physics phd guide

PhD Program

**new** graduate student guide, expected progress of physics graduate student to ph.d..

This document describes the Physics Department's expectations for the progress of a typical graduate student from admission to award of a PhD.  Because students enter the program with different training and backgrounds and because thesis research by its very nature is unpredictable, the time-frame for individual students will vary. Nevertheless, failure to meet the goals set forth here without appropriate justification may indicate that the student is not making adequate progress towards the PhD, and will therefore prompt consideration by the Department and possibly by Graduate Division of the student’s progress, which might lead to probation and later dismissal.

Course Work

Graduate students are required to take a minimum of 38 units of approved upper division or graduate elective courses (excluding any upper division courses required for the undergraduate major).  The department requires that students take the following courses which total 19 units: Physics 209 (Classical Electromagnetism), Physics 211 (Equilibrium Statistical Physics) and Physics 221A-221B (Quantum Mechanics). Thus, the normative program includes an additional 19 units (five semester courses) of approved upper division or graduate elective courses.  At least 11 units must be in the 200 series courses. Some of the 19 elective units could include courses in mathematics, biophysics, astrophysics, or from other science and engineering departments.  Physics 290, 295, 299, 301, and 602 are excluded from the 19 elective units. Physics 209, 211 and 221A-221B must be completed for a letter grade (with a minimum average grade of B).  No more than one-third of the 19 elective units may be fulfilled by courses graded Satisfactory, and then only with the approval of the Department.  Entering students are required to enroll in Physics 209 and 221A in the fall semester of their first year and Physics 211 and 221B in the spring semester of their first year. Exceptions to this requirement are made for 1) students who do not have sufficient background to enroll in these courses and have a written recommendation from their faculty mentor and approval from the head graduate adviser to delay enrollment to take preparatory classes, 2) students who have taken the equivalent of these courses elsewhere and receive written approval from the Department to be exempted. 

If a student has taken courses equivalent to Physics 209, 211 or 221A-221B, then subject credit may be granted for each of these course requirements.  A faculty committee will review your course syllabi and transcript.  A waiver form can be obtained in 378 Physics North from the Student Affairs Officer detailing all required documents.  If the committee agrees that the student has satisfied the course requirement at another institution, the student must secure the Head Graduate Adviser's approval.  The student must also take and pass the associated section of the preliminary exam.  Please note that official course waiver approval will not be granted until after the preliminary exam results have been announced.  If course waivers are approved, units for the waived required courses do not have to be replaced for PhD course requirements.  If a student has satisfied all first year required graduate courses elsewhere, they are only required to take an additional 19 units to satisfy remaining PhD course requirements.  (Note that units for required courses must be replaced for MA degree course requirements even if the courses themselves are waived; for more information please see MA degree requirements).

In exceptional cases, students transferring from other graduate programs may request a partial waiver of the 19 elective unit requirement. Such requests must be made at the time of application for admission to the Department.

The majority of first year graduate students are Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) with a 20 hour per week load (teaching, grading, and preparation).  A typical first year program for an entering graduate student who is teaching is:

First Semester

• Physics 209 Classical Electromagnetism (5)
• Physics 221A Quantum Mechanics (5)
• Physics 251 Introduction to Graduate Research (1)
• Physics 301 GSI Teaching Credit (2)
• Physics 375 GSI Training Seminar (for first time GSI's) (2)

Second Semester

• Physics 211 Equilibrium Statistical Physics (4)
• Physics 221B Quantum Mechanics (5)

Students who have fellowships and will not be teaching, or who have covered some of the material in the first year courses material as undergraduates may choose to take an additional course in one or both semesters of their first year.

Many students complete their course requirements by the end of the second year. In general, students are expected to complete their course requirements by the end of the third year. An exception to this expectation is that students who elect (with the approval of their mentor and the head graduate adviser) to fill gaps in their undergraduate background during their first year at Berkeley often need one or two additional semesters to complete their course work.

Faculty Mentors

Incoming graduate students are each assigned a faculty mentor. In general, mentors and students are matched according to the student's research interest.   If a student's research interests change, or if (s)he feels there is another faculty member who can better serve as a mentor, the student is free to request a change of assignment.

The role of the faculty mentor is to advise graduate students who have not yet identified research advisers on their academic program, on their progress in that program and on strategies for passing the preliminary exam and finding a research adviser.  Mentors also are a “friendly ear” and are ready to help students address other issues they may face coming to a new university and a new city.  Mentors are expected to meet with the students they advise individually a minimum of once per semester, but often meet with them more often.  Mentors should contact incoming students before the start of the semester, but students arriving in Berkeley should feel free to contact their mentors immediately.

Student-Mentor assignments continue until the student has identified a research adviser.  While many students continue to ask their mentors for advice later in their graduate career, the primary role of adviser is transferred to the research adviser once a student formally begins research towards his or her dissertation. The Department asks student and adviser to sign a “mentor-adviser” form to make this transfer official.  

Preliminary Exams

In order to most benefit from graduate work, incoming students need to have a solid foundation in undergraduate physics, including mechanics, electricity and magnetism, optics, special relativity, thermal and statistical physics and quantum mechanics, and to be able to make order-of-magnitude estimates and analyze physical situations by application of general principles. These are the topics typically included, and at the level usually taught, within a Bachelor's degree program in Physics at most universities. As a part of this foundation, the students should also have formed a well-integrated overall picture of the fields studied. The preliminary exam is meant to assess the students' background, so that any missing pieces can be made up as soon as possible. The exam is made up of 4 sections, as described in the  Preliminary Exam Policy *, on the Department’s website.  Each section is administered twice a year, at the start of each semester. 

Entering students are encouraged to take this exam as soon as possible, and they are required to attempt all prelims sections in the second semester. Students who have not passed all sections in the third semester will undergo a Departmental review of their performance. Departmental expectations are that all students should successfully pass all sections no later than spring semester of the second year (4th semester); the document entitled  Physics Department Preliminary Exam Policy * describes Departmental policy in more detail. An exception to this expectation is afforded to students who elect (with the recommendation of the faculty mentor and written approval of the head graduate adviser) to fill gaps in their undergraduate background during their first year at Berkeley and delay corresponding section(s) of the exam, and who therefore may need an additional semester to complete the exam; this exception is also further discussed in the  Preliminary Exam Policy * document.

* You must login with your Calnet ID to access Physics Department Preliminary Examination Policy.

Start of Research

Students are encouraged to begin research as soon as possible. Many students identify potential research advisers in their first year and most have identified their research adviser before the end of their second year.  When a research adviser is identified, the Department asks that both student and research adviser sign a form (available from the Student Affairs Office, 378 Physics North) indicating that the student has (provisionally) joined the adviser’s research group with the intent of working towards a PhD.  In many cases, the student will remain in that group for their thesis work, but sometimes the student or faculty adviser will decide that the match of individuals or research direction is not appropriate.  Starting research early gives students flexibility to change groups when appropriate without incurring significant delays in time to complete their degree.

Departmental expectations are that experimental research students begin work in a research group by the summer after the first year; this is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged.  Students doing theoretical research are similarly encouraged to identify a research direction, but often need to complete a year of classes in their chosen specialty before it is possible for them to begin research.  Students intending to become theory students and have to take the required first year classes may not be able to start research until the summer after their second year.  Such students are encouraged to attend theory seminars and maintain contact with faculty in their chosen area of research even before they can begin a formal research program. 

If a student chooses dissertation research with a supervisor who is not in the department, he or she must find an appropriate Physics faculty member who agrees to serve as the departmental research supervisor of record and as co-adviser. This faculty member is expected to monitor the student's progress towards the degree and serve on the student's qualifying and dissertation committees. The student will enroll in Physics 299 (research) in the co-adviser's section.  The student must file the Outside Research Proposal for approval; petitions are available in the Student Affairs Office, 378 Physics North.   

Students who have not found a research adviser by the end of the second year will be asked to meet with their faculty mentor to develop a plan for identifying an adviser and research group.  Students who have not found a research adviser by Spring of the third year are not making adequate progress towards the PhD.  These students will be asked to provide written documentation to the department explaining their situation and their plans to begin research.  Based on their academic record and the documentation they provide, such students may be warned by the department that they are not making adequate progress, and will be formally asked to find an adviser.  The record of any student who has not identified an adviser by the end of Spring of the fourth year will be evaluated by a faculty committee and the student may be asked to leave the program. 

Qualifying Exam

Rules and requirements associated with the Qualifying Exam are set by the Graduate Division on behalf of the Graduate Council.  Approval of the committee membership and the conduct of the exam are therefore subject to Graduate Division approval.  The exam is oral and lasts 2-3 hours.  The Graduate Division specifies that the purpose of the Qualifying Exam is “to ascertain the breadth of the student's comprehension of fundamental facts and principles that apply to at least three subject areas related to the major field of study and whether the student has the ability to think incisively and critically about the theoretical and the practical aspects of these areas.”  It also states that “this oral examination of candidates for the doctorate serves a significant additional function. Not only teaching, but the formal interaction with students and colleagues at colloquia, annual meetings of professional societies and the like, require the ability to synthesize rapidly, organize clearly, and argue cogently in an oral setting.  It is necessary for the University to ensure that a proper examination is given incorporating these skills.”

Please see the  Department website for a description of the Qualifying Exam and its Committee .   Note: You must login with your Calnet ID to access QE information . Passing the Qualifying Exam, along with a few other requirements described on the department website, will lead to Advancement to Candidacy.  Qualifying exam scheduling forms can be picked up in the Student Affairs Office, 378 Physics North.   

The Department expects students to take the Qualifying Exam two or three semesters after they identify a research adviser. This is therefore expected to occur for most students in their third year, and no later than fourth year. A student is considered to have begun research when they first register for Physics 299 or fill out the department mentor-adviser form showing that a research adviser has accepted the student for PhD work or hired as a GSR (Graduate Student Researcher), at which time the research adviser becomes responsible for guidance and mentoring of the student.  (Note that this decision is not irreversible – the student or research adviser can decide that the match of individuals or research direction is not appropriate or a good match.)  Delays in this schedule cause concern that the student is not making adequate progress towards the PhD.  The student and adviser will be asked to provide written documentation to the department explaining the delay and clarifying the timeline for taking the Qualifying Exam.

Annual Progress Reports

Graduate Division requires that each student’s performance be annually assessed to provide students with timely information about the faculty’s evaluation of their progress towards PhD.  Annual Progress Reports are completed during the Spring Semester.  In these reports, the student is asked to discuss what progress he or she has made toward the degree in the preceding year, and to discuss plans for the following year and for PhD requirements that remain to be completed.  The mentor or research adviser or members of the Dissertation Committee (depending on the student’s stage of progress through the PhD program) comment on the student’s progress and objectives. In turn, the student has an opportunity to make final comments. 

Before passing the Qualifying Exam, the annual progress report (obtained from the Physics Student Affairs Office in 378 Physics North) is completed by the student and either his/her faculty mentor or his/her research adviser, depending on whether or not the student has yet begun research (see above).  This form includes a statement of intended timelines to take the Qualifying Exam, which is expected to be within 2-3 semesters of starting research.  

After passing the Qualifying Exam, the student and research adviser complete a similar form, but in addition to the research adviser, the student must also meet with at least one other and preferably both other members of their Dissertation Committee (this must include their co-adviser if the research adviser is not a member of the Physics Department) to discuss progress made in the past year, plans for the upcoming year, and overall progress towards the PhD.  This can be done either individually as one-on-one meetings of the graduate student with members of the Dissertation Committee, or as a group meeting with presentation. (The Graduate Council requires that all doctoral students who have been advanced to candidacy meet annually with at least two members of the Dissertation Committee. The annual review is part of the Graduate Council’s efforts to improve the doctoral completion rate and to shorten the time it takes students to obtain a doctorate.)

Advancement to Candidacy

After passing the Qualifying Examination, the next step in the student's career is to advance to candidacy as soon as possible.  Advancement to candidacy is the academic stage when a student has completed all requirements except completion of the dissertation.  Students are still required to enroll in 12 units per semester; these in general are expected to be seminars and research units.  Besides passing the Qualifying Exam, there are a few other requirements described in the Graduate Program Booklet. Doctoral candidacy application forms can be picked up in the Student Affairs Office, 378 Physics North.

Completion of Dissertation Work

The expected time for completion of the PhD program is six years.  While the Department recognizes that research time scales can be unpredictable, it strongly encourages students and advisers to develop dissertation proposals consistent with these expectations.  The Berkeley Physics Department does not have dissertation defense exams, but encourages students and their advisers to ensure that students learn the important skill of effective research presentations, including a presentation of their dissertation work to their peers and interested faculty and researchers.

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PhD in Physics, Statistics, and Data Science

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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
• 18.655 – Mathematical Statistics or
• 18.6501 – Fundamentals of Statistics or
• IDS.160[J] – Mathematical Statistics: A Non-Asymptotic Approach
• 6.C01/6.C51 – Modeling with Machine Learning: From Algorithms to Applications 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.

Ph.D. in Physics

General info.

• Faculty working with students: 45
• Students: 90
• Students receiving Financial Aid: 100%
• Part time study available: No
• Application terms: Fall
• Application deadline: December 13

Mark Kruse Director of Graduate Studies Department of Physics Duke University Box 90305 Durham, NC 27708-0305 Phone: (919) 660-2502

Email: [email protected]

Website:  https://physics.duke.edu/graduate

Program Description

The Department of Physics supports a variety of programs that are at the  frontier of basic research. Areas of specialization include nonlinear  dynamics and complex systems, quantum nanoscience, quantum optics/ultra-cold  atoms, free electron lasers, biological physics, experimental high energy  physics, experimental nuclear physics, nuclear and particle theory,  condensed matter theory, string theory, and gravitation. The research groups  are not large but are all very active and enjoy a high reputation; this  provides the opportunity for students to participate in frontier research,  while fostering a strong interaction between students and faculty. The  department is the site of the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory and  the Duke Free Electron Laser Laboratory. The high energy physics group  conducts research at major international laboratories (e.g., Fermilab, CERN  and Super-Kamiokande). The Center for Nonlinear Studies is a cooperative  program involving faculty members of the departments of Physics,  Mathematics, Computer Science, Chemistry, and the Pratt School of  Engineering. The Center for Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences fosters  trans-disciplinary research employing mathematical techniques. The Center  for Geometry and Theoretical Physics involves both Physics and Mathematics departments.

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Application Information

Application Terms Available:  Fall

Application Deadline:  December 13 Applications submitted by December 13 are guaranteed review. Applications submitted after December 13 but before the closing date of January 3 will be reviewed based upon availability of space and funding.

Graduate School Application Requirements See the Application Instructions page for important details about each Graduate School requirement.

• Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts required with application submission; official transcripts required upon admission
• Letters of Recommendation: 3 Required
• Statement of Purpose: Required (see departmental guidance below)
• Résumé: Required
• GRE General: Optional
• GRE Subject - Physics: Optional
• English Language Exam: TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test required* for applicants whose first language is not English *test waiver may apply for some applicants
• GPA: Undergraduate GPA calculated on 4.0 scale required

Writing Sample : None required

We strongly encourage you to review additional department-specific application guidance from the program to which you are applying: Departmental Application Guidance

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The Harvard Department of Physics offers students innovative educational and research opportunities with renowned faculty in state-of-the-art facilities, exploring fundamental problems involving physics at all scales. Our primary areas of experimental and theoretical research are atomic and molecular physics, astrophysics and cosmology, biophysics, chemical physics, computational physics, condensed-matter physics, materials science, mathematical physics, particle physics, quantum optics, quantum field theory, quantum information, string theory, and relativity.

Our talented and hardworking students participate in exciting discoveries and cutting-edge inventions such as the ATLAS experiment, which discovered the Higgs boson; building the first 51-cubit quantum computer; measuring entanglement entropy; discovering new phases of matter; and peering into the ‘soft hair’ of black holes.

Our students come from all over the world and from varied educational backgrounds. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment and attracting the widest possible range of talents.

We have a flexible and highly responsive advising structure for our PhD students that shepherds them through every stage of their education, providing assistance and counseling along the way, helping resolve problems and academic impasses, and making sure that everyone has the most enriching experience possible.The graduate advising team also sponsors alumni talks, panels, and advice sessions to help students along their academic and career paths in physics and beyond, such as “Getting Started in Research,” “Applying to Fellowships,” “Preparing for Qualifying Exams,” “Securing a Post-Doc Position,” and other career events (both academic and industry-related).

We offer many resources, services, and on-site facilities to the physics community, including our electronic instrument design lab and our fabrication machine shop. Our historic Jefferson Laboratory, the first physics laboratory of its kind in the nation and the heart of the physics department, has been redesigned and renovated to facilitate study and collaboration among our students.

Members of the Harvard Physics community participate in initiatives that bring together scientists from institutions across the world and from different fields of inquiry. For example, the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms unites a community of scientists from both institutions to pursue research in the new fields opened up by the creation of ultracold atoms and quantum gases. The Center for Integrated Quantum Materials , a collaboration between Harvard University, Howard University, MIT, and the Museum of Science, Boston, is dedicated to the study of extraordinary new quantum materials that hold promise for transforming signal processing and computation. The Harvard Materials Science and Engineering Center is home to an interdisciplinary group of physicists, chemists, and researchers from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences working on fundamental questions in materials science and applications such as soft robotics and 3D printing.  The Black Hole Initiative , the first center worldwide to focus on the study of black holes, is an interdisciplinary collaboration between principal investigators from the fields of astronomy, physics, mathematics, and philosophy. The quantitative biology initiative https://quantbio.harvard.edu/  aims to bring together physicists, biologists, engineers, and applied mathematicians to understand life itself. And, most recently, the new program in  Quantum Science and Engineering (QSE) , which lies at the interface of physics, chemistry, and engineering, will admit its first cohort of PhD students in Fall 2022.

We support and encourage interdisciplinary research and simultaneous applications to two departments is permissible. Prospective students may thus wish to apply to the following departments and programs in addition to Physics:

• Department of Astronomy
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Mathematics
• John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
• Biophysics Program
• Molecules, Cells and Organisms Program (MCO)

If you are a prospective graduate student and have questions for us, or if you’re interested in visiting our department, please contact  [email protected] .

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Welcome to the PhD in Physics program at UW–Madison!

The first PhD in physics at UW–Madison was awarded in 1899, for research on “An Interferometer Study of Radiation in a Magnetic Field.” Over 1,500 individual PhD research projects have been completed since.

Our department has a strong tradition of graduate study and the research that is essential to the PhD Degree. There are many facilities for doing world-class research, and the PhD research program involves leading-edge activities in Madison and at research facilities around the world. Over 175 current graduate students conduct research in one of the Department of Physics faculty groups or with an affiliated faculty group  in departments such as Electrical and Computer Engineering or Astronomy.

If you have any questions about the program, please direct them to physgrad@physics.wisc.edu.

How to Apply

Fall 2024 Physics PhD Application Deadline: December 15, 2023

Fall 2024 prospective students should apply for admissions through the Graduate School. Applicants must s atisfy the Graduate School requirements for undergraduate grade-point average, bachelor’s degree, and English proficiency and submit:

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3 Letters of Recommendation

A complete application requires 3 (no more than 4) letters of recommendation. The most impactful letters come from current or past research advisors, or other individuals who know you well and can speak to your strengths, prior experiences, and accomplishments and how they have prepared you to pursue a PhD in Physics.

Official Transcripts

No official transcripts are required as part of the application. The Graduate School will send an instructional email request after the program has recommended admission.  Please submit transcripts for all post-secondary coursework.

It’s helpful to submit a resume/CV that details your experiences that are relevant to your interests in Physics.

Statement of Purpose

Please describe your relevant experiences and future research interests and goals. Strong applicants will clearly communicate their motivations for pursuing a PhD in Physics, and how their research interests and experiences align with the strengths of the UW-Madison Physics PhD program.

This statement is also an opportunity to provide any other personal information you would like the admissions committee to know that is not clear from the other submitted materials.

The Department of Physics does not require the subject GRE for admission.  However, if students submit the score, the admissions committee will review it as part of the application.

The general GRE will not be considered even if submitted. The subject GRE is recommended in these circumstances:

• Your transcript does not accurately reflect your academic strengths
• If including the score would significantly strengthen your application
• You are particularly interested in pursuing Physics Theory as a research focus

Application Fee Waivers

The UW-Madison Physics Ph.D. program has now distributed the limited number of application fee waivers available for the Fall 2024 application season.   The Department has no additional waivers to provide, but we encourage you to apply for a fee grant from the Graduate School if you qualify.

Admission is competitive. All eligible applicants with complete files are considered for teaching or research assistantships and fellowships. To be considered for admission, students must submit all application materials via the Graduate School  electronic application site  by December 15.

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All admitted PhD students are provided with a guarantee of five years of financial support. Typically, a graduate student is first appointed as a teaching assistant. Teaching assistants assist faculty members in the introductory physics courses, generally by teaching discussion and laboratory sections. Later, as a research assistant, the student works with a major professor on a mutually agreed research project.

Tuition is remitted for teaching assistant and research assistant appointments one-third time or greater.  Most graduate assistant appointments are also eligible for a comprehensive health insurance package.  All students are responsible for their own segregated fees, which are about $600 per semester for full-time students, and any additional university fees.  Further information about the various types of assistantships at UW-Madison can be found on the Graduate School website .

Can I apply to more than one graduate program at UW-Madison?

Yes!  With one application to UW-Madison, you can apply to 3 different graduate programs.  Please keep in mind that you can only submit your application once and will need to submit by the earliest deadline for the 3 programs that you choose.  For example, the Physics Ph.D. program application deadline is December 15th.  If another program that you apply to has a January 1st deadline, you must submit your application by December 15th to ensure it is received by the earlier deadline.

What is the application deadline?

The Physics Ph.D. application deadline is December 15th.  All application materials must be received by this time to ensure consideration.  Test scores and letters of recommendation should be submitted by the deadline.

Where should I send my GRE & TOEFL scores?

The Physics Ph.D. program requires the official test scores (GRE and TOEFL) to be sent directly from ETS to UW-Madison.  The UW-Madison institution code is 1846.  Please be sure your test score report shows that your scores were sent directly to UW-Madison.  Test scores are loaded every few days during the peak admissions season by the UW-Madison Graduate School.  You can check your Graduate School application status to see if your test scores have been received.

When will admissions committee decisions be made?

All completed applications are made available to the Physics Ph.D. Admissions Committee after the December 15th deadline.  The program receives over 550 applications each year and all completed applications are fully reviewed by the Admissions Committee.   All applicants will be informed of the admissions decision by the end of January.  All applicants who are accepted will be invited to prospective student visit weekend to be held in February/March each year.

FAQs from Virtual Sessions (Dec 5-6, 2023)

You can find questions and answers that were discussed in virtual sessions on 5-6 December 2023 on this page .  Feel free to add questions through the admissions deadline on 15 December, but if you need immediate answers, please reach out to Physics Graduate Coordinator. .

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PhD Program

A PhD degree in Physics is awarded in recognition of significant and novel research contributions, extending the boundaries of our knowledge of the physical universe. Selected applicants are admitted to the PhD program of the UW Department of Physics, not to a specific research group, and are encouraged to explore research opportunities throughout the Department.

Degree Requirements

Typical timeline, advising and mentoring, satisfactory progress, financial support, more information.

Applicants to the doctoral program are expected to have a strong undergraduate preparation in physics, including courses in electromagnetism, classical and quantum mechanics, statistical physics, optics, and mathematical methods of physics. Further study in condensed matter, atomic, and particle and nuclear physics is desirable. Limited deficiencies in core areas may be permissible, but may delay degree completion by as much as a year and are are expected to remedied during the first year of graduate study.

The Graduate Admissions Committee reviews all submitted applications and takes a holistic approach considering all aspects presented in the application materials. Application materials include:

• Resume or curriculum vitae, describing your current position or activities, educational and professional experience, and any honors awarded, special skills, publications or research presentations.
• Statement of purpose, one page describing your academic purpose and goals.
• Personal history statement (optional, two pages max), describing how your personal experiences and background (including family, cultural, or economic aspects) have influenced your intellectual development and interests.
• Three letters of recommendation: submit email addresses for your recommenders at least one month ahead of deadline to allow them sufficient time to respond.
• Transcripts (unofficial), from all prior relevant undergraduate and graduate institutions attended. Admitted applicants must provide official transcripts.
• English language proficiency is required for graduate study at the University of Washington. Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency. The various options are specified at: https://grad.uw.edu/policies/3-2-graduate-school-english-language-proficiency-requirements/ Official test scores must be sent by ETS directly to the University of Washington (institution code 4854) and be received within two years of the test date.

For additional information see the UW Graduate School Home Page , Understanding the Application Process , and Memo 15 regarding teaching assistant eligibility for non-native English speakers.

The GRE Subject Test in Physics (P-GRE) is optional in our admissions process, and typically plays a relatively minor role.  Our admissions system is holistic, as we use all available information to evaluate each application. If you have taken the P-GRE and feel that providing your score will help address specific gaps or otherwise materially strengthen your application, you are welcome to submit your scores. We emphasize that every application will be given full consideration, regardless of whether or not scores are submitted.

Applications are accepted annually for autumn quarter admissions (only), and must be submitted online. Admission deadline: JANUARY 5, 2024.

Department standards

Course requirements.

Students must plan a program of study in consultation with their faculty advisor (either first year advisor or later research advisor). To establish adequate breadth and depth of knowledge in the field, PhD students are required to pass a set of core courses, take appropriate advanced courses and special topics offerings related to their research area, attend relevant research seminars as well as the weekly department colloquium, and take at least two additional courses in Physics outside their area of speciality. Seeking broad knowledge in areas of physics outside your own research area is encouraged.

The required core courses are:

In addition, all students holding a teaching assistantship (TA) must complete Phys 501 / 502 / 503 , Tutorials in Teaching Physics.

Regularly offered courses which may, depending on research area and with the approval of the graduate program coordinator, be used to satisfy breadth requirements, include:

• Phys 506 Numerical Methods
• Phys 555 Cosmology & Particle Astrophysics
• Phys 507 Group Theory
• Phys 557 High Energy Physics
• Phys 511 Topics in Contemporary Physics
• Phys 560 Nuclear Theory
• Phys 520 Quantum Information
• Phys 564 General Relativity
• Phys 550 Atomic Physics
• Phys 567 Condensed Matter Physics
• Phys 554 Nuclear Astrophysics
• Phys 570 Quantum Field Theory

Graduate exams

Master's Review:   In addition to passing all core courses, adequate mastery of core material must be demonstrated by passing the Master's Review. This is composed of four Master's Review Exams (MREs) which serve as the final exams in Phys 524 (SM), Phys 514 (EM), Phys 518 (QM), and Phys 505 (CM). The standard for passing each MRE is demonstrated understanding and ability to solve multi-step problems; this judgment is independent of the overall course grade. Acceptable performance on each MRE is expected, but substantial engagement in research allows modestly sub-par performance on one exam to be waived. Students who pass the Master's Review are eligible to receive a Master's degree, provided the Graduate School course credit and grade point average requirements have also been satisfied.

General Exam:   Adequate mastery of material in one's area of research, together with demonstrated progress in research and a viable plan to complete a PhD dissertation, is assessed in the General Exam. This is taken after completing all course requirements, passing the Master's Review, and becoming well established in research. The General Exam consists of an oral presentation followed by an in-depth question period with one's dissertation committee.

Final Oral Exam:   Adequate completion of a PhD dissertation is assessed in the Final Oral, which is a public exam on one's completed dissertation research. The requirement of surmounting a final public oral exam is an ancient tradition for successful completion of a PhD degree.

Graduate school requirements

Common requirements for all doctoral degrees are given in the Graduate School Degree Requirements and Doctoral Degree Policies and Procedures pages. A summary of the key items, accurate as of late 2020, is as follows:

• A minimum of 90 completed credits, of which at least 60 must be completed at the University of Washington. A Master's degree from the UW or another institution in physics, or approved related field of study, may substitute for 30 credits of enrollment.
• At least 18 credits of UW course work at the 500 level completed prior to the General Examination.
• At least 18 numerically graded UW credits of 500 level courses and approved 400 level courses, completed prior to the General Examination.
• At least 60 credits completed prior to scheduling the General Examination. A Master's degree from the UW or another institution may substitute for 30 of these credits.
• A minimum of 27 dissertation (or Physics 800) credits, spread out over a period of at least three quarters, must be completed. At least one of those three quarters must come after passing the General Exam. Except for summer quarters, students are limited to a maximum of 10 dissertation credits per quarter.
• A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 must be maintained.
• The General Examination must be successfully completed.
• A thesis dissertation approved by the reading committee and submitted and accepted by the Graduate School.
• The Final Examination must be successfully completed. At least four members of the supervisory committee, including chair and graduate school representative, must be present.
• Registration as a full- or part-time graduate student at the University must be maintained, specifically including the quarter in which the examinations are completed and the quarter in which the degree is conferred. (Part-time means registered for at least 2 credits, but less than 10.)
• All work for the doctoral degree must be completed within ten years. This includes any time spend on leave, as well as time devoted to a Master's degree from the UW or elsewhere (if used to substitute for credits of enrollment).
• Pass the required core courses: Phys 513 , 517 , 524 & 528 autumn quarter, Phys 514 , 518 & 525 winter quarter, and Phys 515 , 519 & 505 spring quarter. When deemed appropriate, with approval of their faculty advisor and graduate program coordinator, students may elect to defer Phys 525 , 515 and/or 519 to the second year in order to take more credits of Phys 600 .
• Sign up for and complete one credit of Phys 600 with a faculty member of choice during winter and spring quarters.
• Pass the Master's Review by the end of spring quarter or, after demonstrating substantial research engagement, by the end of the summer.
• Work to identify one's research area and faculty research advisor. This begins with learning about diverse research areas in Phys 528 in the autumn, followed by Phys 600 independent study with selected faculty members during winter, spring, and summer.
• Pass the Master's Review (if not already done) by taking any deferred core courses or retaking MREs as needed. The Master's Review must be passed before the start of the third year.
• Settle in and become fully established with one's research group and advisor, possibly after doing independent study with multiple faculty members. Switching research areas during the first two years is not uncommon.
• Complete all required courses. Take breadth courses and more advanced graduate courses appropriate for one's area of research.
• Perform research.
• Establish a Supervisory Committee within one year after finding a compatible research advisor who agrees to supervise your dissertation work.
• Take breadth and special topics courses as appropriate.
• Take your General Exam in the third or fourth year of your graduate studies.
• Register for Phys 800 (Doctoral Thesis Research) instead of Phys 600 in the quarters during and after your general exam.
• Take special topics courses as appropriate.
• Perform research. When completion of a substantial body of research is is sight, and with concurrence of your faculty advisor, start writing a thesis dissertation.
• Establish a dissertation reading committee well in advance of scheduling the Final Examination.
• Schedule your Final Examination and submit your PhD dissertation draft to your reading committee at least several weeks before your Final Exam.
• Take your Final Oral Examination.
• After passing your Final Exam, submit your PhD dissertation, as approved by your reading committee, to the Graduate School, normally before the end of the same quarter.

This typical timeline for competing the PhD applies to students entering the program with a solid undergraduate preparation, as described above under Admissions. Variant scenarios are possible with approval of the Graduate Program coordinator. Two such scenarios are the following:

• Students entering with insufficient undergraduate preparation often require more time. It is important to identify this early, and not feel that this reflects on innate abilities or future success. Discussion with one's faculty advisor, during orientation or shortly thereafter, may lead to deferring one or more of the first year required courses and corresponding Master's Review Exams. It can also involve taking selected 300 or 400 level undergraduate physics courses before taking the first year graduate level courses. This must be approved by the Graduate Program coordinator, but should not delay efforts to find a suitable research advisor. The final Master's Review decision still takes place no later than the start of the 3rd year and research engagement is an important component in this decision.
• Entering PhD students with advanced standing, for example with a prior Master's degree in Physics or transferring from another institution after completing one or more years in a Physics PhD program, may often graduate after 3 or 4 years in our program. After discussion with your faculty advisor and with approval of the Graduate Program coordinator, selected required classes may be waived (but typically not the corresponding Master's Review Exams), and credit from other institutions transferred.
• Each entering PhD student is assigned a first year faculty advisor, with whom they meet regularly to discuss course selection, general progress, and advice on research opportunities. The role of a student's primary faculty advisor switches to their research advisor after they become well established in research. Once their doctoral supervisory committee is formed, the entire committee, including a designated faculty mentor (other than the research advisor) is available to provide advice and mentoring.
• The department also has a peer mentoring program, in which first-year students are paired with more senior students who have volunteered as mentors. Peer mentors maintain contact with their first-year mentees throughout the year and aim to ease the transition to graduate study by sharing their experiences and providing support and advice. Quarterly "teas" are held to which all peer mentors and mentees are invited.
• While academic advising is primarily concerned with activities and requirements necessary to make progress toward a degree, mentoring focuses on the human relationships, commitments, and resources that can help a student find success and fulfillment in academic and professional pursuits. While research advisors play an essential role in graduate study, the department considers it inportant for every student to also have available additional individuals who take on an explicit mentoring role.
• Students are expected to meet regularly, at a minimum quarterly, with their faculty advisors (either first year advisor or research advisor).
• Starting in the winter of their first year, students are expected to be enrolled in Phys 600 .
• Every spring all students, together with their advisors, are required to complete an annual activities report.
• The doctoral supervisory committee needs to be established at least by the end of the fourth year.
• The General Exam is expected to take place during the third or fourth year.
• Students and their advisors are expected to aim for not more than 6 years between entry into the Physics PhD program and completion of the PhD. In recent years the median time is close to 6 years.

Absence of satisfactory progress can lead to a hierarchy of actions, as detailed in the Graduate School Memo 16: Academic Performance and Progress , and may jeopardize funding as a teaching assistant.

The Department aims to provide financial support for all full-time PhD students making satisfactory progress, and has been successful in doing so for many years. Most students are supported via a mix teaching assistantships (TAs) and research assistantships (RAs), although there are also various scholarships, fellowships, and awards that provide financial support. Teaching and research assistanships provide a stipend, a tuition waiver, and health insurance benefits. TAs are employed by the University to assist faculty in their teaching activities. Students from non-English-speaking countries must pass English proficiency requirements . RAs are employed by the Department to assist faculty with specified research projects, and are funded through research grants held by faculty members.

Most first-year students are provided full TA support during their first academic year as part of their admission offer. Support beyond the second year is typically in the form of an RA or a TA/RA combination. It is the responsibility of the student to find a research advisor and secure RA support. Students accepting TA or RA positions are required to register as full-time graduate students (a minimum of 10 credits during the academic year, and 2 credits in summer quarter) and devote 20 hours per week to their assistantship duties. Both TAs and RAs are classified as Academic Student Employees (ASE) . These positions are governed by a contract between the UW and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), and its Local Union 4121 (UAW).

Physics PhD students are paid at the "Assistant" level (Teaching Assistant or Research Assistant) upon entry to the program. Students receive a promotion to "Associate I" (Predoctoral Teaching Associate I or Predoctoral Research Associate I) after passing the Master's Review, and a further promotion to "Associate II" (Predoctoral Teaching Associate II or Predoctoral Research Associate II) after passing their General Examination. (Summer quarter courses, and summer quarter TA employment, runs one month shorter than during the academic year. To compendate, summer quarter TA salaries are increased proportionately.)

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Graduate schools for physics typically offer a range of specialty programs, from quantum physics to relativity, as well as plentiful research opportunities to bolster a science education. These are the best physics schools. Each school's score reflects its average rating on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), based on a survey of academics at peer institutions. Read the methodology »

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Department of Physics & Astronomy

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• Guide to Graduate Studies in Physics & Astronomy
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Guide to Graduate Studies

• Introduction
• Advanced Degrees
• Examinations
• Appendix A: Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Appendix B: Medical Physics

Appendix C: Course Offerings

• Appendix D: Thesis/Dissertation Template

This Guide is intended to provide a concise overview of the requirements and procedures of our graduate program in Physics and Astronomy. It is not intended to supplant in any way the regulations or requirements that are spelled out in LSU's General Catalog and Graduate Bulletin. Graduate students are expected to know and comply with the regulations of the Graduate School. In any instance where this Guide is in conflict with the Catalog or Bulletin, the Catalog or Bulletin information takes precedence. The Catalog and the Bulletin are available online at the web site of the LSU Graduate School .

The graduate program is designed to provide a general post-graduate education in Physics and/or Astronomy. At the PhD level, the goal of the program is to develop a professional-level competence in creative research. At the Master's level, the program is intended to provide a general competence in Physics and/or Astronomy suitable either for teaching or for technical employment in a related field. The department also offers a Masters Degree in Medical Physics and Health Physics, as well as a Medical Physics concentration for the PhD Degree, described in Appendix B and in much more detail on the Medical and Health Physics web pages.

PhD Program Overview

The program has three phases. In the first phase, the emphasis is on coursework and the comprehensive Qualifying Examination . During this first phase, students are encouraged to participate in research, but are at the same time cautioned to observe the time limitations imposed by other requirements, including especially examination preparation.

Passing the Qualifying Examination allows the student to move into the second phase of their Ph.D. and focus more intensively on research under the direction of a major professor (also know as research advisor) who will be chosen by mutual consent, not assigned by the department. Typically, some advanced courses are still being taken at this point. The end of the second phase is marked by the passing of the General Examination , which includes an examination in the student's chosen field of study as well as the defense of a dissertation proposal. Coursework has usually been completed by the time of the General Examination. In the final phase, a student focuses their efforts on scholarly research leading to the thesis. A student concludes his degree program with a final defense in which the student defends their dissertation--the dissertation being the formal, written culmination of the student's research effort.

Most students receive support in the form of teaching assistantships, service assistantships, research assistantships, or fellowships. The purpose of these is to allow students to pursue full time studies in Physics and Astronomy without the distraction of seeking outside support, and to provide research and teaching experience. In the later stages of a student's career, a research assistantship or fellowship is intended to allow the student to devote full time to thesis research. Assistantships should not serve as impediments to the progress of a graduate student toward their degree. Likewise, graduate students should not think of assistantships as providing semi-permanent employment.

It is expected that students will gain support through a research assistantship as soon as possible. Graduate students in good standing are automatically eligible to hold teaching or service assistantships in the Department of Physics and Astronomy only during their first two years. After this time, such appointments can only be made after the student's major professor petitions the Assistantship Committee and are subject to availability. These appointments are intended to cover temporary shortfalls in funding, not long term support. It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to find a research group that has sufficient funding to support them.

The procedures, regulations, and required standards of performance are described below under the headings of course-work, examinations, and research. Students interested in astronomy should read Appendix A of this guide, which describes the requirements of the astronomy program. Students interested in medical physics should read Appendix B of this guide but should also consult the Medical and Health Physics Trainee Handbook which takes precedence over this document in many respects.

Undergraduate Preparation

Students seeking admission into the department should have at least thirty hours of fundamental undergraduate courses in physics including General Physics, Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Optics, and more advanced topics such as Quantum Mechanics (two semesters), Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics, Atomic Physics, and Nuclear Physics. Courses in mathematics through differential equations and linear algebra are also required. Students with gaps in their physics or mathematics preparation should take undergraduate courses as necessary to fill in these gaps before proceeding to the corresponding graduate level courses.

Coursework  

To be considered full-time , a student must be registered for at least 9 credit hours, of which at least 6 must be at the "graduate level", numbered 4000 or higher. Students on academic probation may be subject to stricter requirements.

No student on an assistantship or fellowship from Physics and Astronomy may register for more than one course per semester (2 per year) outside the department without special approval from the major professor and Departmental Graduate Advisor (not including required English courses for foreign students). At any point in the student's career, the cumulative number of courses outside the department will always be expected to be less than the number of courses the students have taken in Physics and Astronomy.

The primary graduate coursework comprises of 22 hour set of core courses detailed in Appendix C (PHYS 7221: Classical Mechanics, PHYS 7225: Statistical Mechanics, PHYS 7231/7232: Electrodynamics, PHYS 7241/7242: Quantum Mechanics, PHYS 7398: Graduate Laboratory or an approved substitute, and PHYS 7857: Graduate Seminar). This is supplemented by at least 9 hours of 7000-level advanced elective courses. Additional 4000-level courses intended for both undergraduate and graduate students can be taken if appropriate to the student's research interests.

The remainder of a student's time should be research hours, either PHYS 8000 for Master's students, or 9000 for Ph.D. students.

Students who enter our program after successfully completing graduate courses in Physics at another US university with an A or B grade may petition to have such courses used to partially fulfill our department's course requirements, provided the courses have substantially the same content. The student must provide a full description of the course and the textbook used. Such petitions will be handled on a case-by-case basis and will be decided by the Graduate Student Advisor and the Department Associate Chair. 

There is a set of basic Physics courses (Core courses) that students are required to take. These courses constitute a general introduction to graduate-level physics. Students are urged to take them at their earliest opportunity:

*PHYS 7398, Graduate Laboratory, may be substituted by either ASTR 7361 Astrophysics Laboratory or MEDP 4351+4352 Radiation Detection and Instrumentation with the consent of the student’s research advisor.

In addition to the Core Courses, various elective courses are offered regularly. These are survey or topical courses at the graduate level in major areas of physics:

Finally, a group of advanced courses are offered occasionally, subject to faculty availability and student demand:

Requirements for the Advanced Degrees

Phd in physics.

For the PhD degree in physics, the department requires that a student pass the Qualifying Examination, General Examination, and Final Defense.  The student must take the Qualifying Exam (described in the next section below) at least once in the first year of graduate study.  They must pass the Qualifying Exam by the end of the fourth semester completed at LSU with a 60% or higher grade. They also must fulfill these course requirements: (1) 22 hours of core courses that carry numbers greater than 7000. Exceptionally, courses from outside the department (for example chemistry or engineering) may be substituted for the advanced course requirement.

A summer research project may count as one of these advanced courses provided that a substantial project is carried out, a written report is submitted and approved by the research advisor and the chairman of the department, and a short oral report on the work is given to and accepted by a committee of at least three faculty members. Registration in "Independent Research in Physics", (3 credit hours of PHYS 7996), will be required as a means of obtaining the credit.

Students may also elect to obtain a minor in another department, such as Mathematics or Electrical Engineering. The corresponding department sets requirements for an external minor.

MS in Physics

The master's degree in physics follows the guidelines set forth in the LSU catalog under "Requirements for Advanced Degrees," so you should read that in addition to this guide. Except for students in the Medical and Health Physics program (discussed below in Appendix B), students in our department are admitted with the expectation that they will pursue a PhD in Physics. The MS degree can be obtained in addition to the PhD or as a "terminal" degree for those who leave the program before completing a PhD

There are two paths to completing the MS Degree in physics. The thesis option requires 30 hours of coursework (4000 level or above), of which at most 6 hours can come from thesis research (PHYS 8000 or 9000), and the successful completion of a master's thesis. The non-thesis option requires a total of 36 hours of coursework (not including PHYS 8000 or 9000). Any student pursuing either master's degree option must complete the graduate Core Courses listed in the table Appendix C. In either option, the student must take the Qualifying Exam (described in the next section below) at least once in the first year of graduate study. They must pass the Qualifying Exam by the end of the fourth semester completed at LSU. Passing at the MS level requires a grade of 50% or better. A full-time graduate student taking a full graduate course load (9 hours each semester and 6 hours in the summer) can finish the MS coursework requirement by the end of the 4th semester.

A Ph. D. candidate who is unable to pass the departmental Qualifying Exam at the Ph.D. level may obtain a terminal Master's degree by passing the Qualifying Exam at the master's level by their fourth try and then passing the MS Comprehensive Final examination in the semester immediately following their final unsuccessful attempt on the Qualifying Exam. A student who fails to achieve a Ph.D. pass on the fourth try at the Qualifying exam at the end of the spring semester must then take the Master's examination in the summer.

MS in Medical Physics

See Appendix B

Dual Degree Program

Students who wish to pursue a dual Master's Degree with Physics as the second department must apply and be admitted to our department under normal criteria. They must also have a faculty advisor in our department when starting, in order to tailor their selection of courses. The degree requirements are the same as above, except that a maximum of six credit hours from the student's home department may be used concurrently to satisfy our department's credit hour requirement.

Physics and Astronomy students who opt to take a Master's Degree in a second discipline must conform to the other department's guidelines for such a program, as well as satisfying all of our requirements for their Physics degree.

Minor in Physics

Graduate Students in other departments may obtain a minor in Physics by taking at least 12 credit hours of graduate-level courses in our department, of which at least 3 credit hours must be at the 7000 level. A Physics and Astronomy faculty member must agree to serve on the student's advisory committee.

Grades are assigned to describe student performance in courses. Grades of A, B, and C are considered satisfactory for credit. Our department adheres to a standard of interpretation and assignment of specific grades, which is commonly used in American graduate programs in Physics. The grade of A indicates a good understanding of the material; a B represents acceptable work, but if obtained in advanced courses (i.e., non-core courses), it is not adequate for recommending the student's entry into a research area for which the course provides an essential basis. A grade of C is acceptable for obtaining credit but indicates a poor understanding of the material. Grades of D and F are uncommon in graduate courses and identify unacceptably poor work.

Only graduate students with acceptable academic records may be appointed to graduate assistantships. No student admitted on probation may be appointed to a graduate assistantship until the student has achieved good standing. A student, originally in good standing, whose cumulative grade point average drops below a B (3.0) will be placed on probation. Note that a B- corresponds to 2.7 grade points, so may pull the grade point average below 3.0. A graduate assistant who is placed on academic probation during an appointment period may be permitted to retain the assistantship only if the student's department can justify the retention to the Dean of the Graduate School. Probation is removed by returning the cumulative GPA to above 3.0 within the next semester.

A student whose semester GPA falls below 3.0 while maintaining a satisfactory cumulative GPA will still be placed on academic probation but remains eligible to hold an assistantship without petition. Probation is removed by achieving a semester GPA above 3.0 in the next semester.

Examination

As part of the requirements for the PhD degree, the Graduate School calls for a General Examination, which every student must pass. As stated in the Graduate Bulletin, "The examination must be comprehensive enough to demonstrate expert competence over broad segments of the major field...".

To satisfy the above requirements, the Department of Physics and Astronomy has a two-part sequence of examinations. All students must, within two years of entry, pass a written "Departmental Qualifying Examination". After passing this examination, and after working in a research group for approximately a year, the student must pass an oral examination with a committee that includes the major professor and several other Physics and Astronomy faculty, as well as a representative appointed by the Graduate Dean. This latter examination will formally be designated our department's General Examination.

The committee will usually comprise the major professor, 2-4 other Physics and Astronomy faculty, and a Dean's Representative appointed by the Graduate School. The 2-4 additional members of the committee should be decided by agreement between the student and major professor and should provide broad expertise with at least one member from outside the student's research area and both experimental/observational and theoretical backgrounds. The committee composition must be approved by the Department Graduate Advisor, and students are encouraged to discuss their proposed committee members with them in advance. For multidisciplinary research projects, one or more physics committee members can instead be substituted from other departments, but at least two must still be from Physics and Astronomy. In addition, at least two committee members (excluding the Dean's Representative) must be full members of the graduate faculty. 'Full member' usually means associate or full professors and excludes assistant professors, research professors, and adjuncts. If a student is pursuing a graduate minor, then the committee must also include a member from the department awarding the minor.

Qualifying Examination

The Departmental Qualifying Examination (QE) is administered twice a year, in January and in August. The full QE is a written examination, given in two parts, each of length 2 hours and 30 minutes. Students should attempt the exam at least once during their first year, typically at the end of their first year. The QE must be passed within the first two years that the student is in the program. That allows a maximum of four tries if the student takes the exam every time it is offered during their first two years. The exam covers classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and thermodynamics and statistical mechanics at an advanced undergraduate level. For thermodynamics and statistical mechanics one problem is chosen from thermodynamics and two from statistical mechanics. There are 3 questions from each subject area and students will be graded on only 2 out of these 3 questions. The student shall only submit 2 of the 3 questions in every subject for evaluation. The questions for the QE are chosen by the Qualifying Exam Committee from a test bank, which is available to the students. The test bank evolves over time but does not change during the semester. This means that all of the potential questions for any given exam are known ahead of time. A pass at the PhD level is 60%, averaged across the entire test, 50% at the MS level.

Partial QE: In the event a student is unable to pass the full QE, as described above, but has scored 60% each in at least two of the subjects, the QE committee in consultation with the student decides the next appropriate step – whether to retake the full QE or allow a partial QE in each of the lower scoring subjects. The subjects where the student scores more than 60% in the full QE shall be excluded in the partial QE. The partial QE must be attempted on the next available date of exam. The amount of time available for each problem is the same as for the full QE but a pass requires 70% in each of the subjects attempted. Though the questions in the QE are at an advanced undergraduate level, it is recommended that before attempting a partial QE in a specific area, the student has completed a graduate level course offered by the department in that area.

Alternative assessment: If a student has made two good faith efforts at the written QE (defined as scoring 40% or more in the full QE, or 40% or more in one full QE and 50% or more in a partial QE), but has not yet passed, the exam committee in consultation with the student and student’s advisor can recommend an alternative assessment, which is an oral exam. This option of alternative assessment is available only when two good faith efforts as defined have been made and requires constituting a special 4 -member committee from the faculty in the department. The student’s faculty mentor can serve as an ex-officio non-voting observer of the committee but cannot take part in the decision process.

The oral exam is based on a presentation which has two distinct parts: one on the research topic in which the student wishes to pursue their PhD, and the other based on an article at the level of the American Journal of Physics, in the area where the student needs most improvement. As in the case of partial QE, it is recommended that the student has completed a graduate level course offered by the department in the area where most improvement is needed before taking alternative assessment in that area. The paper for presentation in this area is decided by the special committee. The student is given 3 weeks to prepare for the oral exam. The oral exam will consist of questions on the presentation but can also include more general questions, allowing the faculty to judge the knowledge and understanding of all core subjects in QE. This is a pass/fail exam as judged by the committee.

General Examination

The second tier of the exam system is the General Exam. This is an oral examination administered by the student's Dissertation Committee and is usually should be completed by the end of the student's fourth year, though it is greatly to the student's advantage to complete it sooner. Note that some travel awards are only available after the General Exam is completed. The General Exam can occur only after the student passes the Qualifying Exam, and should occur approximately one year later.

The General Exam consists of two parts:

• An oral assessment of general knowledge in the student's area of study. This comes in the form of questions from the committee answered by the student.
• An oral presentation and defense of a written thesis proposal.

The results of the General Exam are reported to the graduate college.

Doctoral Final Examination / Oral Dissertation Defense

The Doctoral Final Examination for the Ph.D. (a.k.a. "defense") comprises written and oral components. A comprehensive dissertation will be written on the student's original research work and submitted to the student's dissertation committee several weeks before the oral exam.  The latter is confined for the most part to areas pertaining closely to the student's dissertation. However, some questions of the general character may be asked and, as a tradition, any question whatsoever is allowed. Further information is provided below under "Research".

Masters Final Examinations

In the final semester of study, a student pursuing a terminal MS degree using the non-thesis option must pass the MS Comprehensive Final Exam administered according to the guidelines in the LSU General Catalog. For a student obtaining a thesis master's degree, this oral exam will be replaced by the thesis defense. A student will be allowed to take the MS Comprehensive Final Exam only if they have passed the Qualifying Exam at the master's level.

The format of the MS comprehensive Final Exam should be discussed with the Department Graduate Advisor and the chair of the student's examining committee. Commonly the student will give a presentation of a journal article approved by the committee. The examining committee will ask the student questions about this article as well as about the physics relevant to it. In some cases, a student may present research work done at LSU while in graduate school instead of the journal article, provided this alternative has been approved beforehand by the head of the examining committee. The MS Comprehensive Final Exam must be scheduled during the spring, summer or fall semesters; it cannot be scheduled between semesters.

Students who seek the MS degree enroute to their Ph.D. degree can use their General Examination as a substitute for the MS Comprehensive Final Exam. It is necessary to submit a separate request for each on two different forms (with the same date and time). If they wish to obtain the MS degree before this point, they must follow all the procedures outlined above for the non-thesis option, including specifically the requirement of 36 hours of coursework (not including PHYS 8000 or 9000) and the MS Comprehensive Final Exam.

By the time of passing the General Examination, a student should have begun a concentrated research effort under the supervision of a selected major professor who has agreed to serve as the student's research director and faculty advisor. The student is responsible for producing a meaningful, original contribution to the field of his/her research.

Within one year after passing the General Examination, the student should meet with their Thesis Committee to review progress in courses and in research. After that, during the time a student is involved with their dissertation research, they and their major professor will assess the progress of the student's work at the end of each academic year. If it is decided by a student's committee that they are not making satisfactory progress in their research, the committee will present the student with a formal written notice to this effect, and financial aid may be terminated. The committee will make recommendations to the student and to the department head concerning the resolution of the problem. (A possible recommendation is that the student should be dropped from the PhD program).

It is a departmental degree requirement that a major part of the results of the dissertation research must have been accepted for publication in an appropriate refereed professional journal. The student must also produce a PhD dissertation that clearly describes their research work in a manner that complies with the instructions of the Graduate School and with high scholastic and professional standards (See the A.P.S. Style Manual and the Graduate School's instructions for dissertation preparation). The dissertation must be submitted to the student's committee at least two weeks prior to the final dissertation oral examination (which the department will arrange upon request). After the examination, the committee may accept or reject the dissertation, or may require modifications of it. Except for minor ones, modifications may require resubmission of the dissertation and/or a retake of the oral exam. In any case, it is a degree requirement that the dissertation that is defended by the student in the oral examination be in essentially its final form. It must be approved by the student's committee (with no more than one dissension). Committee dissatisfaction with one's dissertation usually may be avoided by sufficient consultation with the committee members during the preparation of the dissertation.

Once the dissertation has been approved by the student's committee, it may be submitted to the Graduate School in partial fulfillment of degree requirements. Students who wish to graduate at the end of a given term must take responsibility for meeting the corresponding deadlines specified in the academic calendar. Note in particular that the format of the dissertation must be approved by the dissertation editor in the Graduate School, and that this could require significant modification.

Thesis/Dissertation

This is an entirely optional LaTeX style file plus template for Physics and Astronomy dissertations at LSU. You are welcome to use other templates.

The goals are i) to predefine settings that comply with LSU's dissertation formatting guide, and ii) incorporate some accessibility features.

Using this template should make it easier to satisfy the graduate school's regulations, but does not substitute for reading them yourself. You should be familiar with the processes and requirements at:

Theses & Dissertations

and in particular the "Formatting Guidelines for Theses and Dissertations" document linked there.

The template package can be downloaded here template file . It includes a README file with further documentation.

Please direct any questions to Robert Hynes ([email protected]).

A Guide to Graduate Studies in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Leading to the PhD in Physics)

Students wishing to pursue their graduate studies in the areas of Astronomy and Astrophysics may do so within the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Upon successful completion of their program of study, the student will receive a PhD in Physics. Such students are required to satisfy the requirements given above in this document.

No formal background in undergraduate astronomy is required. However, a new student should have a working knowledge of the basic facts and terminology of astronomy such as that found in most elementary textbooks.

Students are expected to master material covered in the basic graduate-level astronomy and astrophysics courses. Among the advanced elective courses required of all graduate students, astronomy and astrophysics students are expected to take these four courses:

• ASTR 7741, 7742 - Stellar Astrophysics I, II,
• ASTR 7751, 7752 - Galactic Astrophysics I, II.

Additionally, they should substitute ASTR 7361 Astrophysics Laboratory for the Graduate Laboratory and are strongly recommended to participate in ASTR 777 Astrophysics Seminar. Selected other courses are offered when the opportunity arises such as ASTR 4750 Computational Astrophysics.

A Guide to Graduate Studies in Medical and Health Physics (Leading to the Masters Degree in Physics)

To meet the demand of hospitals and industry for trained medical physicists and health physicists, the LSU Department of Physics and Astronomy offers graduate degrees in Medical Physics and Health Physics. The Master of Science in Medical Physics and Health Physics degree program is oriented toward professional training, and students graduating from the program are well prepared to enter a medical physics residency program or health physics employment, respectively, and for future board certification exams. For those interested in academic research and teaching in medical physics, the Department also offers a Medical Physics concentration within the PhD degree. Those receiving a PhD (Medical Physics concentration) are well prepared for a post-doctoral position and/or medical physics residency program, as well as future board certification exams.

Masters degree students spend one year in the classroom learning the fundamentals of medical and health physics, radiation biology, and human anatomy. Next, they learn to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom. Medical physics students take additional courses in medical physics and receive clinical training and experience in radiation therapy physics by working side-by-side with medical physicists, medical dosimetrists, and radiation oncologists at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. Students in the health physics concentration take additional courses in applied nuclear science to prepare them for careers at hospitals, industrial companies, national laboratories, and government agencies that use or regulate radiation sources.

PhD students complete advanced coursework and research training to prepare them for a career in academic research and teaching, as well as clinical physics.

Masters degree students in both the medical physics and health physics concentrations are required to complete a thesis based on hypothesis-driven research. Thesis research typically begins at the end of the first year and should be completed by the Spring semester of the third year, in time for the common July 1 residency start dates. The thesis is expected to be of appropriate quality for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.  PhD students complete a research project for their doctoral dissertation, as well as other metrics such as the medical physics PhD Qualifying Exam, General Exam, and Final Defense.  The dissertation must be of appropriate quality for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Details of the program can be found in the Medical Physics website . The website includes information for prospective students regarding admissions and for current students regarding policies and procedures.

Graduate Student Forms

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Ph.D. in Astrophysics Requirements Guide

Course Requirements | Beyond the For-Credit Curriculum | The Qualifying Examination | The Ph.D. Dissertation

Course Requirements

The Graduate School requires a total of 72 hours of credit (formal coursework plus registered research hours) prior to receiving the Ph.D. Within these 72 credit hours, the Department of Physics and Astronomy requires 28 hours of formal coursework 1 including:

• Five core courses covering the foundations of astrophysics, as detailed below, totaling 16 credit hours
• Additional graduate-level courses to make a total of 12 credit hours in any subject relevant to the student’s overall program of graduate study and research
• A minimum of two semesters of Teaching Practicum (ASTR 8002) to be taken before the Qualifying Examination. This is a zero-credit course
• Four semesters of astrophysics seminars (ASTR 8003) to be taken before the Qualifying Examination. This is a zero-credit course

A student must earn a grade of B or higher in each course counted towards these 28 hours. A student must earn a satisfactory grade (“S”) in ASTR 8002 and 8003.

Core courses provide the basic foundation for research. There are three ways to satisfy each core course requirement:

• Take and pass the course with a grade of B or higher
• Take and pass an alternate written exam on the material covered by that particular course; or
• Transfer the credit from a similar approved course that was taken at a different institution

A student who receives a B- or lower grade in any core course has a second chance to meet the course requirement either by retaking the course a single time or by taking and passing the corresponding alternate written exam. Note that exceptionally well-prepared incoming students may take and pass one or more of the alternate written exams to place out of the corresponding core course(s). A failure to pass the exam before the respective course is taken is not going to count against the two chances to satisfy the course requirement. Students who, due to a repeated low course grade or failure on the alternate written exam, fail to satisfy any one of the core course requirements may be dropped from the Ph.D. program at the discretion of the GPC in astrophysics. Students who receive a B- or lower in more than one core course may also be dropped from the Ph.D. program at the discretion of the GPC in astrophysics.

Transfer Credit  

Students who have taken graduate courses elsewhere may petition the GPC in astrophysics to have those courses evaluated for transfer credit to avoid unnecessary duplication and speed up the student’s entry into research.

Astrophysics Core Course Requirements

  Students must complete these courses in the first two years of graduate study:

• ASTR 8010: Radiative Processes in Astrophysics
• ASTR 8030: Stellar Astrophysics
• ASTR 8040: Structure and Dynamics of Galaxies
• ASTR 8050: Structure Formation in the Universe
• ASTR 8001: Order of Magnitude Astrophysics

The first four of these are three-credit courses. Order of Magnitude Astrophysics is a single-credit class and must be taken every semester before the Qualifying Exam is passed. This adds up to 16 credit hours of astrophysics core courses.

Elective Courses

  The remaining 12 credit hours of formal coursework may be filled from any graduate-level courses that are appropriate for the student’s program. Examples are any 8000-level ASTR or PHYS courses. All elective credits taken must be approved by the student’s adviser or the GPC in astrophysics.

Teaching Experience

Teaching experience is an important component of graduate students’ education and their preparation for future careers. All students must take ASTR 8002: Teaching Practicum for a minimum of two semesters before the Qualifying Exam is passed. Typically, graduate students in astrophysics would teach for four to six semesters during their first few years of study. Teaching assistants are generally assigned about 15 hours per week of work for duties such as grading, leading lab sections, and meeting with students. Teaching assistants are not expected to be “instructors of record”, i.e., to have the responsibility for preparing an entire course, syllabus, lectures, course materials, etc. However, in exceptional circumstances, students in advanced standing may request this opportunity by petitioning the GPC.

Astrophysics Seminars

Attending colloquia, seminars, journal clubs, and other research-focused community events are a vital component of graduate education. All students must take ASTR 8003: astrophysics seminars four semesters before the Qualifying Exam is passed. To successfully complete this class, students must attend a minimum number of Physics Colloquia, Astronomy Journal Clubs, and Astronomy Lunches. Moreover, students must give a formal presentation in Astronomy Journal Club. These events are described in more detail in Beyond the For-Credit Curriculum section.

Research Hours  

In addition to taking formal courses, students in their first two years of study are expected to be making progress in research projects under the supervision of a research adviser. In consultation with their adviser, students should normally enroll in ASTR 8999: Non-candidate Research for as many credit hours as they need up to the maximum of 13 credit hours per semester.

After passing the Qualifying Examination, students should enroll in up to 13 credit hours of ASTR 9999: Dissertation Research each semester, until they have completed the 72 credit hours required by the Graduate School. After completing 72 credit hours, students should continue enrolling in ASTR 9999 each semester for zero credit hours.

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Beyond the For-Credit Curriculum

The training of Ph.D. candidates in astrophysics goes beyond formal coursework and the doctoral research project. The astrophysics program runs several informal activities that are aimed at giving students experience with giving professional talks and reading the scientific literature. All students are expected to attend these events regularly (required in the first two years as part of ASTR 8003). These events are:

• Journal Club: All graduate students in this program are expected to attend a weekly, one-hour journal club. At each Journal Club meeting, one or two students make a presentation, explaining a recently published paper in the astrophysical literature. Each student is expected to make at least one presentation at Journal Club each semester. In this forum, students gain experience in presenting research to an audience and receive feedback from faculty and their peers on their presentation.
• Astro Lunch: All graduate students in this program are expected to attend a weekly one-hour lunch meeting at which the group informally discusses recently published or submitted papers.
• Department Colloquium: The Department of Physics and Astronomy holds weekly, late afternoon colloquia during the academic year. All graduate students in this program are expected to attend all colloquia with an astrophysics orientation and at least a selection of other colloquia.
• National and International Meetings: All graduate students in this program are expected to attend national and/or international astrophysics conferences during their tenure as graduate students. Students are especially expected to attend conferences at which they will make research presentations.

The Qualifying Examination

To be awarded the Doctoral Degree in Astrophysics a student must write and defend a dissertation that presents the results of independent research. To progress to that point, each student must first pass the Qualifying Examination to become a doctoral candidate. According to the Graduate School Catalog , “the purpose of the Qualifying Examination is to test the student’s knowledge of the field of specialization, to assess familiarity with the published research in the field, and to determine whether the student possesses those critical and analytical skills needed for a scholarly career.”

In the astrophysics program, the Qualifying Examination requires each student to independently write and orally defend a research proposal. The topic is of the student’s choosing, and may be the same as her/his current research. The Qualifying Examination is administered by the student’s Ph.D. Committee and only the committee members and the student are present. Passing the Qualifying Examination marks the student’s formal entry into dissertation research under the supervision of her/his dissertation adviser and the Ph.D. Committee. 2 The Qualifying Exam should not be seen as a hurdle, but as an important part of one’s training to become an independent scientist.

Ph.D. Committee

The Ph.D. Committee administers the Qualifying Examination and subsequently monitors the student’s progress toward the completion of the dissertation. The committee comprises at least four members of the graduate faculty. To ensure consistency among Qualifying Examinations, at least one member of the committee should be a current or recent member of the GPC in astrophysics. In addition, by Graduate School rule, at least one member of the committee must be from outside the astrophysics program. This external committee member may be a member of the physics faculty at Vanderbilt, a faculty member from a different department at Vanderbilt, or it may be a faculty member or equivalent at another university or National Lab. One of the committee members serves as the committee chair. While this is often the student’s research adviser, this does not need to be the case. The composition of the committee is delivered to the DGS in astrophysics by the adviser in consultation with the student for certification of compliance with the above rules.

Preparing For The Qualifying Examination

The Qualifying Examination in the department is taken during the fourth semester (under exceptional circumstances, a student may petition the GPC to delay the Qualifying Exam until as late as the sixth semester 3 ). The Qualifying Examination is offered in just one annual cycle culminating in the oral examination by mid-May. By Graduate School rules, students taking the oral Qualifying Exam must have completed all requirements of the Graduate School for formal coursework (24 credit hours) at the actual time of the oral exam with a GPA of 3.0 or better in all courses taken for credit. However, in order for the student to advance to candidacy, a student must first complete all the course requirements for the astrophysics Ph.D. program.

The steps needed to prepare for the Qualifying Examination are:

• The student should get involved in research as soon as possible – certainly no later than the summer after the first year of study. To begin by summer, the student should interview potential faculty advisers no later than the spring of the first year to identify those with space to take on a summer research assistant. During the first two years of study, a student may explore research opportunities in several groups, but she/he must select a faculty Ph.D. adviser at least one semester before an anticipated Qualifying Exam date.
• The student and the adviser agree on the members of the Ph.D. Committee, including who will serve as chair of the committee. The student then contacts members of the committee to ascertain their willingness to serve. Once the composition of the Ph.D. Committee is decided and all the proposed committee members have agreed to serve, the adviser completes the Request to Appoint Committee form to the DGS for certification and notification of the Graduate School. The committee membership should be finalized and the form submitted by February 1.
• The student prepares a one-page abstract that outlines the proposal’s research topic, hypothesis, and specific aims. The student may discuss potential topics with her/his adviser, but the abstract itself must be the student’s completely independent work; there should be no editing of the abstract by anyone other than the student for any reason. This abstract should be submitted electronically (.pdf preferred) to the DGS in astrophysics. The exact due date will be set by the DGS, but will be approximately February 15.

The abstract will be reviewed by the GPC in astrophysics, focusing on the following questions:

• Is the research topic appropriate?
• Is the hypothesis well-formed and testable?
• Is the scope sufficiently focused (doable during a typical graduate career of three to four years)?

The GPC will provide the student with written feedback on the appropriateness of her/his proposal in approximately one week. The student will then revise the abstract and resubmit it to the DGS and to all members of the student’s Ph.D. Committee. The exact due date will be set by the DGS, but will be approximately March 1.

The student’s Ph.D. Committee will perform a similar review of the abstract and determine whether it provides an adequate basis for a full If so, the committee will provide additional written feedback and inform the student to begin preparing the full proposal. If not, the committee will provide written feedback and require the student to submit a revised abstract within two weeks.

After receiving permission to prepare the full proposal, the student should contact all committee members to set a date for the oral Qualifying Examination. The student is advised that getting a committee of four to five faculty persons to be available simultaneously in time and space is not a trivial task! During the annual exam cycle, the oral exam should be scheduled for the last two weeks of April or the first two weeks of May. Only in extraordinary circumstances should the exam be delayed beyond this point. Once a date is agreed upon, the adviser notifies the DGS and Graduate School no later than three weeks before the proposed date. Note that the Graduate School issues the notice of the examination at least two weeks in advance.

Regardless of when the oral Qualifying Examination is scheduled, the written proposal must be submitted to the DGS and the student’s Ph.D. Committee by a specific date. This date will be set by the DGS, typically April 1, and will be the same for all students taking the exam during a specific cycle. The written proposal must not exceed eight pages (single-spaced, 12-pt font). Within this space, the proposal should have four sections:

• Rationale or Background & Significance: This section provides background information and justification for the proposal. An important part of preparing the proposal is a thorough review of the current literature. This review should be concisely summarized here.
• Hypothesis: This short section (~one paragraph) should describe the specific hypothesis to be tested.
• Specific Aims or Research Objectives:  This section will largely follow the previously approved abstract, but the student can make changes as she/he more fully develops the proposal.
• Research Plan: This section should detail the experimental/theoretical plan to meet the specific aims. The student is advised to number the specific aims and use the same numbering scheme for subsections of the Research Plan. This section should describe the experimental/theoretical strategies and design, but it should not provide the sort of detailed Materials & Methods section one would find in a journal article. This section should sketch anticipated outcomes and some discussion of how the plan might be adjusted with different outcomes.

The student’s Ph.D. Committee will review and evaluate the written proposal. This evaluation will be completed at least two days before the scheduled oral examination. If the written proposal is deemed adequate, then the oral examination will proceed as scheduled; however, if the committee identifies serious deficiencies in the written proposal, then the oral exam will be postponed. If postponed, the scheduled exam time will be used for the committee to provide constructive criticism to the student on how she/he can address the identified deficiencies. The student will then have two weeks to submit a revised proposal and reschedule the oral examination as soon as possible.

During the oral Qualifying Examination, the student defends her/his research proposal. The exam is limited to a maximum of two hours. The student is allotted a maximum of 15 minutes to provide an overview of the proposal. This is a strict limit, so committee members are asked to restrict questions to points of clarification during the student’s presentation. The remainder of the two hours is reserved for the committee to ask questions in which the student should be prepared to discuss the general background of the proposal and its significance; to discuss relevant experimental approaches, including their theoretical bases and limitations; to outline anticipated results; and to interpret the meaning of these results. The student should be particularly prepared to discuss the interpretation of alternative results proposed by the committee. Although the primary focus of the questions will be on the research proposal, the committee may and likely will probe into the student’s core knowledge of astrophysics.

In contrast to the rules for the written proposal, students are strongly encouraged to prepare for the oral examination by gathering student peers for mock oral exams. Copies of the student’s prepared slides must be made available to the committee members at least one working day before the examination. By rule of the Graduate School, attendance at the Qualifying Examination is limited to only the Ph.D. Committee members and the student. The committee will decide within one day whether the student has passed the Qualifying Examination.

Within one week, the adviser will provide a written report to the student and to the GPC describing the student’s performance on the examination. Even if the student was judged to have passed the examination, the report should address any deficiencies in preparation that were evident during the examination. If the student was judged to have failed the examination, the report should note the serious deficiencies that caused this failure; the committee may also offer their judgment on whether retaking the examination would be in the best interest of the student. A second attempt at passing the Qualifying Examination may be made by the student within three months of the date of the failed examination. By Graduate School rule, only two attempts are allowed to pass the Qualifying Examination.

The Ph.D. Dissertation

After passing the Qualifying Examination, the student is officially admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. He/she will develop a topical focus for the Ph.D. dissertation grounded in the subfield chosen for that examination. The dissertation topic should be an original research proposition that advances the frontiers of science in the field of specialization. While consultation with the adviser will be crucial to this process, it is to be emphasized that the proposal for the dissertation is the responsibility of the student. Within two semesters of passing the Qualifying Examination, the student will present a specific proposal to the Ph.D. Committee.

This proposal can be, and likely should be, based on the proposal that the student successfully defended during her/his Qualifying Examination. At this stage, the proposal should contain at the minimum a chapter-by-chapter outline of the dissertation, a report on the research already carried out, and a specific plan for completing the remainder. As a general rule, students should plan to complete the dissertation within three years of passing the Qualifying Examination, so that the dissertation can be submitted five to six years after entering the Graduate School. By Graduate School rule, all requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy must be completed within four years of passing the Qualifying Examination.

Annual Meetings of the Ph.D. Committee

After the dissertation topic is approved, the student will meet with the Ph.D. Committee at least annually to report on research completed to date, publications planned or in progress, and an estimate of the time, resources and analysis that are required to complete the dissertation project. The committee members may ask questions, critique the work presented by the student, or make suggestions about the project. The Chair of the Ph.D. Committee (usually the Ph.D. adviser) is responsible for preparing a brief written report of the meeting that will be sent to the candidate and to the DGS. This report may also be reviewed by the GPC as it monitors student progress.

Publication Requirements

The research in any dissertation project is expected to contribute measurably to scientific progress in the field of specialization; thus, publication in peer-reviewed journals is an essential component of the Ph.D. research program. While the venue, number, and timing of publications vary according to the subfield, students should expect to play a major role in a first paper no later than the end of the third year of graduate study. By the time the dissertation is completed, the student must present to the Ph.D. Committee at least one paper in which they played the primary role and that has been accepted in a peer-reviewed journal. Most students are expected to have more than one such paper published or accepted for publication at the time of the dissertation defense.

Completion of the Dissertation and the Ph.D. Defense

The Graduate School website gives essential information about the timing and format of the Ph.D. dissertation and the defense. According to Graduate School rules, the defense must take place no later than four years after the student passes the Qualifying Exam and advances to candidacy. Students may petition the Graduate School for an extension; however, financial support from the Graduate School is unlikely past the fourth year of candidacy. The defense is a public examination, and should be characterized by a spirited scientific debate on the strengths and weaknesses of the dissertation presented by the student. In addition, the Department of Physics and Astronomy stipulates the following:

• The Ph.D. adviser will inform the Dean of the Graduate School at least two weeks in advance of the date and place of the defense so that the event can be published in the Vanderbilt University electronic calendar. The department administrative staff will advertise the dissertation title, date, and place of the defense in order to promote attendance by faculty, research staff, and other students.
• The Ph.D. candidate must present a complete copy of the dissertation to the committee members at least two weeks before the defense. This is both a departmental and Graduate School requirement.
• At the defense, the candidate will present the critical points of the dissertation for no more than 45 minutes; during this presentation, questioning will be generally restricted to matters of clarification. After the presentation is finished, questioning by attendees other than the Ph.D. Committee will be permitted for about half an hour.
• After the public questioning is concluded, the Ph.D. Committee will continue the questioning of the candidate in executive session for up to an hour. The Ph.D. Committee will then caucus in private to evaluate the defense and decide the outcome.

The possible outcomes for the defense are:

• Pass conditional upon changes made to the dissertation recommended by members of the committee, or

In case two, the committee may grant discretion to the principal adviser to enforce that the recommended changes are made. The members may sign the paperwork certifying completion of a passing dissertation, but the adviser will submit the committee’s report to the Graduate School only after the changes made are satisfactory in the opinion of the adviser.

 Applying for Fellowships

There are several national fellowships and external awards that provide support for graduate students in their studies.

These fellowships come with many tangible benefits for students:

• they allow students to focus fully on research right from the start;
• they are prestigious and strengthen students’ CVs;
• they provide valuable experience in planning and writing grant proposals. Graduate students are expected to apply for one or more of these opportunities.

Some example programs are the NSF GRFP (deadline: late October), NASA JPFP (deadline: early February), NASA ASTAR (deadline: early May).

Important Milestones and Checklist

This is a list of all the important milestones that students reach while they are in the astrophysics Ph.D. program. All forms that are required may be downloaded from the Graduate School website .

1 The Graduate School requires only 24 credit hours of formal coursework. The departmental requirement is higher because of the number and breadth of core courses required to properly prepare for a career in astronomy. Additional coursework may be recommended by a student’s adviser. Return to text 2 Advancing to candidacy makes one eligible to register for dissertation research credit hours (ASTR 9999). Return to text 3 The Graduate School requirement is that the Qualifying Examination must be passed by the end of the eighth semester. Postponing it beyond this time does not allow for the completion of an acceptable dissertation project in the desired degree time frame of approximately five years. Return to text

University of Notre Dame

Department of Physics and Astronomy

College of Science

• Home ›
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Current Graduate Students

Current ND Physics and Astronomy graduate students can find a number of resources on this page, from important information regarding examinations and teaching assistantships and links to university-wide resources. There are also links to various PDF files such as the Guide for Graduate Students and the Academic Code.

If you have a question and can't find what you need on this page, email the physics and astronomy graduate program coordinator, Lori Fuson,  [email protected] .

Guide for Graduate Students

• 2023-2024 Guide for Graduate Students
• Academic Code of the Grad School
• Academic Code Spring Addendum 2020

Online Oral Candidacy & Defense Exam Information

• How to Schedule Your Zoom Meeting
• Directions For Online Candidacy Exams And Defenses20220124

Forms and Documents

• Grad Student - Advisor Research Agreement
• Graduate Student Travel Expense Directions
• Student Business Travel Certification Form

Mentoring Committee Meetings

• See Research Mentoring Meeting Directions before scheduling your 30-minute meeting!
• Click here to submit your completed Mentoring Committee Form
• Mentoring Committee Folders

Physics and Astronomy Research Writing Consultant

The Physics and Astronomy Research Writing Consultant is available this semester starting January 22. If you want writing feedback on a research paper, candidacy proposal/thesis, conference abstract, fellowship/grant proposals, etc., you can make an appointment with the department's private writing tutor through the Notre Dame Writing Center ( https://nd.mywconline.com ).

On the login page, select the "Physics Research Writing Consultant" to reach our private calendar. Appointments can be either half an hour or an hour long and can be done either in-person or over Zoom.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy research writing consultant is Miriam Matney ( [email protected] ). You can reach out to her by email with any questions.

Materials Science and Engineering Doctoral Degree Program

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is one of seven departments and programs at Notre Dame that offers the interdisciplinary Materials Science and Engineering doctoral degree. Incoming students who are interested in the program should follow the department’s admissions process, with details available at  graduateschool.nd.edu . To successfully complete the Materials Science and Engineering degree, students will be required to complete their home department requirements, nine hours of materials science courses, and a materials science-focused doctoral thesis. Students who successfully complete this programming will earn a “Physics: Materials Science and Engineering" degree.

Discuss your interest in the Materials Science and Engineering doctoral program with our Department DGS or DGA. For more information, please visit  https://mse.nd.edu/ .

Summer Course Information

The 2024 summer course consists of three, three-week segments:

• PHYS 67001 Review of Physics A:  Mechanics & Thermodynamics - May 28 to June 14
• PHYS 67002 Review of Physics B:  Electromagnetism  - June 17 to July 03
• PHYS 67003 Review of Physics C: Quantum Mechanics July 08 to July 26

See Sec. 1.10 of the Grad Guide for details.

Preliminary Examination Information

2024 Spring Preliminary Examination Dates

• Part A: Mechanics & Thermodynamics - Thursday, May 16
• Part B: Electromagnetism - Monday, May 20
• Part C: Quantum Mechanics - Monday, May 13

Preliminary Exams are held in 184 Nieuwland Science from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm EDT

See Section 4.4 of the Grad Guide for exam day guidelines.

Archive of past ND Physics Preliminary Examinations and solutions (for current graduate students and faculty, ND email required):    Exam and Solution Archives

Problem bank for each exam can be found here: Part A , Part B , Part C .

Equation sheets for each exam can be found here: Part A , Part B , Part C .

For Teaching Assistants (TAs)

Spring 2024.

Spring 2024 TA Assignments by Course

Spring 2024 TA Assignments by TA

TA Resources

• Kaneb Center Outstanding TA Award information and past recipients

University Resources

• Graduate School - for current students
• Graduate Student Union
• Graduate Career Services
• English for Academic Purposes
• Office of Residence Life and Housing
• Academic Year Calendar from Office of the Registrar

External Links

• AIP Career Web Site
• APS Professional Development Guide
• SPS: Careers Using Physics

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• Catalog Home
• Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, Ph.D.

A broad program of instruction and research is offered in the principles of the interaction of radiation with matter and their applications, and in several areas of engineering physics. The program has strong engineering and applied science components. It emphasizes several areas of activity, including the research, design, development, and deployment of fission reactors; fusion engineering; plasma physics; radiation damage to materials; applied superconductivity and cryogenics; and large-scale computing in engineering science.

The master's degree may be pursued as a terminal degree in the fission area and in various engineering physics areas, but it is not generally recommended as a final degree in fusion research; students interested in fusion should plan to pursue the Ph.D. degree. About 40 percent of the current graduate students hold undergraduate degrees in nuclear engineering, about 40 percent in physics, and about 20 percent in other disciplines such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, and materials science.

The department is considered to have one of the top five nuclear engineering programs in the nation over the last 40 years. It incorporates several research organizations including the Wisconsin Institute of Nuclear Systems, the Pegasus Toroidal Experiment Program, the Fusion Technology Institute, and the Center for Plasma Theory and Computation.

Research may be performed in areas including next generation fission reactor engineering; fluid and heat transfer modeling for transient analysis; reactor monitoring and diagnostics; fuel cycle analysis; magnetic and inertial confinement fusion reactor engineering, including the physics of burning plasmas, plasma-wall interactions, neutron transport, tritium breeding, radiation damage, and liquid-metal heat transfer; experimental and theoretical studies of plasmas including radio frequency heating, magnetic confinement, plasma instabilities, and plasma diagnostics; superconducting magnets and cryogenics; and theoretical and experimental studies of the damage to materials in fission and fusion reactors.

The department places considerable emphasis on establishing research teams or group research, as well as traditional research activity by individual faculty members and their students. The groups frequently involve faculty, scientific staff, and graduate students from several departments, adding a strong interdisciplinary flavor to the research.

Students sometimes perform thesis work at national laboratories such as Argonne National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.

Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online .

GRE scores are optional. Applicants may submit GRE scores, but are not required to do so. Applications without scores are not placed at a disadvantage.  However, received scores will be considered as part of our holistic evaluation of applications.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS and PROCESS

Degree: For admission to graduate study in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, an applicant must have a bachelor's degree in engineering, mathematics, or physical science, and an undergraduate record that indicates an ability to successfully pursue graduate study. International applicants must have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree. All applicants must satisfy requirements that are set forth by the  Graduate School . 

It is highly recommended that students take courses that cover the same material as these UW-Madison courses before entering the program:

Course and Semester Credits                                                       Typical Courses

Differential equations, 3 cr                                                           MATH 319 or  MATH 320  

Advanced mathematics, 3 cr                                                       MATH 321

Nuclear physics, 3 cr                                                                     N E 305

Materials science, metallurgy, or solid-state physics, 3 cr        M S & E 350 or M S & E 351

Heat transfer or fluid mechanics, 3 cr                                        CBE 320

Mechanics, 3 cr                                                                            PHYSICS 311 or E M A 202

Descriptions of course content can be accessed through The Guide . Students may enter without having taken these courses. However, in such cases the students must inform their advisors, who will help them plan courses of study that will provide adequate background for our department's graduate curriculum. Provisions for admission on probation, or as an applicant for more than one master's degree (e.g., simultaneous MS degrees in two departments) are given in the Graduate School website . 

GPA: The Graduate School requires a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 basis on the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours from the most recent bachelor's degree. In special cases, students with grade point averages lower than 3.0 who meet all the general requirements of the Graduate School may be considered for admission on probation.

GRE: GRE scores are optional. Applicants may submit GRE scores, but are not required to do so. Applications without scores are not placed at a disadvantage.  However, received scores will be considered as part of our holistic evaluation of applications.

PhD advisor selection process: PhD applicants are encouraged to identify potential faculty advisors and seek a confirmation. Please review the department  Research and People websites and contact those whose research interests align with yours. Only faculty members listed with the titles of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor, can serve as graduate advisors. Do not contact Emeritus faculty, Lecturers, Research Scientists, or Faculty Associates. You are also encouraged to inquire about possible funding opportunities. If a faculty member agrees to be your advisor, ask the person to email an acknowledgment to [email protected] .

Each application must include the following:

• Graduate School Application
• Academic transcripts
• Statement of purpose
• Three letters of recommendation
• GRE Scores (optional - see below for additional information)
• English Proficiency Score (if required)
• Application Fee

To apply to the NEEP program, complete  applications , including supportive materials, must be submitted as described below and received by the following deadline dates:

• Fall Semester—December 15 
• Spring Semester—September 1 
• Summer Session—December 15 

ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPT

Within the online application, upload the undergraduate transcript(s) and, if applicable, the previous graduate transcript. Unofficial copies of transcripts will be accepted for review, but official copies are required for admitted students. Please do not send transcripts or any other application materials to the Graduate School or the Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics department unless requested. Please review the requirements set by the  Graduate School  for additional information about degrees/transcripts.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

In this document, applicants should explain why they want to pursue further education in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics and discuss which UW faculty members they would be interested in doing research with during their graduate study (see the Graduate School for  more advice on how to structure a personal statement ).

Upload your resume in your application.

THREE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

These letters are required from people who can accurately judge the applicant's academic and/or research performance. It is highly recommended these letters be from faculty familiar with the applicant. Letters of recommendation are submitted electronically to graduate programs through the online application. See the  Graduate School for FAQs  regarding letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation are due by the deadline listed above. 

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY SCORE 

Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. The UW-Madison Graduate School accepts TOEFL or IETLS scores. Your score will not be accepted if it is more than two years old from the start of your admission term. Country of citizenship does not exempt applicants from this requirement. Language of instruction at the college or university level and how recent the language instruction was taken are the determining factors in meeting this requirement.

For more information regarding minimum score requirements and exemption policy, please see the Graduate School Requirements for Admission .

APPLICATION FEE

Application submission must be accompanied by the one-time application fee. It is non-refundable and can be paid by credit card (MasterCard or Visa) or debit/ATM. Additional information about the application fee may be found here (scroll to the ‘Frequently asked questions).

Fee grants are available through the conditions  outlined here by the Graduate School .

If you have questions, please contact  [email protected] .

RE-ENTRY ADMISSIONS

If you were previously enrolled as a graduate student in the Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics program, have not earned your degree, but have had a break in enrollment for a minimum of a fall or spring term, you will need to re-apply to resume your studies. Please review the Graduate School requirements for previously enrolled students . Your previous faculty advisor (or another NEEP faculty advisor) must be willing to supply advising support and should e-mail the NEEP Graduate Student Services Coordinator regarding next steps in the process.

If you were previously enrolled in a UW-Madison graduate degree, completed that degree, have had a break in enrollment since earning the degree and would now like to apply for another UW-Madison program; you are required to submit a new student application through the UW-Madison Graduate School online application. For NEEP graduate programs, you must follow the entire application process as described above.

CURRENTLY ENROLLED GRADUATE STUDENT ADMISSIONS

Students currently enrolled as a graduate student at UW-Madison, whether in NEEP or a non-NEEP graduate program, wishing to apply to this degree program should contact the NEEP Graduate Admissions Team to inquire about the process and deadlines several months in advance of the anticipated enrollment term. Current students may apply to change or add programs for any term (fall, spring, or summer).

Graduate School Resources

Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid.  Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Program Resources

Offers of financial support from the Department, College, and University are in the form of research assistantships (RAs), teaching assistantships (TAs), project assistantships (PAs), and partial or full fellowships. Prospective PhD students that receive such offers will have a minimum five-year guarantee of support. The funding for RAs comes from faculty research grants. Each professor decides on his or her own RA offers. International applicants must secure an RA, TA, PA, fellowship, or independent funding before admission is final. Funded students are expected to maintain full-time enrollment.  See the program website for additional information.

Additional Resources

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SERVICES FUNDING AND SCHOLARSHIPS

For information on International Student Funding and Scholarships visit the ISS  website .

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Major requirements.

Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements , in addition to the program requirements listed below.

MODE OF INSTRUCTION

Mode of instruction definitions.

Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.

Evening/Weekend: ​Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules.  Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.

Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.

Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats.  Contact the program for more specific information.

Online: These programs are offered 100% online.  Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.

CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS

Required courses.

Students must fulfill the coursework requirements for the nuclear engineering and engineering physics M.S. degree whether receiving the M.S. degree or going directly to the PhD. They must complete an additional 9 credits of technical coursework at the graduate level, beyond the coursework requirement for the MS. Candidates must take three courses numbered 700 or above; must satisfy the Ph.D. technical minor requirement; and must satisfy the PhD non-technical minor requirement.

The candidate is also required to complete, as a graduate student, one course numbered 400 or above in each of the following Areas: fission reactors; plasma physics and fusion; materials; engineering mathematics and computation (see Area Coursework Examples below).

M.S. Coursework Requirements

The following courses, or courses with similar material content, must be taken prior to or during the course of study: N E 427 Nuclear Instrumentation Laboratory ; N E 428 Nuclear Reactor Laboratory or N E 526 Laboratory Course in Plasmas ; N E 408 Ionizing Radiation or N E/​MED PHYS  569 Health Physics and Biological Effects .

Thesis pathway 1 : maximum of 12 credits for thesis; at least 8 credits of N E courses numbered 400 or above; remaining credits (also numbered 400 or above) must be in appropriate technical areas 2 ; at least 9 credits must be numbered 500 and above; up to 3 credits can be seminar credits.

Non-Thesis pathway 1 : at least 15 credits of N E courses numbered 400 or above; remaining 15 credits (also numbered 400 or above) must be in appropriate technical areas 2 ; at least 12 credits must be at numbered 500 or above; up to 3 credits can be seminar credits.

For both the thesis and non-thesis options, only one course (maximum of 3 credits) of independent study ( N E 699 Advanced Independent Study , N E 999 Advanced Independent Study ) is allowed.

These pathways are internal to the program and represent different curricular paths a student can follow to earn this degree. Pathway names do not appear in the Graduate School admissions application, and they will not appear on the transcript.

Appropriate technical areas are: Engineering departments (except Engineering and Professional Development), Physics, Math, Statistics, Computer Science, Medical Physics, and Chemistry. Other courses may be deemed appropriate by a student's faculty advisor.

Area Coursework Examples

These courses are examples that would meet the requirement and are not meant to be a restricted list of possible courses. The candidate is required to complete one course in each of the following areas:

Non-Technical Minor Requirements

Ph.D. candidates must complete one of the following four study options prior to receiving dissertator status. As this is a formal Department requirement, the student should select a Non-Technical Minor early in the program, and must complete it to achieve dissertator status (see below). The Non-Technical Minor must be planned with the help of the candidate's advisor and must be approved by the Department NonTechnical Minor Advisor except for Study Option IV which must be approved by the Department faculty. A Non-Technical Minor Approval Form is available from the Graduate Student Coordinator, and must be filed prior to submission of the doctoral plan form. Courses numbered below 400 may be used as a part of the Non-Technical Minor.

Study Option I : Technology-Society Interaction Coursework. This option is intended to increase the student's awareness of the possible effects of technology on society and of the professional responsibilities of engineers and scientists in understanding such side effects. These effects could, for example, involve the influence of engineering on advancement of human welfare, on the distribution of wealth in society, or on environmental and ecological systems.

Suggested courses for fulfilling Option I include:

Study Option II :  Humanistic Society Studies Coursework. The basic objectives of this option are to help prepare the student to bridge the gap between C.P. Snow's "Two Cultures." Snow’s 1959 lecture thesis was that the breakdown of communication between the "two cultures" of modern society - the sciences and the humanities - was a major hindrance to solving the world's problems. Study might be designed to give a greater appreciation of the arts such as the classics, music, or painting, or it might be designed, for example, as preparation for translating technical information to the non-technical public.

Suggested areas of study to fulfill Option II include Anthropology, Area Studies, Art, Art History, Classics, Comparative Literature, Contemporary Trends, English (literature), Foreign Languages (literature), Social Work, Sociology, and Speech. Under either Option I or II, the student must take 6 credits of coursework. The courses must be approved by the student's advisor and the non-technical minor advisor, and the 6 credits should be concentrated in one topical area. Grades in these courses need not meet the Departmental Grade Policy. However, note that all grades in courses numbered 300 or above courses (including grades for Non-Technical Minor courses) are calculated in the Graduate School minimum 3.0 graduation requirement.

Study Option III : Foreign Culture Coursework. This option is intended for the student who desires to live and work in a foreign nation or work with people of a foreign culture. Examples include studies of the history of a foreign nation, of the political stability of a region of the world, of the culture of a particular group within a nation, or of the spoken language of a foreign nation. For Option III the student must take six credits of courses under all of the same conditions and requirements as for Option I and II unless choosing language study. For the latter case, the student must attain a grade of C or better in all courses. If the student has previous knowledge of a language, it is required that either courses beyond the introductory level will be elected or that another language will be elected.

Study Option IV : Technology-Society Interactions Experience. There are many possible technology-society interactions that might be more educational and meaningful for the student as an actual experience than coursework. For example, the student might run for and be elected to a position of alderperson in the city government. Consequently, this option allows the student to pursue a particular aspect of the interaction using his own time and resources.

Study Option IV activity must be planned with the student's advisor and be approved by the faculty. The effort required should be equivalent to 6 credits of coursework. Upon completion of this program, the student will prepare a written or oral report.

Note: Students from countries in which English is not the native language have inherently fulfilled these non-technical study goals and are exempt from these formal requirements.

Graduate School Policies

The  Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures  provide essential information regarding general university policies. Program authority to set degree policies beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School lies with the degree program faculty. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.

Major-Specific Policies

Prior coursework, graduate work from other institutions.

With advisor and NEEP Graduate Studies Committee approval, students may use up to 15 credits of prior graduate coursework that led to a relevant MS degree. Alternatively, with advisor and NEEP Graduate Studies Committee approval, students may use up to 6 credits of relevant coursework from a prior graduate program.  Please review the Graduate Program Handbook (see contact box) for information about use and restrictions to this policy.

UW–Madison Undergraduate

With faculty approval, students who have received their undergraduate degree from UW–Madison may apply up to 7 credits numbered 400 or above toward the minimum graduate degree credit requirement. This work would not be allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless taken in courses numbered 700 or above. No credits can be counted toward the minimum graduate residence credit requirement. Coursework earned ten years or more prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.

With faculty approval, students who have received an ABET-accredited undergraduate degree (not including UW–Madison) may be eligible to apply up to 7 credits of their undergraduate coursework toward the Minimum Graduate Degree Credit Requirement. No credits can be counted toward the Minimum Graduate Residence Credit Requirement, nor the Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement. 

Coursework earned five or more years prior to admission to a master's degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.

UW–Madison University Special

With program approval, students are allowed to count up to 15 credits of coursework numbered 400 or above taken as a UW–Madison special student toward the minimum graduate residence credit requirement, and the minimum graduate degree credit requirement. UW–Madison coursework taken as a University Special student would not be allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless taken in courses numbered 700 or above. Coursework earned ten years or more prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.

This program follows the Graduate School's Probation policy.

ADVISOR / COMMITTEE

Each student is required to meet with his or her advisor prior to registration every semester.

CREDITS PER TERM ALLOWED

Time limits.

The Ph.D. qualifying examination should be first taken no later than completion of the M.S. requirements, or the beginning of the fifth semester of graduate study, whichever comes first. Students entering the program with a master’s degree in E M A, E P or N E from another institution, and taking the qualifying exam in that same major, must take the exam by the beginning of their third semester.

Students must submit the doctoral plan of study one month before the end of the semester following the one in which the qualifying exam is passed.

Candidates are expected to pass the Ph.D. preliminary examination no later than the end of the third year of graduate study, or by the end of the second regular semester following the one in which the Ph.D. qualifying examination was passed, whichever is later. A candidate who fails to take the preliminary examination within four years of passing the qualifying examination must retake the qualifying examination.

An oral examination on the findings of the Ph.D. research is required at the end of the thesis work. The candidate must apply for a warrant from the Graduate School through the student services office at least three weeks before the exam.  The final oral examination must be taken within five years of passing the preliminary examination.

Grievances and Appeals

These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:

• Bias or Hate Reporting  
• Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
• Office of the Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs
• Dean of Students Office (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
• Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
• Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
• Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
• Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
• Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
• Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
• Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)

NEEP Grievance Procedures

Students who feel that they have been treated unfairly have the right to a prompt hearing of their grievance.  Such complaints may involve course grades, classroom treatment, advising, various forms of harassment, or other issues. Any student or potential student may use these procedures.

The student should speak first with the person toward whom the grievance is directed. In most cases, grievances can be resolved at this level.

Should a satisfactory resolution not be achieved, the student should contact the program’s Grievance Advisor to discuss the grievance. The Graduate Student Coordinator can provide students with the name of this faculty member, who facilitates problem resolution through informal channels. The Grievance Advisor is responsible for facilitating any complaints or issues of students. The Grievance Advisor first attempts to help students informally address the grievance prior to any formal complaint. Students are also encouraged to talk with their faculty advisors regarding concerns or difficulties if necessary. University resources for sexual harassment concerns can be found on the UW Office of Equity and Diversity website.

If the issue is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction, the student can submit the grievance to the Grievance Advisor in writing, within 60 calendar days of the alleged unfair treatment.

On receipt of a written complaint, a faculty committee will be convened by the Grievance Advisor to manage the grievance.  The program faculty committee will obtain a written response from the person toward whom the complaint is directed. The response will be shared with the person filing the grievance.

The faculty committee will determine a decision regarding the grievance. The Grievance Advisor will report on the action taken by the committee in writing to both the student and the party toward whom the complaint was directed within 15 working days from the date the complaint was received.

At this point, if either party (the student or the person toward whom the grievance is directed) is unsatisfied with the decision of the faculty committee, the party may file a written appeal. Either party has 10 working days to file a written appeal to the College of Engineering.

The Assistant Dean for Graduate Affairs ( [email protected] ) provides overall leadership for graduate education in the College of Engineering (CoE) and is a point of contact for graduate students who have concerns about education, mentoring, research, or other difficulties.

The Graduate School has procedures for students wishing to appeal a grievance decision made at the college level. These policies are described in the Academic Policies and Procedures at https://grad.wisc.edu/academic-policies/ .

Take advantage of the Graduate School's  professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career. 

• Demonstrate an extraordinary, deep understanding of mathematical, scientific, and engineering principles in the field
• Demonstrate an ability to formulate, analyze, and independently solve advanced engineering problems
• Apply the relevant scientific and technological advancements, techniques, and engineering tools to address these problems
• Recognize and apply principles of ethical and professional conduct
• Demonstrate an ability to synthesize knowledge from a subset of the biological, physical, and/or social sciences to help frame problems critical to the future of their discipline
• Demonstrate an ability to conduct original research and communicate it to their peers

Paul Wilson (Chair) Wendy Crone Chris Hegna Oliver Schmitz Carl Sovinec Kumar Sridharan

ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS

Adrien Couet

ASSISTANT PROFESSORS

Stephanie Diem Benedikt Geiger Benjamin Lindley Juliana Pacheco-Duarte Yongfeng Zhang

See also Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics Faculty Directory .

• Requirements
• Professional Development
• Learning Outcomes

Contact Information

Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics College of Engineering https://engineering.wisc.edu/neep

Graduate Student Services [email protected] 3182 Mechanical Engineering 1513 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706

Carl Sovinec, Director of Graduate Studies [email protected]

Graduate Program Handbook View Here

Graduate School grad.wisc.edu

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