Physics Grad School

I’m looking to go to grad school to study quantum optics and or quantum information science. I’m definitely planning on studying in the west and prefer being near good climbing. CU Boulder and University of Washington are on my list. I also might stay in Bozeman and do Grad School at MSU, they have a good program. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions?

I am a physics grad student studying quantum information at University of New Mexico right now. Lots of people doing quantum optics and QIS here. That's one of our department's strongest areas: cquic.unm.edu

We have year round climbing here in New Mexico, I like it here. Feel free to reach out to me with questions!

I'm a physics grad at University of Washington, quantum info is big here. I ended up choosing UW over Boulder. 

One thing nice about UW is us grad students are unionized, so over the years we have won some nice quality of life perks like protection from overwork, decent health insurance with dental, vision, etc. 

Boulder definitely has better climbing access, since crags near Seattle are at least an hour drive away (often more with traffic). That being said, tons of great climbing here if you can stand the driving.

I did my Physics PhD at UC Berkeley (Astrophysics). Certainly a lot of things in quantum optics/information here, usually under the umbrella of AMO. In terms of climbing, it is not quite as nice as Boulder or UW. There are a lot of halfway decent local crags that are easy to hit before/after work, particularly if you like bouldering. There is some pretty decent sport climbing if you can take a half-day off or wake up early (Mickey's Beach, Mt. St. Helena) and very good sport climbing that is day trip-able (Gold Wall, Jailhouse). Of course, the real allure is Yosemite/Sierras/Tahoe, which have the best climbing anywhere... ;) 

Unsurprisingly, lots of people in the physics department at UC Berkeley climb. I imagine Stanford is similar, but a bit further away from the things I mentioned but closer to Castle Rock (quite decent bouldering, a couple of decent sport climbs). 

I get to be the grumpy PSA and remind you the most important factor in all of this is finding an advisor invested in your success. The best programs and climbing spots matter little if you are set up to fail and don’t finish. 

Spopepro O.wrote:

I get to be the grumpy PSA and remind you the most important factor in all of this is finding an advisor invested in your success. The best programs and climbing spots matter little if you are set up to fail and don’t finish. 

This is absolutely true. But I think that OP's request still makes sense - it helps to start with a broader list of programs/schools/locations you could tolerate, then from that list start to look into finding the right advisor/group.

Another option to consider: how is the Physics program at CO School of Mines? I did grad school there and it was brilliant as a place to be in grad school (good school, great climbing access, nice town). But I was in the Hydrology program, and don't know much about the Physics program. Worth looking into though; it seems like it would be within the School of Mines area of focus.

I found that going to grad school somewhere really really close to climbing worked out well for me. It made it possible to still climb a reasonable amount while being busy. The climbing keeps you sane through the grad school stuff, and the grad student schedule gives you some flexibility to make use of that nearby climbing. 

Also check out university of Oregon. The climbing access isn't spectacular but not terrible either, and the culture in the physics dept is pretty relaxed compared to other places (unless it's changed significantly in the last several years)

I'll be even grumpier and say don't do a Ph.D (OP didn't specify).  Unless you have a very clearly defined career path outside the academic world.  

JCMwrote:

This is absolutely true. But I think that OP's request still makes sense - it helps to start with a broader list of programs/schools/locations you could tolerate, then from that list start to look into finding the right advisor/group.

Another option to consider: how is the Physics program at CO School of Mines? I did grad school there and it was brilliant as a place to be in grad school (good school, great climbing access, nice town). But I was in the Hydrology program, and don't know much about the Physics program. Worth looking into though; it seems like it would be within the School of Mines area of focus.

I found that going to grad school somewhere really really close to climbing worked out well for me. It made it possible to still climb a reasonable amount while being busy. The climbing keeps you sane through the grad school stuff, and the grad student schedule gives you some flexibility to make use of that nearby climbing. 

My close friend mastered out of Physics at Mines and said it was an extremely toxic culture. Definitely something to watch out for.

Don’t pick a grad school program based only on the availability of climbing. That $40k price tag will take you decades to pay off. 

Quiss Thomaswrote:

My close friend mastered out of Physics at Mines and said it was an extremely toxic culture. Definitely something to watch out for.

It's a thing to watch out for basically everywhere in academia.

Chad Millerwrote:

Don’t pick a grad school program based only on the availability of climbing. That $40k price tag will take you decades to pay off. 

In physics grad school, you don't pay the school, they pay you (albeit not much).

(Masters degrees aren't really a thing in physics, pretty much anyone going to grad school in the field is getting a PhD)

Ben Horowitzwrote:

I imagine Stanford is similar, but a bit further away from the things I mentioned but closer to Castle Rock (quite decent bouldering, a couple of decent sport climbs). 

Yes, I can confirm lots of climbers in physics at Stanford.

And to echo others: having fun in your down time is important, but that's impossible with a department and/or advisor that make your life miserable.

Jasonwrote:

Also check out university of Oregon. The climbing access isn't spectacular but not terrible either, and the culture in the physics dept is pretty relaxed compared to other places (unless it's changed significantly in the last several years)

Nobel laureate David Wineland moved from Boulder to Eugene, where he is now Research Professor, Dept of Physics. He is known primarily for research in the fields the OP wants to pursue. 

Alex Fischerwrote:

In physics grad school, you don't pay the school, they pay you (albeit not much).

(Masters degrees aren't really a thing in physics, pretty much anyone going to grad school in the field is getting a PhD)

That’s good!  

I still wouldn’t pic a grad school program based on climbing opportunities. 

Spopepro O.wrote:

I get to be the grumpy PSA and remind you the most important factor in all of this is finding an advisor invested in your success. The best programs and climbing spots matter little if you are set up to fail and don’t finish. 

I’ll second or third this, from experience, because it can’t be said enough times. I picked CU Boulder for an astrophysics PhD, passing up other opportunities that were a better fit advisor-wise, because I wanted to climb there. It turned out how you would expect and I was miserable and dropped out. Years later under much different circumstances I went back to grad school also in a place with fine climbing opportunities (New Mexico Tech) and it was enjoyable, with all the things aligned (program, advisor, climbing).

So I’d reiterate the advice to have a longer list of places that meet some basic climbing criteria and be willing to go to any of them, then choose 100% based on advisor/excitement about the work and don’t let any biases about preferred location creep into the decision! Also, +1 for New Mexico.

From the dark ages, some comments. I was in math, not physics, living in western Kentucky in 1967, and decided to get the union card and become a prof. But I wanted to be near climbing. So I applied at both CU and CSU in Colorado, choosing Ft Collins over Boulder for several reasons, none having to do with a prospective advisor. I was very lucky that the person who agreed to guide me was a wonderful individual. When appropriate, he recommended a research project which, after a couple of initial blunders, I found stimulating and well within my capabilities. He was Norwegian and inducted me into a small international group of mathematicians working in my general area.  Over fifty years later and retired for over twenty years, I still dabble in offshoots of that  initial research project. Thank you, Arne Magnus (Wolf Thron, and Haakon Waadeland) - RIP. 

Sometimes fate overlooks your stupidity and you luck out.  

Alex Fischerwrote:

In physics grad school, you don't pay the school, they pay you (albeit not much).

(Masters degrees aren't really a thing in physics, pretty much anyone going to grad school in the field is getting a PhD)

Those of us with Masters in Physics are almost uniformly dropouts.

I really cannot stress enough how important it is to have advisor buy-in *before* picking a science PhD program. I didn't have an advisor a priori, and that is a major reason why I am not Dr. Petsfed. The folks I knew who had major issues with their advisor either started over or dropped out.

CU Boulder is fairly directly involved with the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. Moreso than UW, so you definitely have cool PhD thesis opportunities at Boulder if you go down the HEP path.

This HEP stuff is all tied in with your quantum stuff anyway, and everyone is looking at quantum really hard, especially as the DoE stands up the Quantum Exchanges across the country.

I'm a 5th year physics PhD student at UW Madison doing research in experimental quantum information. The University has a wide variety of experimental and theoretical groups in quantum information. It's an hour drive from Devil's Lake, which has some of the best climbing a grad student like me could ever ask for. I recommend prioritizing your advisor and department culture over access to crags. 

I often advise prospective grad students (albeit it in Bio) to strongly consider location as your downtime will be super important to overall QOL. That being said, you want to talk to as many current grad students at any place you are considering to make sure they are happy with departmental culture etc.