Admission Requirements

Admission to the PhD program in Applied Physics at the UofM is open to anyone holding a bachelor’s or a master’s degree from an accredited college or university. In general, applicants are considered for admission after completion of a degree in physics or closely related discipline with the required core courses in physics.

To be admitted, applicants should fulfill the following requirements:

1. A bachelor’s degree in physics or closely related discipline with a minimum of 3.00 GPA in undergraduate courses, and a minimum of 20 semester hours of undergraduate physics, including upper division mechanics, electricity and magnetism, introductory quantum mechanics, and thermal physics, and approved mathematics courses in calculus and differential equations.
2. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test results with a minimum verbal score of 145, a minimum quantitative score of 150, and a minimum writing score of 3.0.
3. Personal statement of 750-1000 words indicating the interests and career goals of the applicant. The statement should include how his/her PhD studies will prepare him/her in achieving his/her career goals. The statement should include the student’s research interests in line with faculty research in the department.
4. Three recommendation letters demonstrating the student’s academic strengths, research aptitude and/or capabilities, communication and interpersonal skills, and potential for success in a PhD study.
5. A résumé or curriculum vitae.
6. In addition, international students, from non-English speaking countries, are required to demonstrate proficiency in English through a minimum score of 80 in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 7.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

In unusual circumstances, where the above admission requirements are not met, the applicant may seek exceptions by contacting the Graduate Coordinator of the Department of Physics and Materials Science (DPMS).

All applications are thoroughly reviewed by the department’s Graduate Committee. The admission is based on the overall quality of the applicant’s academic background in physics, including GPA, GRE, etc., completed undergraduate and graduate courses in physics and closely related disciplines, research achievements and/or aptitude, and recommendation letters.

Program Requirements

The proposed PhD Program requires the completion of 72 semester credit hours beyond the Bachelor’s Degree or 42 semester credit hours beyond Master’s Degree.

Students entering with a bachelor’s degree must complete 18 semester hours of Physics Core courses, 6 semester hours of Focus Area Elective courses, 6 semester hours of Breadth Elective courses, and 6 semester hours of Individual Study courses. Up to 36 semester hours of dissertation credit can be applied toward the PhD requirements.

Students entering with a master’s degree must complete 3 semester hours of a Physics Core course, 3 semester hours of a Focus Area Elective course, 3 semester hours of a Breadth Elective course, and 3 semester hours of an Individual Study course. Up to 30 semester hours of dissertation credit can be applied toward the PhD requirements.

Retention Requirements

A doctoral student in Applied Physics will be retained continuously in the program provided that the following conditions are met:

1. A GPA of at least 3.0 must be maintained. If the student’s GPA falls below 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), a period of one semester or one full summer term will be allowed to correct for the deficiency. The student is dropped from the PhD program if he/she fails to regain a minimum GPA of 3.0. This period may, at the discretion of the student’s advisory committee, be extended one additional semester or full summer term.
2. Accumulation of more than 7 hours of graduate coursework with a grade of C+ or lower will result in dismissal from the PhD program.
3. Satisfactory completion of the written PhD Qualifying Examination and a satisfactory performance in the oral PhD Comprehensive exam. The student’s advisory committee may grant a second and final attempt.  Failure to pass the second attempt will result in mandatory dismissal from the PhD program.
4. Submission of a written research progress report by the student to the student’s advisory committee and the Department Chair at the end of each fall and spring semester after dissertation hours have started.

Graduation Requirements

Consistent with the UofM general graduation requirements for PhD degrees, each student must earn at least 72 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree or 42 hours beyond the master’s degree. Students entering with a bachelor’s degree can apply up to 36 semester hours of dissertation credit toward the PhD requirements. Students entering with a master’s degree can apply up to 30 hours of dissertation credit. Early in each student’s PhD program, an advisory committee composed of graduate faculty from the DPMS and closely related departments is appointed by the Department’s Chair. The role of the advisory committee is to recommend courses to support the student’s research and to guide the student in the progress of his/her dissertation research.

For students admitted with a bachelor’s degree, no more than 12 semester hours of credit of 6000 level courses will be counted toward the PhD degree.

For students admitted with a master’s degree, no more than three semester hours of credit of 6000 level courses will be counted toward the PhD degree.

Of the total semester hour requirement, a minimum of 24 hours must be earned while the student is at UofM. This requirement must include at least one academic year of full-time student status.

The PhD program requires three examinations:

1. PhD Qualifying Examination: The PhD Qualifying Examination consists of two exams. The first qualifying exam covers mechanics, electricity and magnetism, optics, and thermodynamics. The second qualifying exam covers quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and one subject in the student’s focus area. Students must pass both exams.
2. PhD Comprehensive Exam: The PhD Comprehensive Exam is an oral exam that primarily covers specialized material related to the dissertation topic. Upon completion of this exam, the Comprehensive Exam Results Form must be completed by the student’s Advisory Committee and returned to the Office of the DPMS.
3. PhD Dissertation Defense: All PhD students must defend their dissertation during their last year of study. Upon completion and passing of thesis defense, the “Dissertation Final Defense Results” Form must be completed by the student’s Advisory Committee and returned to the Graduate School.