3answers
2k views
Asking a professor if you would be able to manage the material in their graduate course given lack of background
I am a graduate student in a US chemistry department and found a class (mechanical engineering) that would be somewhat helpful for my research but is out of my discipline. I'm not familiar with a lot ...
22
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7answers
6k views
Is it possible to get a PhD by writing only review and survey papers?
Suppose that a PhD (in engineering) student has 3-4 review/survey papers in their domain, and has received more than 500 citations in total. In a situation like this, can they pass the oral defense ...
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0answers
49 views
How to find the graduates of a university? [duplicate]
I am looking to find some type of public document which would list all the students that graduated from a university at every year.
Where can I find such a document? Should I contact the particular ...
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votes
1answer
64 views
How to find a good supervisor without study Master degree?
I have an Asperger syndrome. I feel it is super difficult to interact with normal students and teachers in the university. Although I believe my destiny is doing research, it did not happen. I already ...
1
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1answer
85 views
Should I ask for a LOR from my future Master's Supervisor?
I start my master's year project in mid November this year and am currently applying to graduate school, most of whose deadlines are 1st of December. I was wondering if it was acceptable to ask my ...
2
votes
3answers
294 views
Computer Science: Workshop paper in top conference vs. Paper in mediocre conference?
What do you think would be the better choice prestige wise? Prof I'm working with gave me the choice to choose which to submit to. To be clear, the top conference is CVPR and the mediocre conference ...
1
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1answer
160 views
Chances of getting admitted to USA universities for Fall 2021 [closed]
As I see, a lot of students have already deferred their Fall 2020 applications to Fall 2021 next year due to Covid 19.
In this scenario, does this mean that, the fresh applicants for Fall 2021 will ...
1
vote
1answer
161 views
Getting into grad school from an unknown undergrad university? Is it possible?
Pretty much what the tittle says. I'm currently studying for my TOEFL exam and considering start a graduate school application process for the next year or so, in Europe or Canada probably. I recently ...
0
votes
1answer
113 views
Should I finish my undergrad in 3 years (this year) or 4 years? Which option is better for graduate school application? [closed]
Chemistry major, I can graduate this year with a high GPA (3.95+, with 2-3 graduate-level class) decent research (2 year+, started in freshmen year) and likely 2 publications (one first author, one ...
0
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1answer
90 views
Can outside observers discern graduate student agency from a CV or papers?
Sort of a gripe post but here it goes....
Not all PhD experiences are the same. I am not advocating that they should, but I feel your perceived competence and capability is highly dependent of the ...
2
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0answers
81 views
Can I move to another department for a PhD within the same university? [closed]
I'm starting a PhD in Development Studies at a well known university in the UK. I'm considering requesting to be moved to the department for political science. My topic is much better suited to ...
3
votes
2answers
126 views
What is important in choosing a Ph.D. program? [closed]
I'm now choosing a Ph.D. program between two schools and am struggling a lot. Please let me know your thoughts and I'll greatly appreciate any help! The two universities are very similar in reputation ...
4
votes
2answers
515 views
Should I email the university admin to explain that one of my references is out of office until Monday?
I emailed my undergrad supervisor back in July asking them to write a reference letter, which they agreed to.
I had an email from the uni I am applying to yesterday stating they were yet to receive ...
4
votes
1answer
125 views
Switching labs, need advice on how to communicate with old PI regarding project
I’m currently a master’s student (rising second year) wanting to applying for PhD, in the US. I completely switched field with the M.S. program so when I chose a lab, it was not an entirely educated ...
3
votes
2answers
518 views
Is it normal to not understand things from undergrad?
I graduated from college with a physics degree faster than my peers (because of various reasons: financial constraint and ambitions as well as near-burn-out state). My undergrad is a decent research ...
2
votes
1answer
285 views
A new PI or the brilliant current PI [closed]
We, STEM students, until we get somewhat a permanent position in our career, we work in different labs, with different PIs and people throughout our student life, starting from bachelor to our post-...
1
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1answer
53 views
Development Economics Minor for CS Major [closed]
I am an undergrad CS Major and am looking to minor in Development Economics, basically economics for understanding challenges created by world poverty (this is the only form of an economics minor that ...
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votes
1answer
135 views
How could one build connections with professors at a potential graduate program? [duplicate]
I emailed the director of a graduate program I'm planning on applying to, and while the program isn't accepting a new cohort of students until next year, they suggested that I reach out to other ...
3
votes
2answers
98 views
Meeting PhD advisor during first year (coursework year)
I'm starting my Ph.D. this year. My first 2 years will only be coursework. So, I won't be able to do any serious independent research. My research will only be in the context of what's required for ...
3
votes
2answers
87 views
Can external examiners be from research institutes?
Firstly, I understand what matter are the regulations from my own college and advice from my supervisor. I would like to ask this question more as a survey of experience and opinions.
It happens that ...
0
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1answer
114 views
What criteria are used to rank graduate programs? [duplicate]
I'm only asking this out of curiosity since I've seen posts/discussions about getting into "top" graduate programs etc. This mentally (wanting to get into a "top" ranked program) ...
