Physics 191: Preparation for Graduate School in Physics, 4 units

Fall 2006, SRS# 318-846-200, Tues. (location and time TBA) and Thurs. 4:00-5:50 p.m. in PAB 3-735

Professor Jay Hauser, email hauser@physics.ucla.edu, phone 310-206-4547

Office is 4-107E Knudsen Hall,  office hours: TBA

Text Book:        None

Last year, we ran an ad hoc GRE preparation course for no course credit, which was anecdotally credited with improving GRE scores by up to 100 points (making a big difference in graduate school admissions). It seems that many important physics topics that are actually not very difficult are slipping between the cracks of our curriculum. This year, we will formalize this course. After establishing a “GRE baseline”, the first half of the course will be 5 intensive weeks of GRE problem-solving practice. The second half of the course covers important aspects of what it means to be in graduate school in physics and to be a “full-fledged” practicing physicist.

Topics include:

• 5 weeks of problem-solving in preparation for the GRE test (on Nov. 4, just after the 5^th full week of classes)
• Beyond the GRE, what is commonly referred to as “assumed colloquium level knowledge", a bag of tricks that all graduate students should have, including “order-of-magnitude physics”.
• Choice of graduate schools, depending on students' interests.
• Discussion of students' intended research area and career goals, preparation of personal statements and selection of recommendation letter writers.

 Detailed (but approximate) schedule of classes:

Week(s)	Date(s)	Activities
0	Sept. 28	Thurs: organizational meeting, start work on a GRE practice exam as a baseline.
1-5	Oct. 3-Nov. 2	Tues: GRE physics Scantrons are due. Students discuss answers. Thurs: go over answers in detail, work on problem-solving skills.
6	Nov. 7	-- Tues: no meeting (decompression) --
	Nov. 9	Thurs: the graduate school experience. Finding out about graduate schools. Start project to investigate grad school in one area of interest (make a 15’ presentation).
7	Nov. 14	Tues: discuss “area of interest” draft presentations one-on-one with students (sign-up).
	Nov. 16	Thurs: 15’ presentations on “area of interest”.
8	Nov. 21	Tues: colloquium-level knowledge, concentrating on order-of-magnitude estimates. Homework set #1 of type “how many fishes in the sea?”, etc. assigned. Students work together on homework set #1.
	Nov. 23	-- Thurs: no meeting (Thanksgiving) --
9	Nov. 28	Tues: Homework set #2 assigned. Students work together on homework set #2.
	Nov. 30	Thurs: discuss what students know about what research areas are hot and interesting, which are not. Hand out some essays (anonymous) from our own graduate applications, discuss the relative merits of the essays. Final project assigned: putting together an application packet for graduate school, including personal statements, list of schools, etc.
10	Dec. 5	Tues: discuss application packets one-on-one with students (sign-up). Thurs: discuss the application packets, respecting privacy wishes.

Grading: will be on the basis of attendance and participation. The following elements are required:

• Timely attendance at all but one of the class sessions.
• Completion of 5 GRE practice tests.
• 15’ presentation of an investigation of graduate schools in one area of interest.
• Completion of 2 homework sets.
• Submission of a draft graduate school application “packet”.