University of Hawaii at Manoa Physics PhD info

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dsr12
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2018 10:48 am

University of Hawaii at Manoa Physics PhD info

Post by dsr12 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 11:36 am

I have been offered admittance to the UH PhD program with a TA and summer RA guaranteed. The numbers look pretty good, and I plan to apply for an NSF fellowship next year. I am very interested in a couple of the research groups at UH (in particular the AMS-02 and Belle II) and have had meaningful contact with several of the professors, and the idea of working on my PhD in paradise sounds pretty good. I have not found much current information from the last 2-3 years about the program apart from the website. I know there was some political upheaval in the department a few years ago, but I really don't think I care about any of that now. My offer is good, I like the work being done there, and it's in Hawaii... where I live matters to me! Does anyone here have any info to add? While I wait answers from a few more schools.... this one is the best for now!
Also, do you think it would be appropriate to direct these queries to current grad students in the department?
Thanks for this great community. So helpful!

TakeruK
Posts: 941
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 3:05 pm

Re: University of Hawaii at Manoa Physics PhD info

Post by TakeruK » Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:25 pm

dsr12 wrote: Also, do you think it would be appropriate to direct these queries to current grad students in the department?
Thanks for this great community. So helpful!
Definitely a good idea to email some current students now to ask about their life as a grad student now. If you are coming for an in-person visit, that's the right time to ask about the political upheaval type stuff because few people might be willing to be candid via email. If you can't come for an in-person visit to the program, maybe you can Skype. In general, for any program, I would highly recommend seeing it in person first since sometimes programs are very different on paper than they are in person. But especially if there are concerns about the climate/environment, I would extra recommend seeing it in person.

dsr12
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2018 10:48 am

Re: University of Hawaii at Manoa Physics PhD info

Post by dsr12 » Sat Mar 03, 2018 6:54 pm

TakeruK wrote:
dsr12 wrote: Also, do you think it would be appropriate to direct these queries to current grad students in the department?
Thanks for this great community. So helpful!
Definitely a good idea to email some current students now to ask about their life as a grad student now. If you are coming for an in-person visit, that's the right time to ask about the political upheaval type stuff because few people might be willing to be candid via email. If you can't come for an in-person visit to the program, maybe you can Skype. In general, for any program, I would highly recommend seeing it in person first since sometimes programs are very different on paper than they are in person. But especially if there are concerns about the climate/environment, I would extra recommend seeing it in person.

Thanks for the good advice. Visiting the schools I have been accepted to (this one in particular) is financially impossible for me. But I will definitely contact the current grad students. Thank you!



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