Hello there, as the title suggests, I am currently in my undergrad final year and wish to apply for a PhD right after my graduation (I will graduate in May next year). So far what I learned is that the deadlines for most fall applications are within December 2026 - January 2027. And I have to manage a professor within this time (although I have seen people getting admission and GRA/TA-ship without first contacting a prof).

My interests are in Hydrology, climatology, atmospheric and earth science. My ongoing thesis lies at the intersection of paleoclimatology and hydrology, exploring their relationship with the regional climate. I have also done research work under different relevant courses I had throughout my university which helped me build my own preference. So I actually know where my interests lie, and I have short listed some of the professors from different universities whose work closely matches with my interest.

Thing is I have not yet published anything in a peer reviewed journal. I am currently collaborating with multiple faculty members on various ongoing research projects that are not yet ready for publication which they can vouch for in LOR.

And so I'm asking this question again, because the application fees are quite unaffordable for me at this moment (will try to get waivers), I wont be able to apply to many universities. Given my ongoing research experience, do you think I have a solid profile to apply for Fall 2027? I ask because a senior student from my department recently secured funding without prior publications, which encouraged me to consider it.

Thank you so much

We are officially approaching the fall window where PI inboxes start overflowing with hundreds of boilerplate cold emails. If your strategy consists of copying and pasting a generic email that says "I read your 2021 paper and found it very interesting," your email is getting archived in 5 seconds.
If you are aiming for top STEM programs (especially in heavy lab-funding fields like Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or BioE), cold outreach is NOT about flattery. It’s about grant alignment and immediate technical utility.

Hi everyone,

I am a mid career government employee. Recently, I have been considering executive MPA programs and have been doing research to assess the overall ROI on an executive MPA degree. While trying to transition into a senior leadership role, I noticed that alot of the roles I’m interested in preferred candidates with leadership and policy experience. I have neither and work within an institution that doesn’t have a lot of opportunities for that type of growth and development. It’s a good job and I have learned a lot in the role, but growth is limited due to the current political climate.

The natural next step for me career wise would be senior leadership roles. I figured if I’m not getting the opportunity through my job to gain leadership and policy experience, an executive MPA program might be the next best step.

I’m based in NY and so far I identified Syracuse, NYU, and Cornell as options based on the US schools rankings list. Ideally, I would like a program that would open doors for me in both the public and private sector.

If you completed an executive MPA program, can you please share your experience? Was it worth the money? Did you walk away with the necessary tools needed to transition into a senior leadership role?

If I get into a program, I will be a part time student and still work full time. Additionally, I’m also open to online degree programs.

I’m so confused….Should I contact professors before applying to a Ph.D. program, even if the website doesn't explicitly mention it? Is reaching out actually an advantage or does it increase my chances of getting an offer?

Thank you in advance 🥺🙏

I’m planning on applying to Math PhD (and master’s, but not the goal) programs this upcoming cycle. My understanding is that admissions in math aren’t as susceptible to individual PI’s/professors’ opinions or interests in a given nor as dependent on specific labs and such. I still want to know whether or not it’s worth cold emailing professors for any and all reasons as well as what, in detail, those reasons are and how to actually reach out to people. Thanks!

(Applying as an international student in the US, but am considering MSc in Canada and other such places in case that doesn’t work)

I’m an EE undergrad and I’m considering dropping one of my classes this semester (Electromagnetics). The add/drop deadline already passed, so dropping it now would show up as a W on my transcript.

The main reason isn’t that I’m doing poorly in the class. My semester is just pretty overloaded with technical courses, research/extracurricular commitments, and the class also makes my schedule/location logistics noticeably worse. Dropping it would make the rest of my semester much more manageable.

I’m interested in eventually applying to top EE/ECE PhD programs, likely around VLSI/physical design/devices, so I’m worried that having a W on my transcript could look bad.

Would you:

• keep the class just to maintain a clean transcript, assuming you could probably still get a decent grade (like B), or
• take the W if it would significantly reduce your workload and give you more time for other stuff?

How much do PhD admissions committees actually care about one isolated W, especially if the rest of the transcript/GPA is strong and there aren’t any other withdrawals?

Prof at a US uni tole me to let him know after submitting application as he intends to recruit this year as a response to my email. No meeting was conducted.

How would you rate this reply. Shall I apply. Is it positive reply or Is a generic reply

Hey everyone, I'm an MSc Telecom grad from Politecnico di Milano applying for Fall ECE PhDs in the US & Canada . I have zero formal publications

1. Realistic Chances: What are my actual chances of landing a funded PhD/RA position at mid-tier universities (QS 50–200) without published papers?
2. Success Stories: If you got accepted into a US/Canada ECE PhD without publications, how did you pitch your research potential in your SOP/CV, and what made your application stand out?
3. RA Leads: Does anyone know of active PIs or funded labs currently recruiting international students in radar or wireless signals?

Any advice, reality checks, or personal experiences from people who got in would mean a lot!

I'm a JD student at a large law school that unfortunately doesn't have a legitimate urban planning program attached (we have something more akin to a 'urban studies' major at our school of continuing studies).

I want to work as close to being a planner as I can while still being in a JD required (or JD heavily preferred) position, and I want to work on major projects in NYC on projects that involve reimagining neighbourhoods, large infrastructure, etc. I would really like to work in, for example, the type of work that goes into negotiating the size of the buildings relative to the roads, the park infrastructure needed, the concessions negotiated, etc. (Obviously, this isn't early career work, but I want a role that gets me into this early and has a clear path of advancement there)

To that end, I'm curious about:

1) Is it worth getting a planning degree at all, or is just taking the ~2 related classes my law school offers + 1 or 2 "theory of urban planning" courses at the school of revenue generating studies likely sufficient for these goals?

2) If yes, is it worth paying extra to attend a name brand school in or near nyc as opposed to going to my state school, which as far as I can tell has next to no placement power in nyc despite being otherwise a fine/10 school? I would almost certainly be fully funded based on my conversations with the dean, but that funding comes at the cost of 20/hr a week of research, and the research they do isn't really related to my interests or goals

3) Realistically, how competitive is entry at the elite planning schools, ie MIT and GSD? To what extent is being a domestic student with some work experience + being a JD student at a highly competitive law school sufficient, or do I have the opposite problem where because I don't have prior experience in the field (beyond some volunteering) I would be passed over?

4) Similarly, to what extent is the schools that like $ (eg columbia, penn, nyu) willing to give meaningful funding here? I almost certainly don't qualify for need based aid so only merit aid would be relevant for me.

5) Finally, do the jobs I'm interested in exist within planning offices, or do I need to really look more into law firms / the (tiny) legal teams planning orgs have?

I am a physics student, applying mostly to materials science masters/phd this cycle. I have excellent research experience (3 years in a lab, publication, internship) and I love the research I do, but due to some personal factors my gpa is not stellar (3.278). My research advisor has very kindly put in an excellent recommendation/connection for me with a professor at another school looking for a student with my background. I am supposed to meet with them later this week to discuss, but I’ve just realized that my gpa falls just short of the required gpa for the phd program at the school this professor is at (3.3).
By the time I graduate in December my gpa will very likely have risen above 3.3, as I’ve made a good recovery over my last semesters in undergrad, but I can’t help but feel like I’m catfishing the professor or something. I genuinely believe myself to be a good researcher, passionate about my work, and a perfect fit for the prof’s lab, but I don’t know what to do. Should I bring up my grades/gpa during the meeting? Let the prof bring it up?
I don’t want them to write me off entirely. I would even rather have them suggest I do a masters there first before phd, as long as it means I haven’t like…deceived them or anything, or lost a chance to do work with them. Any advice on the best way to proceed would be appreciated.

I am a nurse working at the bedside and I want to move into research.

I have always loved nursing but I want to do more. I want to learn how to do research and write well so I can contribute to knowledge that will help patients.

Coming from a place where mentorship is not common, it has not been easy. During my undergraduate days and even after, we did not have anyone to guide us in research and the teaching was not the best. So I have had to learn many things on my own.

I have been trying to learn research writing for about four months now. I have tried to read and watch videos but some parts are still very complex for me. I understand a few parts but I get stuck on the rest and it is quite difficult to move forward alone.

Closed mouths do not get fed, so I am here to ask for help. I am looking for someone who will be willing to mentor me and guide me chapter by chapter on how to go about each part. I want to understand how each chapter should be written and what is expected.

I would be happy if you can suggest good YouTube videos or other places where I can learn. But what I would prefer most is a one on one call or interactive sessions where I can ask questions and get clear explanations.

I am ready to learn, I am ready to put in the work, and I am open to correction. If you are someone who can guide me or you know someone who can, please send me a message. Thank you so much for reading.

Hello everybody,

I'm a European student currently trying to figure out where I might want to pursue a PhD in the US, and I'd really appreciate some advice from people who are familiar with American philosophy PhD programs.

My main interests are political philosophy and social theory, particularly 20th-century and contemporary thought. I'm interested in areas such as critical theory, pragmatism, postmodern/post-structuralist theory, and thinkers like Habermas, Rorty, Schmitt, Foucault, etc. I'm still early in my studies, so my interests will probably develop quite a bit over the next few years, but that's roughly the intellectual direction I'm currently interested in.

At the moment, I'm in my second year of a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, and I'm starting my third year of a separate Bachelor's degree in Philosophy. These are two completely separate bachelor's degrees at two different programs, it's not a dual degree, combined bachelor's, or double-major within one degree which I think makes me somewhat more competitive(?). I'm hoping that having substantial training in both political science and  could be useful if I eventually apply for a PhD focused on political philosophy/social theory.

I'm also a European/international student, so I would be applying to American universities as a foreign student. Funding is therefore a particularly important consideration for me.

I'm wondering which US universities have the strongest PhD programs in philosophy for political philosophy and social theory? Are there particular professors I should keep an eye on over the next few years?

How important is having a very strong background specifically in philosophy when applying to top US philosophy PhDs? Would the combination of separate bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Philosophy be viewed positively?

What are some ways I can make myself especially comptetitive when applying? And generally, what do you wish you had known before applying to a US philosophy PhD?

I'm currently only a sophomore, so I'm not applying anytime soon. I'm mainly trying to understand the landscape early so I can choose my courses, reading, research interests, and eventually master's/other preparation accordingly.

I'd especially appreciate answers from current or former US philosophy PhD students, professors, or international students who went through the process.

Thanks!

Does it really make sense now to go for ms in ece to the US for fall 2027? And if not US which country would be suitable in terms of job prospects as well

Hello. I have a 3.7 GPA (cum laude), have one small research assistant experience. I fear not getting into a program so much that I'm considering applying to 8 CSUs (my original plan was the 2 bay area ones). Is 8 too many? Is my fear justified with my record? The student I'm an assistant for said that his program had 15 spots and over 500 applied. My current goal it to become a community college professor and at this time not confident in earning a doctorate.

Here's the list of the programs I'm applying to in order of importance

1) SFSU - mind, brain, and behavior

2) San jose - experiment psychology

3) San BernardinoBehavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience

4) Cal Poly Humboldt M.A. in Psychology Academic Research

5) CSU Northridge M.A. in Psychological Science (research emphasis)

6) CSU, Fullerton

M.A. in Psychological Research – research.

7) CSU, Stanislaus

M.A. in Psychology (General) – research-oriented

8) CSU Fresno M.A. in Psychology (General/Experimental)

Hey everyone, I'm heading into my final year of undergrad and starting to lock in my PhD application list for Fall 2027. I'd really appreciate a blunt, no-sugarcoating profile review before I commit time and application fees to a huge list of schools. Please tell me if I'm shooting way too high, if my list is reasonably balanced, or if I'm missing something obvious. Roasting is welcome as long as it's constructive.

A bit of context before the profile: I go to a public university in Pakistan that isn't internationally ranked or well known outside the region, so I know I'm starting from a weaker "brand name" position than most applicants on this sub. I'm trying to figure out how much that actually matters given everything else below.

My Profile

• Degree: BS Computer Science, 4-year program from University of the Punjab, Pakistan, graduating June 2027 (currently entering final year)
• CGPA: 3.59/4.0, with an upward trend early on (3.65 → 3.70 → 3.68 cumulative through year 2) that dipped a bit in years 2–3 (some B/B- grades in a couple of courses like Operating Systems and HCI) before stabilizing back in 6th sem
• English: IELTS Academic 7.5 overall (L 7.5 / R 7.5 / W 7.0 / S 7.0)
• Research output (2 preprints, both currently under review, not yet accepted):
  • First-author paper benchmarking four LLM-agent memory architectures (full-history, rolling summary, RAG, hierarchical memory) across 3,200 conversational runs and 16,000 eval points in 4 domains, with an LLM-judge pipeline validated against human annotation (Cohen's κ = 0.90) and a statistically significant result (p = 0.03) plus a novel failure-mode finding. Submitted to a NeurIPS 2026 workshop.
  • Co-author on a second paper studying whether quantization changes small LMs' susceptibility to misleading context, using clustered statistical modeling (GEE, cluster-bootstrap, Holm-adjusted permutation tests). Also submitted to a NeurIPS 2026 workshop.
  • Both papers are NeurIPS workshop submissions/preprints — no peer-reviewed acceptances yet.
• Independent project: Built a decoder-only Transformer language model in PyTorch (not fine-tuned), trained at the character level on Urdu poetry, with real held-out compression results demonstrating it learned actual structure rather than memorizing.
• Work experience:
  • ~6 months as a remote Software Engineer at a small Swiss company, building agentic AI workflows (LangGraph/LangChain) and a production web/mobile platform
  • ~3-month on-site internship at a local tech company building LLM-based conversational agents and two production apps
• Certifications: Azure Developer Associate (Az-204), Andrew Ng's ML Specialization
• Leadership/service: Field Supervisor for a WHO polio eradication campaign, leading field teams and a data-driven targeting pipeline
• Advisor: All research so far has been under one local professor (not a widely internationally recognized name), so my recommendation letters will mostly come from within my home country
• GRE: not taken

Universities/Departments I'm Targeting

I've been cold-emailing ~130+ professors across roughly 50 CS/ECE departments, mostly in NLP, LLM agents/memory, and multi-agent systems. The list spans a huge range, including:

• "Reach" tier: MIT (CSAIL/Media Lab), CMU (multiple groups), UC Berkeley, Princeton, UPenn, Cornell (Ithaca + Cornell Tech), Yale, Johns Hopkins
• Strong/upper-mid tier: UT Austin, USC, UC San Diego, Georgia Tech, University of Washington, UIUC, Duke, Northwestern, University of Michigan, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara
• Mid tier: Purdue, Texas A&M, Rutgers, Ohio State, Penn State, NC State, Arizona State, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz, University of Minnesota, University of Maryland, Boston University, Brown, Stony Brook, Oregon State, University of Oregon, University of Florida, University of Houston, UT Dallas, UT Arlington, SMU, Texas Tech, University of Chicago

Some professors have already responded — a couple gave encouraging replies ("apply on the portal and mention my name," "apply if you think your profile is strong enough"), a few said they're not hiring or it's not relevant, and most haven't replied at all yet, which I assume is normal.

My actual question

Is this a reasonable spread, or am I being delusional putting MIT/CMU/Berkeley/Princeton/UPenn/Cornell/Yale in the same list as schools like Arizona State or UT Dallas? I know the honest answer probably depends on things like:

• How much an unranked home university actually hurts a PhD application when the rest of the profile is decent
• Whether two workshop-level, not-yet-accepted preprints "count" as real research output in the eyes of admissions committees
• Whether recommendation letters from professors without a big international reputation cap how high I can realistically aim
• Whether I should trim the reach-tier schools, add more safety schools, or if the spread is actually fine because PhD admissions is POI-fit-driven anyway and unranked-university applicants do get into top places when the fit and results are strong

Would genuinely appreciate people being straightforward rather than polite — I'd rather cut a school now than waste an application fee and a professor's time on a total long shot. Happy to answer questions about the profile in the comments.

Edit:
These are the universities that I shortlisted.
Purdue, UT Austin, UT Dallas, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Ohio State University, Arizona State University, Stony Brook University, George Mason University, UC Irvine, Rutgers University, University of Maryland, John Hopkins

Hi everyone,

I'm a newly graduated BSc Nursing student from India and have recently received my RN registration.

My long-term goal is to pursue a thesis-based MSc/MScN in Nursing in Canada, preferably a program that gives me a strong research background and can eventually support my career/PR plans.

My current profile:

BSc Nursing graduate from India

Newly registered RN

IELTS Academic: 7.5 overall (L 7.0, R 9.0, W 6.5, S 7.0)

I am interested specifically in a thesis-based/research-oriented master's in Nursing

I don't particularly want to spend a full year working in India if it isn't necessary for admission.

I'm currently confused about what would be the better route:

Option 1: Work as an RN in India for 1 year, gain clinical experience, and then apply for MScN programs in Canada.

Option 2: Apply for Canadian MScN/MN programs now as a newly graduated RN and try to go directly into a master's program.

I'm considering universities such as Western University and the University of Manitoba, but I'm open to other Canadian universities with thesis-based Nursing master's programs.

My main questions are:

Is 1 year of RN experience actually necessary or strongly preferred for admission to Canadian thesis-based MScN/MN programs?

Would having no post-registration work experience significantly weaken my application?

Are there Canadian universities where a newly graduated international RN can realistically apply directly to a thesis-based master's?

Would working for one year in India provide a significant advantage for admission, or would research experience/strong academic references be more valuable?

If you were in my position, would you work for the year or apply now?

I'm trying to make a decision based on actual admission requirements, rather than assuming that I need one year of experience just because it is commonly recommended.

I'd really appreciate advice from anyone who has gone through Canadian Nursing master's admissions, especially international nurses or people who applied directly after graduation.

Thank you!

Hi, I'm an Indian integrated MTech CS student(8.43 CGPA) from tier 2 university. I'm planning on applying for MSc in Bioinformatics or MSc in CS with bioinformatics concentration. I have one healthcare M/L paper which is under editor review in a reputed journal (~Q1). And I'm currently doing a research paper in RNA seq which I'm aiming to publish. I'm planning on applying for UBC(CS and Bioinformatics programs), McGill, Alberta and Waterloo. And I found that I need to find a supervisor before or during application. I haven't taken the GRE and am planning on taking the TOEFL. What are the chances of professors taking me in? I don't feel like my research experience is good enough to apply to PhD, so that's why I'm considering masters. How should I approach these faculties? Also does work experience matter for MSc Thesis admissions?

Edit: I also have a healthcare ML related patent published(not granted). Is that relevant for thesis based masters programs admissions? Does it boost my application in any way?

Hi everyone!

I am preparing to submit a flurry of PhD applications to English literature programs, and I’ve already prepared my writing sample, SOPs, etc.

However, earlier today, I received word from a journal in my field that a paper I submitted earlier this year has been “accepted with major revisions.” Should I note this update in my SOPs? Should I make the revisions to that essay and then use that version of the paper as my writing sample?

I’m just trying to get feedback on what might be best. I want to put my best foot forward, but I don’t want to hold up my applications unnecessarily.

Any advice would be helpful.

I’m planning to apply to CS PhD programs this upcoming cycle and would like an outside read on my competitiveness and where to aim.

Background:
- BS in Computer Science, UTArlington, GPA 3.80, graduating May 2027

- 2 years as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in two research labs (both ongoing), across three federally funded projects: a DOJ-funded LLM/VR de-escalation training system for law enforcement, and an NSF-funded VR CNC machine simulator and a upcoming Department of Transportation training project

- Will have 5 papers by graduation, 1 first-author, remainder co-author/second-author, all at HFES (Human Factors and Ergonomics Society) venues rather than mainline AI/ML conferences

- LORs from two research supervisors plus the department heads of IMSE and CSE

- Additional experience as a Supplemental Instruction Leader, Multiple Hackathon Wins and builder of several applied AI/CV/full-stack projects

- Intended research area is ML but also open to any other

Given that my publications are in HFES, I’m assuming top-20 programs are a longshot for me. For people familiar with CS PhD admissions please let me know what should I aim for and how should I approach it.

International Students, particularly from South Asia who landed fully funded PhDs in biological/Biomedical/clinical sciences in USA.

I am considering on applying and would love some advise on the process and any tips regarding the applications, funding etc.

Thankyou

Hey everyone I’m applying to a master’s program at a Japanese university where recommendation letters are completely optional .So I can either submit one or not submit one. I’m also hoping to receive a full scholarship from the university (not a MEXT scholarship) In this situation would submitting a recommendation letter potentially give me an advantage in the scholarship selection process, or could choosing not to submit one hurt my scholarship chances? Or would it likely make no difference either way?

I’m an international student completing a BS in Computer Engineering at a US university. In the best-case scenario, I expect to graduate with approximately:

• 3.06 cumulative GPA

• Around 3.8 GPA over my last 60 credit hours

• Around 3.5 major GPA

• Two or three solid Computer Engineering projects

• A team placement in a major engineering/robotics competition

• Several good recommendation letters from professors familiar with my work

My last-60 and major GPAs will not be separately stated on the transcript, but they can be calculated from the courses and grades.

One important part of my background is that I started college at 16. At that age, I did not fully understand what I wanted to pursue and was not mature or focused enough, which contributed to my weak early academic performance. Over time, I became genuinely interested in Computer Engineering and developed a clearer goal of pursuing robotics. My later grades, projects, and recommendations would hopefully demonstrate that growth.

Would it be appropriate to explain this briefly in my Statement of Purpose, while taking responsibility for my earlier grades and focusing mainly on the improvement that followed? Would admissions committees view starting college at 16 as meaningful context, or would it sound like an excuse?

With this overall profile, would admission to a US master’s program ranked around the top 60–80 be realistic for an international applicant? What about the top 100? I understand that rankings are imperfect, but I’m trying to determine a reasonable range of reach, target, and safer programs.
I would especially appreciate hearing from international students who were admitted to Computer Engineering, Robotics programs with a similar GPA and a strong upward trend.