Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

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badri89
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:42 pm

Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

Post by badri89 » Mon Nov 18, 2013 6:16 am

Dear all,

To brief about myself, I have a bachelors in Electrical Engineering with 2+ years of experience in Controlsystems, vlsi, embedded and circuit design. I have a gpa of 4.1 on a 5 point scale. I would like to do my masters in applied physics(of measurement science type or of semiconductor/solid state physics). I have taken IELTS and my overall band score is of 6.5. Also I took PGRE (just to see how it is) and got a score of 570 :( :oops: I would like to apply for universities in Canada. With this profile, will I be able to secure admission in some university? What are the universities I will have a good chance to get in. Kindly advice. Thanks!

badri89
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

Post by badri89 » Wed Nov 27, 2013 7:21 am

kindly help out fellas!

photomagnetic
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Sep 21, 2013 6:13 pm

Re: Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

Post by photomagnetic » Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:48 pm

i dont see any profile there to be honest
do you have papers/rewards/good lors/sop/resume/cv
domestic/international??

badri89
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

Post by badri89 » Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:54 pm

Well I'm an international student, I have good letters of recommendation from my professors and also from my previous employer.As stated early my cgpa is like 4.1 on a 5 point scale. I don't have any publication. What is my chance to get a canadian university which offers applied physics in Measurement Science(involving Instrumentation) or Masters in physics in electronics track. Will my work experience help me, I have good experience as a design engineer involving control systems , analog and digital circuits design and embedded systems. Thanks!

photomagnetic
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Sep 21, 2013 6:13 pm

Re: Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

Post by photomagnetic » Wed Nov 27, 2013 1:17 pm

i cant give you a specific uni name
but i belive they really like people from other majors
having said that your gre is low for an intern student.
your gpa is good and if you have really good lors i say why not?
you can find the applicant profiles from previous years those may light your path.
i wish you good luck bro.

badri89
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

Post by badri89 » Wed Nov 27, 2013 1:30 pm

Thanks for the reply photomagnetic. I'm having a real hard time finding a program that offers the flavour of Measurement Science with physics in Canada that's why I put it up.

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WhoaNonstop
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Re: Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

Post by WhoaNonstop » Wed Nov 27, 2013 1:33 pm

badri89 wrote:Well I'm an international student, I have good letters of recommendation from my professors and also from my previous employer.As stated early my cgpa is like 4.1 on a 5 point scale. I don't have any publication. What is my chance to get a canadian university which offers applied physics in Measurement Science(involving Instrumentation) or Masters in physics in electronics track. Will my work experience help me, I have good experience as a design engineer involving control systems , analog and digital circuits design and embedded systems. Thanks!
The problem with switching any type of field is you have to do well on the exams that help level you out with the rest of the applicants. I'm sure it's difficult for a committee to compare GPAs from different departments (or even lesser known physics departments), but the PGRE is a straight across the board test.

Think of the GRE, subject GREs, or any type of exam that is meant to "qualify" you for a position, either in a program or in a career. Why are these done? Two reasons. The more well known reason: to gauge your ability to do well on the material, which may or more likely may not be linked to the things you will actually do in that program/job. Secondly, which I think is a larger factor than most, doing well on an exam shows your commitment towards the field. This is only more important if you are a career changer. Doing well on a test which you do not have a specific background in, shows your perseverance and drive towards wanting to make a change to this new field and admission committees like that.

I think you'll have trouble with the score switching over. I've always pictured 600 as a benchmark for physics students, but I'd like to believe the standard would be a little higher for a field changer. You do realize that you'll have to pass courses that are substantially harder than what is on the PGRE?

I don't know what programs are in Canada for Applied Physics to be honest. Find one of their pages and look at what their usual requirements are.

-Riley

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

Re: Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

Post by TakeruK » Wed Nov 27, 2013 2:44 pm

If you are looking for an Applied Physics (or Engineering Physics) graduate program in Canada, then you are looking for a "Masters of Applied Science" (MASc) degree, not a Masters of Science (MSc) degree. So if you are not finding the right program, then you might be looking in the wrong place! For your interest, you might also want to look at "Material Science" programs, not just Engineering Physics / Applied Physics programs. Note that in most schools, the "Applied Physics" program is connected with the Department of Physics while Material Science is more connected to engineering oriented departments.

Note: some schools call their "MASc" degree a "MEng" degree instead (Masters of Engineering). If a school offers both, then usually the MEng degrees are more professional and usually have more courses and less research while a MASc would be more research oriented. But if there is only one choice, then they are often the same thing, just a different name.

In Canada, the general route to get to a MASc/MEng program is by first getting a BASc or some equivalent undergrad engineering degree, but this is not required. Usually though, for a MASc in Applied Physics, they would prefer a BASc in Engineering Physics but not all schools have as strict as a requirement. The higher ranked the school, the pickier they are, as expected.

I would say that a MASc/MEng degree is meant for those who want to be trained as an engineer and work on engineering problems, while a student that wants to be trained as a physicist and work on problems in the intersection of engineering and physics should go for a Physics MSc. To me, it sounds like you have a better background and more research fit with a MASc/MEng program, but this is based on the very limited information I know about you!

In general, the PGRE is not usually required for graduate programs in Canada. However, some schools do recommend (and in a few cases, require) the PGRE for international applicants. I would guess that Applied Physics programs will care less about the PGRE than "pure" Physics programs.

Oh, finally, here is an example of a MASc program in Engineering Physics in Canada: http://www.phas.ubc.ca/graduate-program ... e-students (this is a top school in Canada and note that an undergrad engineering degree in Electrical Engineering is an acceptable pre-req for a MASc in Engineering Physics here).

badri89
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Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: Kindly suggest me where I stand and what should I do!

Post by badri89 » Sun Dec 01, 2013 1:30 pm

Thanks a lot TakeruK. Your reply really did help. Yes actually I was searching for a Masters in Applied Science and thanks you once again for the elaborate reply.



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