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Competitive PhD application in experimental physics?

Pidge Gunderson

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(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 1

Mr Wednesday

Original post by Pidge Gunderson

Hey,

currently about to go into my third year of an integrated masters in Physics here at Bristol. Does anyone have any advice on what makes a 'good' phd application when you're applying for Physics, specifically I'm interested in the experimental side of quantum computing / info (i.e. typically less competitive than your string theory stuff).

I've had an internship with a quantum r&d startup between my 2nd and 3rd year, and am currently predicted to achieve a 1st (albeit a low one. I'll be working to push that up though). Can anyone offer any advice as to what to work on during this year I have before I apply for PhDs? I'll definitely be making sure to apply to as many research internships as I can over the year in order to gain some more experience next summer.

You sound like you will be in a pretty solid position with a 1st from Bristol and some relevant internships. Potential PhD supervisors will care most about your final degree grade and seeing transcript marks that improve over time They will care rather less about what courses you took, so go for options that most inspire you, those are the ones you will most likely do best in. There is no real way to game that other than by working hard and having a good couple of years of exam and lab scores in the bag. Similar with final year projects, its very rare to find a student whose MSci project gave them seriously targeted skills for a PhD, so go with what inspires you now.