Expert: Daniel Mazur - 6/11/2009

Question
QUESTION: i am a student of 3rd year bsc in physics and my degree is a 3 year degree. my question is that is it better i finish my phd in india and then apply for post doc in the us, or do my masters here and since that will only make me eligible for doing an ms again in the us is it really worth doing another masters in the us and then do a phd because i'll lose a year or two that way?i must mention despite my youth(i'm only 19) i have already mastered goldstein,jackson, the whole of landau lifshitz, peskin and schroeder,weinberg's three books on quantum field theory,polchinski's string theory books(1 and 2),and finally carlo rovelli's quantum gravity due to the guidance of some excellent physicists here who have been very helpful and supportive and also because i've worked damn hard. i infact think of publishing the solutions to all these books because i've worked them out fully myself and have got all the answers checked by these physicists who are from iisc india's best research institute although i'm terribly unsure what is it's reputation outside india.i've also been doing research projects on quantum field theory and relativity. having done so much work at such a young age i already feel kinda burnt out;-) but i want to ask you is it better to do my phd in the us or here in india because doing my phd here is easier but i'm unsure of it's value.

ANSWER: Hello Jervis,

the list of your achievements is impressive, congratulations. Publishing the solutions is a good idea, only I think that you will need to have explicit permissions from the publishers and/or the authors of the textbooks you mentioned. If you don't make it a commercial release, it'll be "only" the matter of copying the problems and solutions into one place and typesetting it into PDFs via LaTEX. Many college and graduate students would find it helpful, I am sure.

To your question the only answers is YES: obtaining a PhD outside India will help your career significantly compared to getting all degrees in India. It is the custom in the world scientific community to gain experience all around the world before settling down. On different continents and in different countries you will meet different work culture, you meet different nationals and learn about the ethnic cultural differences. You learn to work on different teams, with different people. It also helps your future very much to make connections and, last but not least, you get much more life experience - of life outside work I mean.

If you can afford it, you could go to the USA right away, but I fear that their admissions deadlines for September will already be gone. Most schools admit students starting in February as well, you should ask their Admission Offices. If you want to apply for an assistantship - work for the department to support your life there - the deadlines are even tighter, but again only the schools themselves can give you sufficiently accurate information. The same applies for schools in Canada and Europe as well, but you don't mention any interest in those.

Be advised that the standard parts of graduate application for U.S. universities are TOEFL and GRE standardized examinations. You will need to pass them at least a month before the application's deadline, the grading institution takes that time for processing.

Good luck with your baccalaureate and with the continuation of your career.
Cheers!
Daniel



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sir, you said i can directly apply to the US but what i have heard is that they take people with a 4 year degree.besides my financial resources are very poor and i don't think i can afford a master's in the US,canada or europe.so my question is  this:can i do a phd in the us, canada or europe immediately after doing my masters in india because i had a 3 year degree.
and what i had seen on the universities websites is that their requirement for an MS itself is that an indian candidate completes his masters.So i'll probably lose two years.so could you please clarify whether my masters in india is sufficient qualification for a PhD abroad.

Answer
Dear Jervis,

yes, Master's degree from India does mean an advantage. What is "sufficient qualification" is always up to the school officials and faculty, but they normally consider only whether or not you have the M.S. Unless you have it from a badly famous institution, the school that had granted you the degree does not influence their decision.

Regarding your doubt about going to the U.S. with only a Bc.S. I confirm that it is less likely for them to take you on. That is: there will not be any problem about your coming to study there, the problem will be, that to support yourself financially, you need to be granted an assistantship by the department. For this the professors generally prefer students with already a Master's degree - simply as a guarantee of your abilities. Still, the decision rests with the departments and you can try applying and see - you may be lucky.

All Best,
Daniel