Graduate Courses The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers a variety of graduate courses in physics and astronomy. There are two broad categories of coures: core courses and elective courses. The core courses are required to be taken by all the students, independent on the particular area of research. The elective courses are also required, but which electives to take depends on the particular area of research. The electives are to be to be taken. drequired to be taken by students depending on the Master of Science Degree With Thesis Required courses: 3 of the following four courses (PHYS 8011, PHYS 8101, PHYS 8102, and PHYS 8201), the scientific presentation course (PHYS 8950), and 13 hours of 6000-level and/or 8000-level PHYS or ASTR courses, of which at least 1 of the courses must be at the 8000 level. Research requirement: A thesis must be written and defended to the student's committee. During the last semester (usually the graduating semester), a total of at least 6 hours of PHYS 7000 and PHYS 7300 must be taken. Without Thesis This is not a common degree path because most MS students graduate with thesis. Under special circumstances, a student may take this degree path, however, a pre-approval by the graduate coordinator has to be given. Course requirement : The following 5 courses (PHYS 8011, PHYS 8101, PHYS 8102, PHYS 8201, and PHYS 8301), the scientific presentation course (PHYS 8950), 7 hours of 6000-level and/or 8000-level PHYS or ASTR courses (these will constitute the student’s area of concentration), and 2 courses at the 6000-level and/or 8000-level that are outside of the department but are in a related field. Ph.D. Degree Required courses: For the PhD, six core courses (PHYS 8011, 8101, 8102, 8201, 8202, and 8301), the scientific presentation course (PHYS 8950), and two electives are required. Acceptable elective courses are 3 credit hour graduate-level electives in physics, astronomy, or related fields graded in the A-F grading system. At least one of the electives should be at the 8000-level. An example schedule is: six core courses [18 hours] + PHYS 8950 [2 hours] + two electives [6 hours] + PHYS 9000 [3 hours] +PHYS 9300 [3 hours]. Note that a student with TA or RA support is required to register for a minimum of 12 hours each Fall and Spring semester, including PHYS 9000 (Doctoral Research) credit hours. Written prelim exam See Written Prelim Exam for detailed information. Oral prelim exam See Oral Prelim Exam for detailed information. Application for admission for candidacy The student must file an application for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree after having completed the following: Program of Study approved by the Advisory Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School. A GPA of 3.0 or better has been maintained in all graduate courses taken and in all of the "core" courses. Written and oral comprehensive exams have been passed. The Graduate School's residency requirement has been met. Find a professor who agrees to become the student's research advisor. Application forms may be obtained from the graduate secretary or from the graduate school website. Grade requirement For both MS and Ph.D. degrees, a GPA of 3.0 or better has been maintained in all graduate courses taken. No course with grade below 'C' or lower can be used in the Program of Study.
