ME masters-Thesis or NonThesis

boneh3ad
Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:09:22 +0000

creepypasta13:

I also got admitted to UCLA and am considering starting my MS program there. But if funding at state schools is really that much more uncommon than at other schools, I might just reapply to other MSME programs.

‘Don’t expect MS funding right when you start unless you have like a 3.9 UGGPA and have previous research experience.’

well I had a 3.77 gpa in physics and did two different undergrad research projects in physics. Is that even relevant as those weren’t in engineering?



Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t UNcommon to get funded at a state school. I know most people in my department at Texas A&M are funded, and this is a state school. Then again, the state of Texas is still doing very well because of oil money, so that could play a part in it.

And any research experience is relevant because it gets you close to professors who can attest to your abilities and thus proves that you can be useful in a laboratory setting. The line between engineering and physics gets blurred a little bit in grad school anyway. The thing is, proving you are capable in a lab setting doesn’t do anything to make you qualified to do real lab work in a subject that is vastly different from your previous experience, so while a professor may be just fine with taking you on as an undergrad physicist, he also may want to wait to fund you until you are up to speed with what an undergrad in his department would know.

Of course this is all purely hypothetical, as each professor and school is slightly different. Your experience may vary.