Program: Physics - Materials Science Concentration, Thesis, (MS) - University of Memphis

May 29, 2025

2025-2026 GRADUATE CATALOG {Editing in Progress}

The program provides training to students in materials science.

Physics, (MS)

The MS program in physics is a two-year program tailored to provide experimental, theoretical and computational training to students in physics and materials science.

Program Admission Requirements

Minimum requirements:

A bachelor’s degree in physics or closely related discipline 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. The student must meet the Graduate School’s Minimum Admission Requirements to Masters Degree Programs.

International applicants are required to provide evidence of meeting the Graduate School’s English Language Proficiency Requirements.

(Meeting the minimum department standards does not entitle an applicant to admission. Meeting such standards only insures consideration of the application.)

Admission procedure:

Required Documents:

CV.
All undergraduate (and graduate, if any) transcripts.
Personal Statement.
(If English Proficiency Exam is needed): TOEFL or IELTS or Duolingo score.
(If GPA is not on 4.0 scale): Transcript evaluation by any credentialing agency listed on the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services web site (www.naces.org). (Report from WES iGPA calculator is acceptable).

Recommendations:

Two letters of recommendation are required.

Deadline:

Rolling Admissions

Timeline for Review:

Decisions are made within one month.

Program Requirements

After meeting the general degree requirements for admission to The Graduate School

After meeting the general degree requirements for admission to The Graduate School, students selecting Physics as a major will be assigned to the Department Graduate Committee, which must approve and direct their course of study.

Core requirements (9 credit hours)*:

Must take three of the four courses listed below:

PHYS 7100 - Classical Mechanics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 7200 - Quantum Mechanics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 7300 - Electrodynamics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 7520 - Statistical Mechanics Credit Hours: (3)

Materials Science Concentration, thesis program (30 credit hours)

(Physics Program requirement*: 9 credit hours, Concentration requirement: 6 credit hours, Thesis: 6 credit hours, Additional courses: 9 credit hours)

Materials Science Concentration requirement:

Must take two of the following courses:

PHYS 6020 - Soft Matter and Biological Physics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 6610 - Solid State Physics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 6720 - Materials Physics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 7390 - Polymer Physics Credit Hours: (3)
MECH 7361 - Mech Bhvr Of Materials Credit Hours: (3)

Sufficient additional courses

Sufficient additional courses (in a collateral field of study with course numbers 6000 or above), including 6 semester hours in PHYS 7996 , Thesis, to satisfy a minimum of 30 semester hours. These courses must be approved by the graduate advisor.

PHYS 7996 - Thesis Credit Hours: (1-6)

The student must present

The student must present a research proposal to the graduate thesis committee at the end of the second semester of his/her study for the thesis approval.

The student must complete

The student must complete a research project, submit a written thesis describing the research, orally present and defend the thesis before a faculty committee. Students should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before beginning to write.