After the First Year
The Committee and the Degree Program
A Committee and a degree program are required for both M.S. and Ph.D. students. The degree program is entered on a form that can be obtained from the Physics Graduate Secretary or the Graduate School Office in Johnston Hall. The program lists all the courses that you have taken and will take for your degree. Courses must also be identified as to whether they satisfy the major or minor requirements. The Director of Graduate Studies will help you with the selection. Any transfer courses from other graduate institutions should also be listed on the Degree Program Form. When you have completed the program form, it must be signed by your advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies and then returned to the Graduate School. If you have a designated minor (outside physics), the program form must also be signed by the Director of Graduate Studies for the minor field.
This list of program courses must, of course, satisfy the degree requirements listed in Chapters 4 and 5. In general, you do not need to list on the program form any courses in excess of the bare minimum requirements, even if you plan to take additional courses. Changing program courses to other courses or deleting courses requires filing a petition with the Graduate School that must be first signed by your advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. Your advisor and the Director of Graduate Study must also approve your program before it can be filed.
Table 3.1: Physics Courses by Sub-field
I. Physics Major Courses
Core courses (cannot be used for supporting program)4001: Analytical Mechanics
4002: Electricity and Magnetism
4051/2: Methods of Experimental Physics
4101: Quantum Mechanics
4303: Waves, Optics and Relativity
5001/2: Quantum Mechanics
5011/2: Classical Physics
Biophysics and Medical Physics
5401: Physics for Biology and Medicine: Mechanical Systems
5402: Topics in Physics for Biology and Medicine: Electromagnetic Systems
5403: Topics in Physics for Biology and Medicine: Radiation and Imaging
Condensed Matter Physics
4211: Introduction to Solid State Physics
4221: Magnetism: Physics, Geophysics and Engineering
5701/2: Solid State Physics for Engineers and Scientists
8700: Seminar: Condensed Matter Physics
8711/2: Solid State Physics
8750: Advanced Topics in Condensed Matter Physics
Elementary Particle Physics
4411: Introduction to Elementary Particle Physics
8900: Seminar: Elementary Particle Physics
8901/2: Elementary Particle Physics
8950: Advanced Topics in Elementary Particle Physics
Mathematical and Computational Physics
5041/2: Analytical and Numerical Methods of Physics
8001: Advanced Quantum Mechanics
8011/2: Quantum Field Theory
8013: Special Topics in Quantum Field Theory
8301: Symmetry and its Application to Physical Problems
Nuclear Physics
4311: Introduction to Nuclear Physics
8800: Seminar: Nuclear Physics
8801/2: Nuclear Physics
8850: Advanced Topics in Nuclear Physics
Optics and Atomic Physics
4711: Introduction to Optics
8401: Atomic and Molecular Structure
Plasma and Space Physics
4611: Introduction to Space Physics
4621: Introduction to Plasma Physics
8600: Seminar: Space Physics
8601/2: Plasma Physics
8611: Cosmic Ray and Space Physics
8650: Advanced Topics in Space and Plasma Physics
Relativity and Cosmology
4811: Introduction to Relativity and Cosmology
8501/1: General Relativity and Cosmology
Ast 5022: Relativity, Cosmology and the Universe
Thermal and Statistical Physics
4201: Statistical and Thermal Physics
8701/2: Statistical Mechanics and Transport Theory
II. Related Courses
(can be used for Supporting Program, but not as Major Field in Physics. Note that students wishing to major in one of these areas will receive their Ph.D. from the appropriate graduate program, i.e., Astrophysics, History of Science and Technology, or Curriculum and Instruction)
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Ast 4011: Stars and Stellar Evolution
Ast 4021: Galaxies and the Milky Way
Ast 4101: Computational Methods in the Physical Sciences
Ast 5102: The Interstellar Medium
Ast 5022: Relativity, Cosmology and the Universe
Ast 5201: Methods of Experimental Astrophysics
Ast 8011: High Energy Astrophysics
Ast 8021: Stellar Astrophysics
Ast 8031: Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
History and Philosophy of Physics
4111: History of 19th Century Physics
4121: History of 20th Century Physics
(also courses in History of Science and Technology program)
Physics Education
Curriculum & Instruction 5540: Teaching Introductory College Physics I & II
8100: Seminar: Problems of Physics Teaching and Higher Education
(also courses in Curriculum and Instruction department)
Typical courses for first year students were discussed in the previous section. In the succeeding years, your course offerings will depend on your research field, and on whether you are a theorist or experimentalist. Some of these courses are not offered every year, and so you might have to wait until the 3rd year to take the proper courses. Remember also to take courses that will satisfy the supporting program requirements! Also, by your 2nd year you should be regularly attending your group's seminar. Following are some possibilities, but of course, by this point, the program will become highly individualized. If you have taken 24-28 credits of course work your first year, you will still need 12-16 credits for the Ph.D. program. Since most of the 8xxx classes are 3 credits, you will need 4 to 6 such courses, along with your group seminar. Remember also that you need to have 12 credits in a supporting program. Courses that could be applied to the supporting program requirement are marked by asterisks below. Remember that these are suggestive only; final authority for which courses are allowable for the supporting program rests with the Director of Graduate Studies, subject to approval of the Graduate School.
Condensed Matter Experiment: | |
| Fall: | Spring: |
| 8711: Solid State Physics I | 8712: Solid State Physics II |
| 8701: Statistical Mechanics I* | 8702: Statistical Mechanics II* |
| 8700: Seminar: Condensed Matter | 8700: Seminar: Condensed Matter |
| 8401: Atomic and Molecular Structure* | Material Science or Engineering elective* |
Condensed Matter Theory: | |
| 8711: Solid State Physics I | 8712: Solid State Physics II |
| 8701: Statistical Mechanics I* | 8702: Statistical Mechanics II* |
| 8700: Seminar: Condensed Matter | 8700: Seminar: Condensed Matter |
| 8001: Advanced Quantum Mechanics | 8301: Symmetry* |
High Energy Experiment: | |
| 8001: Advanced Quantum Mechanics* | 8611: Cosmic Ray and Space Physics* |
| 8901: Elementary Particle Physics I | 8902: Elementary Particle Physics II |
| 8900: Seminar: Elementary Particles | 8900: Seminar: Elementary Particles |
High Energy Theory: | |
| 8001: Advanced Quantum Mechanics | |
| 8901: Elementary Particle Physics I | 8902: Elementary Particle Physics II |
| 8900: Seminar: Elementary Particles | 8900: Seminar: Elementary Particles |
| 8011: Quantum Field Theory I | 8012: Quantum Field Theory II |
| 8501: General Relativity and Cosmology I* | 8502: General Relativity and Cosmology II* |
Nuclear Theory: | 8001: Advanced Quantum Mechanics |
| 8801: Nuclear Physics I | 8802: Nuclear Physics II |
| 8800: Seminar: Nuclear Physics | 8800: Seminar: Nuclear Physics |
| 8011: Quantum Field Theory I | 8012: Quantum Field Theory II |
| 8701: Statistical Mechanics I* | 8702: Statistical Mechanics II* |
Space Physics and Astrophysics: | |
| 8601: Plasma Physics I | 8602: Plasma Physics II |
| 8501: General Relativity and Cosmology I | 8502: General Relativity and Cosmology II |
| 8611: Cosmic Ray and Space Physics | 8600: Seminar: Space Physics |
(* denotes supporting elective. Note, students in space or plasma physics could take General Relativity as a supporting program course; students in astrophysics or cosmology could take Plasma Physics as a supporting program course.)
The Preliminary Oral Examination
Your Preliminary Oral Examination committee will be set up by the Director of Graduate Studies at the same time as you submit your Degree Program form. For Ph.D. students, this Committee will give you the Preliminary Oral Examination. Although a second Committee will be appointed to review your Ph.D. thesis and give your final oral thesis defense, the membership of that Committee is likely to significantly overlap with the composition of your initial Committee. M.S. students have only one Committee. It consists of three members, 2 from Physics and one from outside Physics. Its task is to review the thesis/project and give a final oral examination. A Ph.D. Committee has five members, three from the major field and two from the minor field. At least one of the members of a Ph.D. Committee must be from outside the Physics portion of the School of Physics and Astronomy. (A member of the Department of Astronomy is acceptable as an outside member.)
The Preliminary Oral Examination is normally taken by Ph.D. students during their third year. It is required that you pass this exam by the end of the third year, although in rare cases, the Director of Graduate Study may approve taking this exam at a later date. (See Chapter 6 for more information). The examination usually lasts about two hours. The exam is based on a concise written summary of the state-of-the-art of a particular area of research, which may form the basis for a thesis. This summary is written in close consultation with the advisor. The oral is not scheduled until the advisor agrees that it is ready for close examination. Note that this summary does not have to take the form of a thesis proposal, nor need it contain any original research done by the student. The exam begins with your presentation of the summary, which should last no more than 20 minutes, although questions during this part will often extend this time period. The balance of the exam should consist of questions suggested by the research summary and how it fits into the general framework of physics, but not necessarily confined to research area. The courses listed on your degree program form the basis for this general part of the exam.
The goal of the examination is to determine whether you have acquired enough specific knowledge of the area to begin thesis-level research as well as the general knowledge of physics necessary to begin functioning as a professional physicist. Some of the questions may require simple, short answers, but often you will need to work problems at the blackboard. At the end of the examination, the Committee has three options: pass, pass with reservations and fail. Pass with reservations means that you will need to do some specific work in order to lift the reservations. The nature of the work will be communicated to you both orally and in writing within one week after the examination. Usually, the Committee or some subset of the committee will want to re-examine you on these specific areas after a period of time. The final thesis defense will not be scheduled by the graduate school until the reservations have been lifted. If you fail the examination, you must wait at least 10 weeks before taking it again. Decisions of the committee must be approved by at least a 4 to 1 vote.
The oral exam committee consists of the advisor, two other members from the same research area, and two additional members representing the supporting program. Usually there will be at least one theorist and one experimentalist from the major area on the committee, i.e., if you are a theoretical student, there will generally be at least one experimentalist in your research area on the committee, and if you are an experimentalist, there will be at least one theorist. If you do not have a declared minor, one of the two supporting program members can be from the physics department, but from a different area of research than your specialty. The other supporting member must be from outside of physics. If changes are necessary in your committee after your degree program has been filed, the Director of Graduate Studies can request such a change from the Graduate School.
During the examination, the most important rule is to keep calm. If you are completely blank on a question, it is probably best to say so immediately. If you have some ideas about a problem, you should begin working on it and solicit hints as you need them from the person asking the question. If you know something related to the question, you may want to add it to your answer to show the breadth of your knowledge. You should try to think of the Oral Examination as similar to teaching a class, except that you have a particularly difficult bunch of students.
After you have passed your oral exam, you are eligible to take Ph.D. thesis credits (Physics 8888). 24 of these credits are required for the Ph.D. degree. You should take these immediately beginning the semester after you pass the oral. Take as many as you can (up to the 14 credit limit for your graduate assistantship tuition waiver). Once you have completed these credits, you are considered an "All But Dissertation" (ABD) student, and your tuition costs (usually paid by the department, if you're a TA, or by your advisor's research grant, if you're an RA) will go down dramatically. Obviously, reaching ABD status makes your support have a smaller impact on your research grant and thus it will be easier for your advisor to provide full time support on an RA. It is in your best interest to reach this status as soon as possible.
The Thesis and Its Defense
When your thesis research is near completion, you need to consider the final challenge of graduate school, the writing of the thesis and its defense. The first step in the formalities of submitting your thesis is to submit a thesis proposal to the Graduate School. This can be done any time after you have completed your preliminary oral exam. The thesis proposal is an abstract of what your thesis will be. At the same time, the committee for your thesis defense will be constructed by the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with you and your advisor. This committee is often the same as your Preliminary Oral Exam committee, but it need not be. The rules for this committee are the same as for the Preliminary Oral Exam, with two added features. First, your advisor can not be the chair of the thesis defense committee. Second, the Director of Graduate Studies will designate 3 reviewers for the thesis, who will need to approve the thesis as being ready for defense before the Graduate School will schedule your final defense. Usually, your advisor will be one of these reviewers. The member of your committee that is outside of physics must also be a thesis reviewer.
You should start writing your thesis early, because it will take longer to finish than you think. Since most theses are now produced on word processing systems, you can begin by writing up some of the introductory and background material, and then incorporating it into your full thesis later. When starting, there are two important things to do. First, get a copy of the Graduate School thesis format rules, so that you do not waste a lot of time redoing work that you have already done. Second, look at other theses, particularly those in the your specialty area, to get an idea of how theses are organized. Note that many students have developed LaTeX macros that can help in formatting the thesis. Ask other students who are further along in their thesis about such aids. Then, prepare an outline of what you intend to write. You will generally find that some chapters can be written right away (introduction, discussion of method, etc.), while others such as the results and conclusions cannot be written until you finish your research. You should discuss your outline with your advisor, then write an early chapter and give it to your advisor for review.
When the thesis is complete, you should submit copies to the thesis reviewers on your Committee. At this time, you should also register the title page of your thesis with the Graduate School in 316 Johnston Hall. They will give you various forms including a certification that the thesis is ready for defense. This form must be signed by the thesis reviewers at least one week before the thesis defense is scheduled. In order for the reviewers to have time to read the thesis, you are required to give each reviewer two weeks to review the thesis prior to the examination. When the reviewers are satisfied that the thesis is complete and you have made any suggested changes, you should give copies to all of the members of your Committee. This should be at least one week before your defense. Most faculty members do not like to get a thesis at the last minute. You should try very hard to schedule your thesis defense during the academic year. Faculty members are often not available during the summer months due to attendance at conferences and vacations.
The thesis defense consists of a public portion and a private portion. During the public portion, you will give an hour seminar. It is very important that you practice delivering this presentation in public and answering questions on it before your thesis seminar. Your fellow graduate students can be very helpful in supplying a critical audience for this practice. Because your thesis presentation is required to be public by the University, the time and place of your thesis defense must be announced in the weekly departmental calendar. It is your responsibility to make sure that this announcement is made. After the seminar, there will be an opportunity for questions from anyone in attendance. Next, the Committee will have an opportunity to privately question you about the thesis. At this time, generally, only questions about the thesis and related subjects are asked. Finally, the Committee will excuse you and take its vote. For you to pass, the Committee can have no more than one dissenting vote. Because candidates usually practice their presentations extensively before scheduling a thesis defense, failure is extremely rare.
The Graduate School permits an opportunity to graduate each month of the year. If your thesis title is registered by the end of the first working day of the month, you will graduate as of that month provided all other requirements are complete and all forms are in the Graduate School office by the end of the last working day of the month. Otherwise, the date of your degree will be delayed until the month in which you complete all the requirements. Commencements will be held twice each year, in May and December. The May ceremony will be for those graduates completing their degrees in the first half of the year; the December ceremony will be for those students completing their degrees in the last half of the year. You must submit a commencement attendance form with the graduate school in order to make sure that your name will be read and listed in the program of the commencement.