Hello guys,

I just completed my undergraduate studies in BSc. Hons Physics. I do have strong intention to further my studies up to Master and PhD level in particle physics/advanced Quantum Mechanics/General Relativity related field of studies. Malaysia doesn't seems to offer "MUCH" for either of these field and my lectures told me >> "If you keen about this, don't stay in Malaysia".

From what I known so far, if I am going to study overseas I will need to apply for Scholarship to help me in financial supports. Before that, I will need to sit for GRE and TOEFL for eligibility as applicant. I have no confidence to sit for this test by self-preparation so I would need to pay for preparation course that available in Malaysia and these courses are freaking expensive...

So I probably should work for a while then and if i do, how long should I work?
( I've tried googled and it seems most of the scholarships had past the deadline )
Well since I have a degree certificate i should probably find a job as a fresh grads? A fresh grad with physics degree seems to be hard in seeking a job (I've tried googled for jobs as well )

Or should I sacrifice my time to study in Malaysia?

Either work or study I will need some updated information, particularly about Scholarship for studying Master Degree at overseas.

I will appreciate very very much for any helps in providing me information or opinions about this.

Thank you in advance.

Do you have your preference of countries to go pursue your Master or PhD? If you go to US, you'll need GRE. But Europe and Asia, generally TOEFL is already acceptable. Scholarships in East Asia (i.e. Japan and Korea) even accept institutional TOEFL certificates. I just finished my Master's degree in engineering a couple of months ago from Korea, so I want to help you in a way I can.

Which test are you more worried about? If you're not confident about the TOEFL, as an English native speaker I may be able to help you with that in exchange for you helping me with physics. Is your ultimate goal to get work as a physicist in Malaysia?

This post has been edited by gojirasan: Oct 22 2013, 05:33 PM

I did consider about countries like UK/US/SG or even Japan which are the countries with strong developed background in physics. I have checked with SG universities, they stated "GRE and TOEFL" so i think they need both.

To be honest i wish i can further my studies to UK, but i need more information, not just about UK, maybe some other alternatives as well. I don't mind going anywhere as long as I can get what I want to study.. (of course Malaysia would be the very last option for me XD).

Hm... I think i need information in details about life expenses when studying overseas. How did you cover up those expenses? something like that?

Oh yea i probably need some source that provide information about the scholarships? how do you apply? "I heard that you need to be accepted as the student of that particular institute before you apply?

Thank you. Im glad you can help me with that. I can also help you with physics stuff.

Well, working as physicist is my goal.
As for working in Malaysia, I probably consider that after retire age LOL.

3 days ago, dreamer101 shared something about saving money to study a master in USA in this thread.

can anyone recommend GRE/TOEFL prep class in penang??

Some of my juniors are now studying in UK for their Masters. I`ll ask around.

You might know this already, but there are different scholarship schemes. When I was studying in Korea, my scholarship only covered my tuition fee. The living expense was covered by monthly stipend from my professor. So in a way, I got two scholarships there. Don`t forget to scrutinize the details of all scholarships.

This might come across as smart-ass, but seriously, Google is your friend. In my case, I googled Korean university that has my major. Then browsed their website to extract as much information as I could. As for your last question, it varies. But almost all post-Bachelor scholarship requires some kind of recommendation letter from one of the professor in the university you want to go to.

Haha. The brain drain. Poor Malaysia. I'd recommend eventually applying to both MIT and Caltech in the US and Oxford/Cambridge in the UK. Germany, Japan, and Korea are also good places to study physics I think, but then you have yet another language that you need to learn.

As far as work do you know anything about gyrotrons or klystrons? Do you have any interest in microwave tube design?

Here are some links about scholarships I have found using "particle physics scholarship" as a Google keyword.
Texas Tech: http://www.phys.ttu.edu/grad_support.html
University of Edinburgh: http://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/msc-theoretical-mat...rships-fundings
MIT: http://web.mit.edu/sfs/scholarships/index.html

What I would suggest is to make a good resume and be confident in it. When I applied for my Master, I directly email the professor in that department, asking if he could be me academic advisor and provide me with the recommendation letter. He initially declined, but after some persuasion, he gave in and took me as his grad student.

wow i never knew you can keep on pestering a prof to fund u.. mind sharing which Uni is that? local or overseas?

I got my Master in Chonnam National University, South Korea. And please do note that being persuasive is not equal to pestering.

Oh! CNU, one of the five major national universities of South Korea with major researches on Agro-Bioindustry, Bio-IT Fusion Technology, and Korean Dinosaurs. I wonder, what kind of persuasion technique did you use?

Pm me I can get you in touch with UEL uni east London my former uni. Excellent serious courses and very conducive location. Earned my MSc there. V high standards. Came back to msia couldn't cope with the standards (double standards) here. Its so tough here as all public dept accept only BSc or BA in skin-kolor

My professor initially didn't think that he was ready to have an international Master student until next year. So I proposed a workaround that I would be under another professor's advisory until next year and then switching to his advisory when he's ready. Of course, I also keep the another professor in the loop of our conversation. Turned out the other professor is his senior and I think he talked my professor into taking me right away.

This post has been edited by vankodoq: Oct 24 2013, 10:04 AM

So you will attempt to become a great theoretical physicist by all means like Peter Higgs, who recently received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work and recent discovery of the God particle?

Thank you all for the information shared. For your information, there is still a few months until my convocation. So I guess i have just enough time for preparation. I really appreciate all the information and opinions you guys shared to me

Yea , I did some extra readings while I was studying atomic physics but I'm not interested in that field. Sorry about that XD

Thank you very much!! This is a awesome share.. gonna give it a try lol xD Will refer back to you for further helps XD


Thank you ristc for providing me this opportunity. I shall contact you after I make up my mind


Yup, something like that. I don't really care if I'm able to have that kind of achievement, I just want to be part of it.

This post has been edited by RokkQM: Oct 24 2013, 01:13 PM

No worries, bro. Just want to emphasize my point that although it seems cliche, Google is indeed your friend in things like this. And do keep your spirit on your pursuit in physics. I haven't had any interest in physics until I watched several YouTube videos about the awesomeness of physics.

Can you show some of the YouTube videos here?

I can, but then we will have an out-of-topic discussion. Just check the channel "minutephysics" in YouTube.

To make my post still on-topic, below are other links for scholarship info in Physics.
Universitat Stuttgart: http://www.msc.physics.uni-stuttgart.de/ad...on/scholarship/
Erasmus Mundus: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/r..._courses_en.php
If you're an excellent student with passion for PhD, I'd say try to find out more about the Erasmus Mundus.