Physics Doctoral Degree Requirements

Program | Faculty | Master's | Doctoral | Courses

The general requirements for the Ph.D. in Phys-ics are those of the Graduate School. These are implemented along the following lines. During the first two years, a student typically carries a course load of nine or ten credits. The first year is taken up with core courses that cover basic physics at the advanced level: 601, 602, 605, 606, 614, and 615. In the second year the student selects research courses at the 700 and 800 level. Students are required to take at least three of these courses, one of which may be in the student’s area of research, a second may be in a related field, and the third must be in a totally distinct field. Students making normal progress are expected to pass the qualifying examination during the second year, and then devote their major efforts to research, taking the occasional course either of interest to them or of direct relevance to the research program. The department requires no foreign-language reading competency for the doctorate. A student must register for 18 credits in physics under 899 Doctoral Dissertation.