Fusion and Plasma Graduate School Day
Saturday, September 26, 2020, 12-6 pm ET
A graduate degree in plasma physics or fusion science and technology can lead to exciting careers in academia, national laboratories, and industry. The APS-DPP Fusion and Plasma Graduate School Day is an opportunity to learn about US graduate programs in plasma physics and the fusion sciences, learn about the application process, learn about fellowship opportunities for graduate students, and to network with other graduate students. You can find the videos and resources of the 2020 Graduate School Day in the links below.
Want to know where you can study fusion and plasma science? Check out our list of institutions offering degrees.
Click here to access the fully linked agenda
"Demystifying the grad school application process” Workshop
The day will start with the "Demystifying the grad school application process” workshop, led by Vanessa Gonzalez-Perez, PhD. This workshop will help prospective graduate school applicants navigate the application process and will include topics like: How to pick your grad school, dos and don'ts of writing your essays, the role of the GRE, among others. Vanessa is the Assistant Dean for Access, Diversity and Inclusion for the Natural Sciences and Engineering at the Graduate School at Princeton University.
Click here to watch the recorded workshop
Graduate School Fair
Graduate schools with plasma physics and/or fusion science programs will staff virtual booths featuring the research being done at each institution. Participants are invited to "stop by" the booths and interact with the scientists, professors, admissions staff, and graduate students at each booth.
Click here to view a list of plasma/fusion graduate schools
Graduate Opportunities Panel
Students applying to graduate school seldom know about all of the fellowship opportunities available for them. Fellowships help cover tuition, sometimes provide extra stipends, give you more research and academic freedom when entering grad school, give you proposal writing experience, and, in general, look good on a CV.
The Graduate Opportunities Panel features program managers and recipients of fellowships and awards available for graduate students in fusion energy and plasma science from the National Science Foundation (plasma physics at NSF can be found both in the
Mathematical & Physical Sciences and the
Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences divisions), Department of Energy Office of Science, Fulbright program, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships, Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration, GEM Fellowship, etc.
Find all of the 2020 Graduate Opportunities Panel slides
here.
Click here to watch the recorded panel
Networking Session
To close off the Graduate School Day, graduate students from different plasma physics and fusion programs will lead breakout rooms that participants are invited to attend. This will be a chance to meet future colleagues and ask them about the application process, the grad school experience, different fields of plasma and fusion, different institutions, etc.