Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Hi

I'm new to this site and did spend some time looking at older threads to see if they'd answer my questions. Unfortunately I didnt find any which did.

I'd like to know which US universities would be good to apply to for a Ph.D. in quantum information science.

I have a consistently good academic record and have been top of my class all through school and graduation, still have to take my GREs (I think I can hope to get a pretty good score on them), and the only research experience I have is a summer reading course on quantum algorithms and computation.

I hope to do a project over the next semester, but that would be after the application deadlines for fall 2010 are over.

I believe my recommendation letters would also be pretty good, because I've always worked hard and my profs know i'm interested in the field- they've promised to give me additional reading and discussions outside of class, over the next semester.

I'd greatly appreciate any insights.

There are a lot of them you can choose in different rankings. you can simply find which one fits you best by reviewing their web pages. MIT, UIUC, Pittsburgh and ...
the good one to apply depends on your records.

If you are willing to go to Canada then I would highly suggest Waterloo, either at the University, or at the IQC, or at PI, they all have very good groups working on the various aspects of quantum information.

If you really just want to go to the US, then MIT and Caltech would be my first choices.

Thanks.

I am only worrying about my lack of research experience. I am required to do a project in any case next sem, but it wouldnt be done in time for applying... Thats one of the reasons I wasnt looking at the absoute top tier schools. Not sure what to do...

I recommend the University of Maryland and the University of New Mexico - even though overall their physics department is not well known, they have a very high regard in quantum information / computation. A friend of mine chose them over Rochester, UCLA, and UCSD among others.

Are you a theorist or an experimentalist? If you're into theory, are you more into the math, physics, engineering or computer science parts?

There are two large groups doing QI theory at Berkeley, and I'm quite happy working in one of them. But I agree with tiyusufaly on checking out UMD or UNM.

I agree with Mataka. MIT and Caltech are good schools for Quantum Information.

Thanks everyone.

@zxcv:
So far I haven't any experimental experience- so I would say I'm a theorist, who is not averse to working as an experimentalist. I was looking at quantum optics and its relation to quantum information, but I haven't a clear idea of what I want to work on yet

I'm from physics, but I have some basics in math and computer science as well.

@tiyusufaly:
Thanks. I will check out those departments

@Mataka:
I looked at the places you mentioned. Turns out PI doesn't take students except through a University. So I will probably have to apply to Waterloo.
I love PI's logo sooo much, I'd LOVE to work there some time!

Yes, PI and IQC don't have the right to give degrees, this is why you need to be enrolled at the University of Waterloo. In practice though, you would spend most if not your entire time at these institutes. This also mean you might need a cosupervisor at the university if your main supervisor is not a faculty at the university, but again, in practice this does mean much since most students don't really use their cosupervisor (for example, there is a prof which is the cosupervisor of about 10 students, but he never even met them !).

Hi Mataka. It seems you have lots of knowledge about Waterloo and PI itself. Are you studying there right now? I would like to ask some questions.

I have a question about Perimeter Scholars International:
Is it a good program? I mean 10 months is such a short time to study a lot of physics. Will the students really learn the material? Do you know anyone who actually published the research they had done towards the end of the program?

I also want to go into Quantum Information or to Condensed Matter Theory and I am considering PSI as somewhat a stepping stone to a PhD. Hope you reply. Thanks in advance.

PSI is a brand new program (the first batch of students will start in the fall), so it's hard/impossible to tell if it's a good program at this point.

My personal opinion about the program: it looks like a very very good program, you will probably learn a lot about various subjects and meet a bunch of very interesting people. BUT, as you said, it's a short program, you are not likely to publish anything by the end of your master, and you don't get any grade for your courses (it's all a pass or fail grade), so you have to think about what you will do after that (staying at PI or going to the US). On the other hand, it's presumably hard to get in the program, and since PI is getting more and more popular this may be enough to get you into a good PhD program afterward, but again the program is new so it's hard to tell how it is viewed.

Thanks Mataka. Though I am in doubt with the duration of the course, PSI will really introduce you to many people who are known in the field. I like the structure of the program because it gives you a taste of different fields which is good in deciding what to pursue later on.

Back to the topic of the post:

Isn't Yale also a good school for quantum information?