What is graduate school?

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What is graduate school?

• And should I go there?

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How is it different from undergraduate?

• Less courses (typically 3 for MSc, 5 more for
  PhD, varies by program)
• Primary focus is on research
• You get paid
• Small classes
• Self-directed
• Year-round

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How will I pay for more school?

• 6000 per year tuition
• 22 000 per year stipend,
• from 3 sources
• 9500 per year teaching
• assistantship (280 hours) 2500 Special
  University Scholarship
• 10000 Research Assistantship

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Scholarships available

• NSERC
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship
• OGS Science Technology
• Others in specific fields, for example Materials
  and Manufacturing Ontario

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How long will this take?

• 2 years or less for Masters
• 4 years or less for PhD from Masters
• 5 years for PhD without Masters

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Should I stay at Western?

• Excellent facilities faculty
• You already know whos who
• Excellent reputation
• ( high value degree)
• however
• Travel broadens the mind (but do your homework
  first)

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Are my marks high enough?

• You need a minimum 70 average in your last 2
  years of study to be admitted.

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What do I gain by this?

• Better job prospects through more specialized
  training
• Personal satisfaction
• You can test the waters by getting a Masters
  degree with minimum risk
• Specialize in an area of science that you
  especially like

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What kind of research can I do?

• Condensed matter/materials science/nanotechnology,
  experimental or theoretical
• Astronomy/astrophysics
• Atmospheric and space physics
• Atomic and molecular physics
• Medical physics

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Condensed Matter (Experimental)

• ion beam modification of materials
• photonic materials
• soft and disordered condensed matter
• biomaterials
• semiconductor thin films
• novel optoelectronic materials
• defects in materials

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Condensed Matter Theory

• M.G. Cottam
• M.R. Singh
• M. Mueser (AM)
• C. Denniston (AM)

• Theoretical studies and numerical simulations are
  being made of the quantum properties of solids,
  both as bulk materials and as constituents of
  artificially-structured (or engineered)
  materials.

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Astronomy and Astrophysics

• S. Basu
• D.F. Gray
• M. Houde
• J.D. Landstreet
• J.M. Marlborough
• J.M. Moorhead
• T.A.A. Sigut
• P. Wiegert

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Atmospheric and Space Physics

• experimental and theoretical investigations from
  the surface to the edge of space
• Brown, Campbell-Brown, Hocking, Jones, Moorcroft,
  Sica

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Atomic Molecular Physics,Laboratory
Astrophysics

• The study of transitions between discrete atomic
  and molecular states
• R.A. Holt
• S.D. Rosner

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Medical Physics, Biomaterials

• B.A. Chronik
• S.P. Goldman
• T. Poepping
• Cottam, Hutter, Simpson, Zinke-Allmang
• Adjunct faculty from LRCC, St. Josephs, Robarts,
  LHSC

• Medical imaging, radiation therapies, medical
  implant materials

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Some fine things about graduate school

• Can be interdisciplinary
• Specialize in theory or experiment
• Travel to conferences
• Publish your work
• Gain access to exciting areas of employment via
  unique qualifications
• (we are not training professors)
• Work independently
• The supervisor-student relationship