A total of 48 hours of formal course work is required (in
addition to 24 hours of dissertation research). All students must take the
following six core physics courses:
Core Courses:
PH 501 - Classical Mechanics
PH 531/532 - Electromagnetic Theory
PH 541/542 - Quantum Mechanics
PH 571 - Kinetic Theory and Statistical Mechanics
The completion of any of the above courses (or the equivalent
as approved by the department chairperson) with a grade of "B"
(3.0/4.0) or better prior to enrolling as a graduate student in this department
will constitute fulfillment of the requirement for that course. (See Section V.)
Physics Seminar: All full-time physics students are
required to enroll for one hour of PH 597 (Physics Seminar) each semester in
residence. Seminar requirements include attending at least 10 specialty seminars
(e.g., MINT or High Energy) and/or departmental colloquia. First-year physics
students must attend a minimum of one MINT and one High-Energy seminar. For
students in the second year and beyond, the division among seminars and
departmental colloquia will be determined by the student's advisor in
consultation with the student. Students in the second year and beyond must also
make one presentation each semester. Grading for PH 597 is pass/fail.
Other course requirements: Physics students must take an
additional 18 hours of graduate work as determined by the student's advisor in
consultation with the student. The remaining 12 hours of the 48-hour course
requirement can be chosen by the student. A maximum of six hours of the 48-hour
requirement can come from a combination of PH 597, PH 598 and PH 698 (although
students may take more than six hours of these courses). A maximum of 12 of the
48 hours may be taken outside the department.
Some recommended mathematics courses:
MATH 500/501 - Mathematical Methods of Physics
MATH 510 - Numerical Linear Algebra
MATH 511/512 - Numerical Analysis I & II
MATH 513 – Finite- Element Methods
MATH 541 - Boundary Value Problems
MATH 542 - Integral Transforms and Asymptotics
MATH 583 - Complex Analysis I
CS 512 – C Programming under Unix
2. Physics with astronomy specialization
A total of 48 hours of formal course work is required (in
addition to 24 hours of dissertation research). All students must take the
following six core physics courses:
Core Courses:
PH 501 - Classical Mechanics
PH 531/532 - Electromagnetic Theory
PH 541/542 - Quantum Mechanics
PH 571 - Kinetic Theory and Statistical Mechanics
Astronomy course requirements: At least 15 hours must be
from the following list, with at least one at the 600 level:
AY 501 - Celestial Mechanics & Astrodynamics
AY 521 - Theoretical Astrophysics
AY 533 - Observational Techniques
AY 550 - Stars and Stellar Evolution
AY 570 - Galaxy and Interstellar Medium
AY 620 - Extragalactic Astronomy
AY 640 - Radiation Processes in Astrophysics
AY 650 - Astronomy Special Topics (only 3 hrs can count
toward the 15-hr AY requirement)
AY 660 - Astrophysical Plasmas & Magnetodynamics
The completion of any of the previously listed astronomy
courses or core physics courses (or the equivalent as approved by the department
chairperson) with a grade of "B" (3.0/4.0) or better prior to
enrolling as a graduate student in this department will constitute fulfillment
of the requirement for that course. (See Section V.)
Astronomy seminar: All full-time astronomy students must
register for one hour of AY 597 (Astronomy Seminar) each semester in residence.
Seminar requirements include attending weekly astronomy seminars, departmental
colloquia, and making presentations, as specified by the student's advisor.
Additional course requirements: Three additional hours
will be determined by the advisor in consultation with the student, and the
remaining courses can be chosen by the student. Six of the required 48 hours of
formal course work may include a combination of AY 597, PH 598, and PH 698. A
maximum of 12 of the 48 hours may be taken outside the department.
Some recommended mathematics courses:
MATH 500/501 - Mathematical Methods of Physics
MATH 510 - Numerical Linear Algebra
MATH 511/512 - Numerical Analysis I & II
MATH 513 – Finite- Element Methods
MATH 541 - Boundary Value Problems
MATH 542 - Integral Transforms and Asymptotics
MATH 583 - Complex Analysis I
CS 512 – C Programming under Unix
B. QUALIFYING AND PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS
There shall be two separate exams that a prospective Ph.D.
candidate must pass. The first of these will be given early in the student's
career and will cover primarily advanced undergraduate physics; the second exam
will be given before the dissertation research is begun and will be more closely
related to the student's research area. The first exam is the Qualifying Exam
and is a requirement for entering the Ph.D. program. The second exam is the
Preliminary Exam; passage of this exam formally admits one to candidacy for the
Ph.D.
1. Qualifying Examination
The Qualifying Exam will be given each January. Although
there is no limit on the number of times a student may take the exam, financial
support may be withdrawn if a Ph.D. student does not pass the exam by the end of
the student's second year. As an alternative to passing the Qualifying Exam,
students can submit a physics GRE score of at least 60 percentile. The GRE may
also be taken an unlimited number of times.
The Qualifying Exam will be a written test consisting of four
parts: I. Classical Mechanics, II. Electricity and Magnetism, III. Quantum
Mechanics, and IV. Mixed Topics (electronics, optics, thermodynamics &
statistical mechanics, relativity, and astrophysics). Students wishing to
specialize in astronomy are required to answer astrophysics questions in place
of electronics in Part IV. The exam will be given on successive days, three
hours each day, with each session to cover half the exam. The exam shall be
compiled and graded by a committee of at least four faculty members. A score of
70% or above will represent an outright pass, and a score below 60% will be an
outright pass. Students receiving a score of 60% - 69% will receive a
conditional fail and will be given an oral exam. If these students do well on
the oral exam, then they will pass the exam in its entirety. No oral exam will
be required for students scoring 70% or above.
2. Preliminary Examination
The Preliminary Exam shall focus on the student’s area of
specialization, and may include areas of graduate-level physics related to the
research. The student in consultation with his/her research advisor should
choose a committee consisting of four faculty members. The advisor will not be a
member of the committee but will be invited to observe the examination. The
department chairperson must approve the committee. A form to be used in
selecting the committee is given in the appendix. Students without a research
advisor will not be allowed to take the exam.
The exam should be taken as early as possible once the
student has finished the appropriate graduate coursework and has begun actual
dissertation research. The exam will consist of two parts: a written research
plan and an oral examination. A written research plan (up to 2000 words)
developed with the research advisor will be submitted to the committee members
two weeks before the oral exam. The research plan should include a description
of the problem to be addressed, a literature survey, the approach that will be
undertaken to tackle the problem, and a discussion of expected results. The oral
examination will consist of a forty-minute presentation of the research plan
followed by questions from the committee on the research plan and the
application of graduate level coursework to the proposed research. The decision
to pass or fail will be based on these two criteria: 1) the student’s
knowledge of graduate-level physics and 2) the feasibility of the proposed
research plan.
Financial support may be withdrawn if the student does not
pass the Preliminary Exam by the end of the student’s fourth year in
residence. The Preliminary Exam chairperson should notify the department
chairperson in writing of the committee decision after the student attempts the
exam. After the student has passed the exam, the Preliminary Exam Committee
should sign the Application for Admission to Candidacy form in the appendix.
Only two attempts of the Preliminary Exam are permitted.
2. The dissertation committee
After selection of a research advisor and research area and
after passing the Preliminary Examination, the student, in consultation with
his/her advisor and the department chairperson, will form a Dissertation
Committee. The committee will consist of five members, including the research
advisor as committee chairperson, three other faculty members from the
Department of Physics and Astronomy, and one faculty member of another
department. (The external committee member may be from another institution if
prior approval is obtained from the Dean of the Graduate School.) Students doing
theoretical (experimental) dissertations are advised to have at least one
faculty member on the committee who is an experimentalist (theorist). At least
one departmental member of the committee should be from an area outside the
student's major research concentration. A form to use in selecting the committee
is given in the appendix, page B-2. The student is required to meet with the
Dissertation Committee each semester for assistance in monitoring and guiding
the student's research.
3. Final version of the dissertation
A final version of the dissertation will be given to each of
the five members of the Dissertation Committee at least two weeks before the
oral defense. The student is responsible for all aspects of the production of
the dissertation, including the preparation, typing, reproduction, dissemination
to the committee members, and all costs involved. Departmental resources cannot
be utilized for the production of the dissertation.
4. Oral examination
A final oral examination must be passed after completion of
the dissertation. The examination will be primarily on the candidate's research
work as embodied in the dissertation, but it may also encompass the complete
program for the degree. The examining committee will be the Dissertation
Committee previously described.