Physics Graduate Policies
The direction of the graduate program in physics has been delegated by the Physics Graduate Faculty to the Graduate Study Committee and some specialized faculty committees. The Director of Graduate Studies acts as an administrative officer of the Graduate Study Committee. Requests for exceptions to the stated policies or suggestions for policy changes should be directed to the Graduate Study Committee either through its Chair or the Director of Graduate Study. The Committee will consider such requests and suggestions and either take action itself to accept or reject them or, as necessary, forward them with its recommendation to the Physics Graduate Faculty for action.
1. The financial aid resources of the School of Physics and Astronomy consist of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, Graduate School tuition grant funds awarded to the School and a small amount of endowed fellowship funds. Research assistantships (RA's) are granted by individual faculty members out of research funds subject only to review by the School Head. Such awards are, of course, contingent on the continued availability of research funds. Other awards are made by faculty committees acting through the Director of Graduate Study and are reviewed by the School Head. From time to time, the School may nominate students for various other awards. These recommendations are made on a merit basis and are subject to the policies of the unit making the award.
2. It is the policy of the School to support all graduate students making good academic progress on a 1/2 time basis. However, the resources available to the School may not permit such support in all cases. Thus, the School will generally allocate the available resources according to the policies specified here.
3. Except in unusual cases, aid to entering graduate students from the School who do not receive fellowships consists of a 1/2 time Teaching Assistantship (TA). The TA will be renewed for a second year conditional on satisfactory academic progress by the student and satisfactory performance of the required duties. In particular, satisfactory academic progress does not require passing the written examination during the first year. It is expected that most, but not all, entering graduate students will be awarded financial aid prior to arrival at Minnesota. Graduate students who enter without financial aid but who pass the written examination will be treated in succeeding years as if they had entered with a 1/2 TA time appointment.
4. Students who are offered TA appointments will be required to accept or reject them in writing. Once accepted, the TA is considered as a commitment by the student for the term of the appointment. Students may be released partially or completely from the TA responsibilities to accept an RA or for other good reason only with the consent of the Director of Graduate Study. Such consent will only be given when it is possible to find a replacement.
5. Some TA positions will be awarded upon application for the two summer sessions. Applications are generally solicited during Spring Semester. In making these awards, priority will be given to spreading the available assignments among current TA's who do not have summer research support.
6. Graduate students in their third through fifth years and making good progress towards their Ph.D. may receive 1/4 time or 1/2 time TA's by timely request of their advisor to the School Head. Such students must have passed the written and, for students past their third year, oral examinations. Students who have completed five years of graduate school are not guaranteed TA assignments, but may receive them on the recommendation of the Director of Graduate Studies.
7. Students who have not received TA appointments under one of the sections above (for example, new students who have not been awarded financial aid, students beyond the fifth year, etc.) may apply to the Director of Graduate Studies for semester-by-semester TA appointments or grading assignments. Such appointments will be made on the basis of both academic progress and past performance in teaching and grading duties.
8. The total of the TA, grading and RA appointments for any student may not exceed a 50 percent appointment, unless a higher limit is approved on an individual basis by the advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies and the School Head.
Tuition and Summer Registration Policy
As discussed above, students holding a graduate assistantship (TA or RA) are eligible for a tuition waiver equal to twice the percentage of their appointment. Thus, a 1/2 time TA or RA is eligible for a full tuition waiver, and a 1/4 time TA or RA for a half tuition waiver. A full tuition waiver entitles you to take up to 14 credits of graduate courses in a semester. Most students on fellowships will also receive an equivalent tuition waiver. For example, students who receive a Graduate School Fellowship will receive a full tuition waiver as part of the fellowship.
When you have passed the preliminary oral exam, you should begin taking thesis credits. Once you have completed the oral exam and 24 thesis credits, you are eligible for ABD (All But Dissertation) status. At this point, your tuition costs are greatly reduced (from $5.13/hour to $0.93/hour at 1999-2000 rates). Thus, it is to the benefit of the department (for TA's) and your research group (for RA's) to reach ABD status as soon as possible. Once you are an ABD student, you can only register for one credit per semester. If you have a student loan or other circumstance where you need to prove your full time enrollment in school, you should take this credit in Physics 8333 (for M.S. students) or Physics 8444 (for Ph.D. students). These courses certify your full-time equivalence as a registered student.
Students are not required to register during the summer to hold an assistantship. Health insurance coverage continues for the summer provided a 50% assistantship was held during the
entire preceding academic year. The policy regarding summer registration is:
1) Students who have not passed the preliminary oral exam will not be provided tuition benefits and should not register for summer session. Unfortunately, FICA (social security and medicare) will be accessed to both the employee and grant at a rate of 7.7% of gross salary. This will be approximately $277 for the summer period.
2) Students who have passed the oral examination but have not obtained ABD (all but dissertation) status will be provided tuition benefits only if such registration allows them to complete the 24 thesis requirement during the summer months. Summer 1999 is still under the quarter system. NOTE: The tuition benefit maximum for both summer sessions is $1,710.00 or 7 credits (there will be a $10.00 fee that is not covered.) To qualify for FICA exclusion the entire summer, students will need to register for a minimum of 2 credits each session. Registration in excess of 7 credits will be billed to the student. Please see Bobbi Eich prior to registration to ensure that you will be appointed to a classification that provides benefits.
3) Students who have achieved ABD status will have the option of registering for 1 thesis credit for each summer session. The maximum tuition benefit provided is $299. The cost for both sessions is $474 + $62.00 summer session fee = $536.00. Thus, if you register for classes, you will be assessed $237.00. However, if you register for 1 credit each summer session, you can avoid FICA withholding. The estimated FICA withholding over the summer = $277.00.
Thus, the cost to research grants for registered students is modest. It is a student's choice on whether to register or not. Registration does provide a benefit to the department with an increase in the student credit hour base and thus provides tuition return dollars to the department.
Students registering for summer session under Option 2 or 3 must complete a tuition benefit form available in our office. TUITION WAIVERS ARE NOT AUTOMATIC - A FORM MUST BE COMPLETED TO HAVE TUITION CHARGES WAIVED.
The tuition rate is based on residence. The tuition for Minnesota residents is approximately half the tuition for non-residents. The key aspect here for graduate students is that any student with a 25 percent or more appointment as either a Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant is considered a resident for each semester in which such appointment is held. Thus, if you are not from Minnesota, a TA or an RA, even 25 percent time, has considerable financial benefit in addition to the stipend. This resident tuition status also applies to members of your immediate family. If you hold an appointment for two semesters, the resident tuition period extends up to four semesters beyond the term of your appointment. (See the Class Schedule for detailed rules.)
Graduate Written Examination Policy
1. The Graduate Written Examination will be prepared and administered by a faculty committee especially designated for this task. The examination will be graded without knowledge of the name of the examinee by various members of the faculty. The Written Examination Committee will compile the grades and make recommendations concerning the passing requirements to the Physics Graduate Faculty. The Faculty will make the final decision as to which students pass the examination.
2. The criterion for passing the examination is to demonstrate a strong, usable knowledge of undergraduate physics at a level similar to the one taught to undergraduates at the University of Minnesota. To pass, students should expect to demonstrate both a broad range of knowledge in subjects such as classical dynamics, electricity and magnetism, thermal and statistical physics and quantum mechanics. Students are expected to be able to apply their knowledge to solving explicit problems in several of these areas. In addition, students are expected to have some general knowledge about physics specialty areas such as astrophysics, atomic physics, condensed matter physics, elementary particle physics and nuclear physics. The required level of understanding in these latter subjects is mostly qualitative. In the past, the passing score for the examination has been approximately one-half of the possible score. The faculty has generally adjusted this level up or down in order to maintain a consistent level of difficulty with previous years.
3. The Written Examination is generally given on the Friday and Saturday before the beginning of the Fall and Spring Semesters. Each section of the examination will be at least 3 hours in length, long enough that the time period does not produce severe time pressure on well-prepared students taking the examination. The results of the examination will generally be available by the Friday afternoon following the examination.
4. Students entering the graduate program in the Fall Semester must pass the Written Exam no later than the Fall exam of the next academic year. Those students entering in the Spring Semester must pass the exam no later than the Spring exam of the next academic year.
- Students who fail to pass the Written Exam by the time set by the above may be permitted another attempt of the exam upon application to the Director of Graduate Studies. A necessary condition for another attempt of the Written Exam is that a student and his/her advisor must guarantee that the student is on track to receive an M.S. degree not later than the end of the semester in which the written exam would be attempted, and the M.S. degree program should be filed with the Graduate School. Students not passing the exam should complete an M.S. degree as soon as possible (preferably no later than by the end of the Spring Semester of their second academic year). Students past the 2nd year who have not passed the Written Exam are not guaranteed TA support in the following years.
6. Extensions or variations to the timetable in the previous paragraphs may be granted by the Graduate Studies Committee only in exceptional hardship cases such as extended illness, leaves of absence, etc.
Assignment of M.S. and Ph.D. Committees
1. For the M.S. degree, a committee is required to review the thesis (Plan A only) and to administer a final oral examination (Plans A and B). This committee consists of three members, one of whom must represent the minor field.
2. For the Ph.D. degree, a initial committee is required to administer the preliminary oral examination and a second committee reviews the dissertation and administers the final examination. These committees consists of five members, two of whom represent the minor field and at least one of whom is not a member of the physics portion of the School of Physics and Astronomy. This outside member may be from the Department of Astronomy or the History of Science program, if that person is able to represent the minor field.
3. The Director of Graduate Study will nominate the committee members in each case after receiving suggestions from the student and/or his advisor. In addition to the Graduate School requirements, the composition of the Committee must satisfy the following criteria:
a) The Committee must be balanced between experimentalists and theorists, although the majority of the Committee will generally reflect the approach of the student (experiment or theory). Generally, at least one theorist and one experimentalist in the major field will be on the committee.
b) At least one member of the Committee must have a physics specialty area (condensed matter, nuclear, etc.) which is outside of the specialty area of the student.
4. The Director of Graduate Studies may make last-minute substitutions due to absence or illness using the above criteria. The Graduate School must approve of these substitutions.
1. Students normally must pass the Preliminary Oral Examination by the end of their third year.
2. Students may not schedule the preliminary oral examination with the Graduate School until they have passed the written exam and have an approved degree program on file. Since approval may require some time, students are advised to file their programs as far as possible in advance of the time at which they wish to take the oral examination. The specific time of the examination must be scheduled with the Graduate School at least one week in advance.
3. A student who fails the oral examination must wait at least 10 weeks before retaking it. Only two attempts to pass the examination will be allowed.
4. If a student is judged to have passed the oral examination with reservation, he/she will receive a letter from the chair of the committee within one week of the examination indicating what needs to be done to lift the reservations. Copies of this letter should be sent to the Graduate School and to the Director of Graduate Studies. When the reservations are lifted, a letter should be sent by the chair of the committee to the student, again with copies to the Graduate School and the Director of Graduate Studies, indicating that the reservations have been lifted.
5. Students must pass the preliminary oral examination at least one semester before receiving their Ph.D. degree.
1. At least two-thirds of all credit hours in an M.S. or a Ph.D. program must be taken on an A-N basis.
2. There are no formal grading restrictions on 8xxx level courses; however, an advisor may require a student to take at least one 8xxx course in his sub-field on an A-N basis.
3. The required core courses Physics 5001/2 and 5011/2, if they are used on an M.S. or a Ph.D. program, must be taken on an A-N basis.
4. Instructors must clarify to students during the first two weeks of classes the standards of performance required under both the A-N and S-N grading systems.
Criteria for Registration Warnings and Holds
Registration warnings and holds may be issued for the following reasons:
1. GPA below 3.3 for Ph.D students and 2.8 for M.S. students.
2. More than 6 credits of "Incomplete."
3. No approved M.S. program (for M.S. students) by the end of the third semester of graduate school.
4. No approved Ph.D. program (for Ph.D. students) by the beginning of the third semester after passing the Graduate Written Exam.
5. No submission of a Ph.D. Thesis Title Form by the beginning of the second semester following the passing of the preliminary oral examination.