UCLA EE PHD v.s UMD Physics PHD

[kcat]

Hi all,

I am an graduate from Taiwan who got admitted in UCLA EE, UMD Physics for the PhD program. UCLA gave me fellowships for the first academic year of entry while UMD offered me TA or RA with Dean's fellowship through the end of second academic year.  Both offers cover almost all of the tuition and give me stipend every month. For the research part, since my background is physics / electrophysics, I am apply for physics and electronic wave research for UCLA EE, my advisor is also Taiwanese, in fact, he interviewed me with skype in January 6. His research covers fibers/ plasmonic waveguides / nonlinear dynamics in semiconductor lasers, which I am very interested in. As for the UMD, as you know, they got many different research areas, I am also very interested in topics such as quantum information / mesoscopic physics. 

I am not really sure which would be a good fit. Could you guys tell me about the factors which I should take into account (other than research) for a great graduate life? 

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

[aluminumfalcon3]

Hi friend. I am in a similar dilemma deciding betweenphysics and EE PhD. I am also interested in quantum information and mesoscopic physics. 

You have good options either way. For UCLA EE I would see how interdisciplinary the department is with physics. Do you want to take more EE courses? Physics? Etc. same with UMD, how much interdisciplinary research opportunity is there? Look for other research topics you would be ok exploring as well--it's important to have back ups in case you switch groups. 

UMD physics is very good at quantum information, they have the joint quantum institute in addition to lots of connections to the NSA, NIST, and military/defense funding. That's important for lots of quantum research. Also UMD I know produces at least some faculty (if you are interested in academia). I don't know too much about UCLA EE unfortunately. But if you like the physics side you can't go wrong with UMD. 

Of course you should try to visit. Also location and weather are always things to consider. 

Would you be able to help me with my decisions too if you know anything? I am deciding between UMD physics, Caltech physics, and Princeton EE, all for quantum information/mesoscopic systems 

Edited February 24, 2016 by aluminumfalcon3
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[blacknighterrant]

18 minutes ago, aluminumfalcon3 said:

Hi friend. I am in a similar dilemma deciding betweenphysics and EE PhD. I am also interested in quantum information and mesoscopic physics. 

You have good options either way. For UCLA EE I would see how interdisciplinary the department is with physics. Do you want to take more EE courses? Physics? Etc. same with UMD, how much interdisciplinary research opportunity is there? Look for other research topics you would be ok exploring as well--it's important to have back ups in case you switch groups. 

UMD physics is very good at quantum information, they have the joint quantum institute in addition to lots of connections to the NSA, NIST, and military/defense funding. That's important for lots of quantum research. Also UMD I know produces at least some faculty (if you are interested in academia). I don't know too much about UCLA EE unfortunately. But if you like the physics side you can't go wrong with UMD. 

Of course you should try to visit. Also location and weather are always things to consider. 

Would you be able to help me with my decisions too if you know anything? I am deciding between UMD physics, Caltech physics, and Princeton EE, all for quantum information/mesoscopic systems 

Go to Caltech for physics. It has a far better reputation for physics than UMD and Pasadena has the best weather (Caltech is ranked #1 in quantum physics and #2 overall). The one thing to consider is that EE degrees normally tend to be slightly more marketable and often have slightly higher starting salaries, but Physics degrees have a bit more flexibility in the job search. However, this won't matter all that much if you plan an being in academia. Think you should eliminate UMD as a choice and choose between Princeton and Caltech, although I would personally go with Caltech.

1 hour ago, kcat said:

Hi all,

I am an graduate from Taiwan who got admitted in UCLA EE, UMD Physics for the PhD program. UCLA gave me fellowships for the first academic year of entry while UMD offered me TA or RA with Dean's fellowship through the end of second academic year.  Both offers cover almost all of the tuition and give me stipend every month. For the research part, since my background is physics / electrophysics, I am apply for physics and electronic wave research for UCLA EE, my advisor is also Taiwanese, in fact, he interviewed me with skype in January 6. His research covers fibers/ plasmonic waveguides / nonlinear dynamics in semiconductor lasers, which I am very interested in. As for the UMD, as you know, they got many different research areas, I am also very interested in topics such as quantum information / mesoscopic physics. 

I am not really sure which would be a good fit. Could you guys tell me about the factors which I should take into account (other than research) for a great graduate life? 

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

For you, I would recommend going with UCLA. Los Angeles has far nicer weather, although it is more expensive and traffic can be a pain. UCLA EE is more highly regarded in EE than UMD Physics is in Physics. In addition UCLA degrees have better brand value in general, especially internationally or in California if you do not wish to remain in the US or want to work in California upon graduating. In addition, as I said to aluminumfalcon, EE degrees are normally more marketable than physics degrees, because they are more specialized (people with physics degrees normally end up working as engineers or in another related field rather than in physics). This specialization makes it slightly easier to get engineering jobs and boosts starting salary, if you plan on working as an engineer after graduating. The plus side of the physics degree though is that it is slightly more flexible because it isn't specialized and you can get a wider variety of jobs with it.

[kcat]

Thanks for the responding, friend. For me, since I will finish my M.S degree and then go for PHD, I only need to take 4 courses for UCLA EE, and as you said, I can take some physics course such as photonics or laser physics. I am also interested in academia (although it's not easy at all in U.S), but I think both of them have many chances, that's part of reason why it is hard to decide.

For your cases, first, congrats for getting admission for Caltech physics, I just got rejected half a month ago, it said although my record was very good, and they did not doubt my ability for getting PHD, it made me feels complex haha. Caltech physics have very complete research teams for quantum information, you can do experimental / theory / material part for QI, I think they have a little more teams / faculty that you can choose from. I don't know too much about  Princeton EE unfortunately.

[aluminumfalcon3]

blacknighterrant you make good points. Tbh my decision is mostly between Caltech and Princeton EE, I am using the UMD visit as a benchmark to give me some perspective. I am leaning toward Caltech bc they have a lot of infrastructure designed to bring people together (theorisst and experimentalists) in quantum research. 

 

kcat thank you for your advice and congratulations. While UCLA is a great choice for all the reasons blacknighterrant mentioned, I would add that UMD is also a good choice especially if you want to do quantum research (they have the Joint Quantum Institute). I think either way you will make a good decision. 

Edited February 25, 2016 by aluminumfalcon3