mit physics phd exam

MIT Physics Values Committee

Well-being - inclusion - collaboration - mentorship - respect, search form, graduate coursework and qualifying exams, on this page:.

• Links to department and MIT webpages about academic info
• Advising and support services
• Advice about core courses and the written diagnostic exams
• Advice about the oral exam

Official academic information

Department webpages about academic requirements.

• Guidelines for Physics Doctoral candidates
• Core course and oral exam information
• Requirements for the interdisciplinary PhD in Physics, Statistics, and Data Science

Administrative information

• Student information and records
• Links to  subject registration
• Physical education  class registration
• MIT subject evaluations and past evaluation results
• Graduate certificate programs  (scroll to bottom)

Class websites

• Canvas (where your current course sites are)
• Stellar  (most old class websites can be found through this)
• MITx  (some classes use this for online homework, lectures)

Class Offerings

• Physics department list
• Firehose (complete course listing in easily readable format)
• MIT subject listing (less nice format)

Cross Registration

• Cross-registration instructions
• Harvard physics course listing

Advising and Support Services

Your Academic and Research Advisors:  Every graduate student is assigned an academic advisor in addition to their primary research advisor. You'll have an academic advising meeting on Registration Day at the beginning of every semester, but you can email this person for advice any time during the year. 

Graduate Student Advocate:    A person you can go to outside of your advisors is  Claude Canizares , the department's Graduate Student Advocate. He works with graduate students to connect them to resources in the Department and around MIT, and to help them progress towards their degrees and develop professionally. Prof. Canizares is an X-ray astrophysicist who led the Center for Space Research (now the MIT Kavli Institute), served as Vice President for Research, and is deeply connected around MIT. His email address is crc at mit dot edu.

APO Staff:   The staff of the Physics Academic Programs Office supports every aspect of the Physics education program at MIT. We are a friendly, welcoming team of professionals dedicated to the success of all students in MIT Physics degree programs or taking an MIT Physics course. From inquiries about the undergraduate major or questions about admission to our doctoral program, to overseeing degree completion and celebrating graduates, we are available at every step of the Physics education journey: providing information, interpreting academic policy, administering advising, organizing classes, and solving problems. As a part of your extended support network, we’re also available to help with non-academic issues as well, pointing you towards opportunities and resources of all kinds. If you have a question about any aspect of academic life at MIT, ask the Academic Programs Office and we’ll help you find the answers you need.

GradSupport:   GradSupport in the Office of Graduate Education (OGE)  is a place you can go to outside the department for advice and counsel about academic matters. It is the rough equivalent of the undergrads' S3 . 

Core Course Tips

Resources and advice.

• From PGSC  - the most comprehensive info you'll find!
• From the Department  
• From physREFS

Astrophysics

• Students are provided with the  180 questions  they could be asked in advance

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics

• Generally speaking, the exam covers all the material in Wolfgang Ketterle's two classes on Atomic Physics: 8.421 and 8.422 .
• Students typically take the exam during spring of their 2nd year or fall of their 3rd year and often will spend a full two to three months preparing.
• Students will be given a topic one week ahead of their scheduled exam.
• Students are expected to prepare a ~15 minute chalk-talk without any notes on their assigned topic.
• During the roughly one hour and forty-five minute exam, the committee (made up of three AMO faculty, not including the student's research advisor) will interrupt and ask questions about the topic, the student's research, and/or other unrelated AMO topics.
• See this document for the official list of topics students should be familiar with before the exam and a general description of the exam.
• 1st-3rd year AMO students have a bi-weekly study group for students to practice giving presentations on AMO topics to their peers. Contact Alyssa Rudelis at [email protected] to be added to the mailing list for this study group.
• Study guide currently posted on the PhysREFS website

Condensed matter experiment

• Students give a presentation about a topic they are assigned 1 month before the exam
• The rest of the exam consists of questions from the committee
• Expected to know the material in Introduction to Solid State Physics by Kittel
• Graduate students in the division keep an archive of past oral exam questions, study materials, and guides - ask students who have completed their oral exam for more information

Condensed matter theory

• General information on oral exams webpage
• Your research advisor gives you one problem in advance and the rest are from the committee
• Expected to know the material in textbooks:  Solid State Physics by Ashcroft and Mermin, Introduction to Solid State Physics by Kittel, and Intro to Stat Mec h by Kerson Huang

Nuclear/particle experiment

• According to the  department website  as of fall 2019:
• "The NUPAX oral exam consists of three parts: (a) a question prepared in advance based on a relevant topic in nuclear and particle physics, (b) a portion focusing on the student’s current research program, and (c) a broad set of questions in nuclear and particle physics.  Passing of the exam will depend on the student’s performance in the assigned question, as well as their proficiency in  nuclear physics ,  particle physic s,  and   detectors and experimental techniques .   The topics and questions are drawn primarily from material covered in the NUPAX required graduate classes (8.701, 8.711, and 8.811). The exam is a total of 90 minutes in duration and results are communicated to the student at the completion of the exam."

Nuclear/particle theory

• Students give a short presentation about a topic they are assigned a few weeks before the exam
• The rest of the exam is questions from three professors
• "The topics and questions are drawn primarily from material covered in NUPAT graduate classes, with emphasis on 8.325 and Field Theory of the Standard Model." - from 2019 CTP graduate student handbook
• The graduate students in the division keep an archive of old oral exam questions, study materials, and guides in a shared Dropbox folder. Ask a friend or officemate for access!

Plasma physics

• Students give a ~30-minute presentation on a topic (often a paper) assigned a few weeks before the exam by the student's official (senior) supervisor
• The committee often asks questions about the presentation for ~30 minutes, then general questions (total time of the exam is ~2 hours)
• Expected to know the material in  Introduction to Plasma Physics  by F. Chen; additional material from Hutchinson's Principles of Plasma Diagnonstics , Friedberg's Ideal MHD or Fusion Energy may be requested depending on the breadth of courses the student has taken
• Senior graduate students in the division can share notes and tips from past oral exams - get in touch with one of them to rehearse your presentation and answer some practice questions on the blackboard!

Quantum information

• Students give a short presentation on a topic assigned 2+ weeks before the exam
• According to the 2019 CTP graduate student handbook , "The topics and questions are drawn primarily from material covered in the textbook by Nielsen and Chuang."

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Many PhD students in the MIT Physics Department incorporate probability, statistics, computation, and data analysis into their research. These techniques are becoming increasingly important for both experimental and theoretical Physics research, with ever-growing datasets, more sophisticated physics simulations, and the development of cutting-edge machine learning tools. The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Statistics (IDPS)  is designed to provide students with the highest level of competency in 21st century statistics, enabling doctoral students across MIT to better integrate computation and data analysis into their PhD thesis research.

Admission to this program is restricted to students currently enrolled in the Physics doctoral program or another participating MIT doctoral program. In addition to satisfying all of the requirements of the Physics PhD, students take one subject each in probability, statistics, computation and statistics, and data analysis, as well as the Doctoral Seminar in Statistics, and they write a dissertation in Physics utilizing statistical methods. Graduates of the program will receive their doctoral degree in the field of “Physics, Statistics, and Data Science.”

Doctoral students in Physics may submit an Interdisciplinary PhD in Statistics Form between the end of their second semester and penultimate semester in their Physics program. The application must include an endorsement from the student’s advisor, an up-to-date CV, current transcript, and a 1-2 page statement of interest in Statistics and Data Science.

The statement of interest can be based on the student’s thesis proposal for the Physics Department, but it must demonstrate that statistical methods will be used in a substantial way in the proposed research. In their statement, applicants are encouraged to explain how specific statistical techniques would be applied in their research. Applicants should further highlight ways that their proposed research might advance the use of statistics and data science, both in their physics subfield and potentially in other disciplines. If the work is part of a larger collaborative effort, the applicant should focus on their personal contributions.

For access to the selection form or for further information, please contact the IDSS Academic Office at  [email protected] .

Required Courses

Courses in this list that satisfy the Physics PhD degree requirements can count for both programs. Other similar or more advanced courses can count towards the “Computation & Statistics” and “Data Analysis” requirements, with permission from the program co-chairs. The IDS.190 requirement may be satisfied instead by IDS.955 Practical Experience in Data, Systems, and Society, if that experience exposes the student to a diverse set of topics in statistics and data science. Making this substitution requires permission from the program co-chairs prior to doing the practical experience.

• IDS.190 – Doctoral Seminar in Statistics and Data Science ( may be substituted by IDS.955 Practical Experience in Data, Systems and Society )
• 6.7700[J] Fundamentals of Probability or
• 18.675 – Theory of Probability
• 6.S951 Modern Mathematical Statistics or
• 18.655 – Mathematical Statistics or
• 18.6501 – Fundamentals of Statistics or
• IDS.160[J] – Mathematical Statistics: A Non-Asymptotic Approach
• 6.S966/8.S301 Symmetry and its Application to Machine Learning and Scientific Computing or
• 6.7810 Algorithms for Inference or
• 6.8610 (6.864) Advanced Natural Language Processing or
• 6.7900 (6.867) Machine Learning or
• 6.8710 (6.874) Computational Systems Biology: Deep Learning in the Life Sciences or
• 9.520[J] – Statistical Learning Theory and Applications or
• 16.940 – Numerical Methods for Stochastic Modeling and Inference or
• 18.337 – Numerical Computing and Interactive Software
• 8.316 – Data Science in Physics or
• 6.8300 (6.869) Advances in Computer Vision or
• 8.334 – Statistical Mechanics II or
• 8.371[J] – Quantum Information Science or
• 8.591[J] – Systems Biology or
• 8.592[J] – Statistical Physics in Biology or
• 8.942 – Cosmology or
• 9.583 – Functional MRI: Data Acquisition and Analysis or
• 16.456[J] – Biomedical Signal and Image Processing or
• 18.367 – Waves and Imaging or
• IDS.131[J] – Statistics, Computation, and Applications

Grade Policy

C, D, F, and O grades are unacceptable. Students should not earn more B grades than A grades, reflected by a PhysSDS GPA of ≥ 4.5. Students may be required to retake subjects graded B or lower, although generally one B grade will be tolerated.

Unless approved by the PhysSDS co-chairs, a minimum grade of B+ is required in all 12 unit courses, except IDS.190 (3 units) which requires a P grade.

Though not required, it is strongly encouraged for a member of the MIT  Statistics and Data Science Center (SDSC)  to serve on a student’s doctoral committee. This could be an SDSC member from the Physics department or from another field relevant to the proposed thesis research.

Thesis Proposal

All students must submit a thesis proposal using the standard Physics format. Dissertation research must involve the utilization of statistical methods in a substantial way.

PhysSDS Committee

• Jesse Thaler (co-chair)
• Mike Williams (co-chair)
• Isaac Chuang
• Janet Conrad
• William Detmold
• Philip Harris
• Jacqueline Hewitt
• Kiyoshi Masui
• Leonid Mirny
• Christoph Paus
• Phiala Shanahan
• Marin Soljačić
• Washington Taylor
• Max Tegmark

Can I satisfy the requirements with courses taken at Harvard?

Harvard CompSci 181 will count as the equivalent of MIT’s 6.867.  For the status of other courses, please contact the program co-chairs.

Can a course count both for the Physics degree requirements and the PhysSDS requirements?

Yes, this is possible, as long as the courses are already on the approved list of requirements. E.g. 8.592 can count as a breadth requirement for a NUPAX student as well as a Data Analysis requirement for the PhysSDS degree.

If I have previous experience in Probability and/or Statistics, can I test out of these requirements?

These courses are required by all of the IDPS degrees. They are meant to ensure that all students obtaining an IDPS degree share the same solid grounding in these fundamentals, and to help build a community of IDPS students across the various disciplines. Only in exceptional cases might it be possible to substitute more advanced courses in these areas.

Can I substitute a similar or more advanced course for the PhysSDS requirements?

Yes, this is possible for the “computation and statistics” and “data analysis” requirements, with permission of program co-chairs. Substitutions for the “probability” and “statistics” requirements will only be granted in exceptional cases.

For Spring 2021, the following course has been approved as a substitution for the “computation and statistics” requirement:   18.408 (Theoretical Foundations for Deep Learning) .

The following course has been approved as a substitution for the “data analysis” requirement:   6.481 (Introduction to Statistical Data Analysis) .

Can I apply for the PhysSDS degree in my last semester at MIT?

No, you must apply no later than your penultimate semester.

What does it mean to use statistical methods in a “substantial way” in one’s thesis?

The ideal case is that one’s thesis advances statistics research independent of the Physics applications. Advancing the use of statistical methods in one’s subfield of Physics would also qualify. Applying well-established statistical methods in one’s thesis could qualify, if the application is central to the Physics result. In all cases, we expect the student to demonstrate mastery of statistics and data science.

77 Massachusetts Avenue Building 4-315 Cambridge MA, 02139

617-253-4841 [email protected]

Website: Physics

Application Opens: September 15

Deadline: December 15 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Fee: $90.00

Terms of Enrollment

Doctor of Science (ScD)

*The Master’s Degree in Physics is available in special cases only (e.g., US military officers).

Interdisciplinary Programs

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Statistics (IDPS)

Standardized Tests

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

• General test and subject test are recommended but not required. All applications will be given full consideration with or without GRE scores.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

• Minimum score required: 7
• Electronic scores send to: MIT Graduate Admissions

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

• Minimum score required: 100 (iBT) 600 (PBT)
• Institute code: 3514
• Department code: 76

Waiver of TOEFL/IELTS may be available.

Areas of Research

• Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Physics
• Atomic and Optical Physics
• Biophysics, Medical Physics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• High Energy and Nuclear Physics
• Plasma Physics, Nuclear Fusion Research, Relativistic Beam Physics
• Quantum Information Science
• Plasma Physics, Nuclear Fusion Research, Plasma Astrophysics
• Theoretical Astrophysics

Financial Support

Our PhD students are fully supported financially throughout the duration of their program, provided that they make satisfactory progress. Funding is provided from Fellowships (internal and external) and/or Assistantships (research and teaching) and covers tuition, health insurance, and a living stipend. Read more about funding at the Physics website.

Application Requirements

• Online application
• Statement of objectives
• Three letters of recommendation
• Transcripts
• English proficiency exam scores, if required
• GRE scores are optional for applications due 12/15/2023

Special Instructions

Official transcripts should be scanned and uploaded to your online application. You must provide one uploaded copy of the official academic transcript from each college you have attended. A hard copy of your transcript may be requested later if additional processing is required; please do not send a hard copy of your transcript until we ask that you do so.

Applicants are required to complete Subjects Taken section of the online application. Please list physics, mathematics, and other science courses only; group courses by subject area, and complete each column.

Fee waivers may be available on a limited basis for qualifying applicants. Please see the Physics website for more information.

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