Program Structure and Requirements
Overall Program Structure
The PhD in Physics consists of a minimum 72 credit hours, distributed as follows: 36 credit hours of coursework, 36 credit hours of PhD Dissertation, two zero credit PhD Seminar courses, as well as PhD Written Qualifying and PhD Research Proposal examinations. The components of the program are summarized in the table below.
| Category |
Credit Hours |
| Core Courses |
12 |
| Technical Electives |
24 |
| SCIE 702 PhD Research Seminar I |
0 |
| SCIE 703 PhD Research Seminar II |
0 |
| SCIE 795 PhD Written Qualifying Exam |
0 |
| SCIE 796 PhD Research Proposal Exam |
0 |
| PhD Research Dissertation |
36 |
| Total |
72 |
All the courses that the students will take are at PhD level. The students will only be able to attempt SCIE PhD Written Qualifying Exam (WQE) after successfully completing a minimum of 27 credits of formal coursework.
Program Requirements
Students seeking the degree of PhD in Physics must successfully complete a minimum 72 credit hours as specified in the program requirements detailed below, with a minimum CGPA of 3.0. Course selection should be made in consultation with the student’s Main Advisor. All courses listed below have a credit rating of three credits each, except for PhD Research Seminar, Written Qualifying Exam, Research Proposal Exam, and the PhD Research Dissertation.
Program Core (12 credit hours)
Students must complete the core courses listed below.
Core Courses
Program Electives (24 credit hours)
Students must complete a total of eight elective courses (24 credits). Program electives are listed below.
Program Elective Courses
| PHYS 701 | Advanced Computational Physics | 3 |
| PHYS 702 | Advanced Quantum Mechanics | 3 |
| PHYS 703 | Molecular Biophysics | 3 |
| PHYS 704 | Advanced Electromagnetic Theory | 3 |
| PHYS 705 | Nanophysics and Nanotechnology | 3 |
| PHYS 706 | Quantum Field Theory | 3 |
| PHYS 707 | Advanced Solid State Physics | 3 |
| PHYS 708 | Theoretical Astroparticle Physics | 3 |
| PHYS 709 | Experimental Techniques in Astroparticle Physics | 3 |
| PHYS 710 | Planetary Astrophysics | 3 |
| PHYS 711 | Quantum Transport and Optics | 3 |
| PHYS 712 | Atomic and Molecular Physics for Space Scientists | 3 |
| PHYS 713 | Electron Microscopy for Materials Characterization | 3 |
Subject to approval of the Main Advisor and the Program Coordinator, up to two electives (6 credits) may be taken from outside the student’s department and ONLY chosen from the list below, if these courses support the student’s dissertation topic.
Elective Courses from Other Departments
Chemistry
| CHEM 713 | Recent Advances in Physical Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 715 | Recent Developments in Nanochemistry | 3 |
Mathematics
| MATH 705 | Mechanics of interacting particles | 3 |
| MATH 708 | Partial Differential Equations | 3 |
| MATH 709 | Probability and Stochastic Processes | 3 |
Chemical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
| ECCE 778 | Physics and Manufacturability of Advanced Micro and Nano Devices | 3 |
| ECCE 781 | The Physics of Solar Cells | 3 |
Mechanical Engineering
| MEEN 782 | Materials Characterization Techniques | 3 |
| MEEN 792 | Advanced Nanomaterials and Their Mechanical Applications | 3 |
PhD Research Dissertation (36 credit hours)
Students must complete a Dissertation that involves creative, research-oriented work within the field of physics, under direct supervision of a full-time faculty advisor from the Physics Department, and at least one other full-time faculty who acts as a co-advisor. The outcome of research should demonstrate the synthesis of information into knowledge in a form that may be used by others. The research findings must be documented in a formal dissertation and defended successfully in a viva voce examination.
Dissertation