Graduate Catalog

Program Structure and Requirements

Overall Program Structure

The PhD in Physics consists of a minimum 60 credit hours, distributed as follows: 24 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.

Program Component Credit Hours
Program Core (1 course) 3
Research Seminar I 0
Research Seminar II 0
PhD Written Qualifying Examination 0
PhD Research Proposal Examination 0
Program Electives 21
PhD Research Dissertation 36
Total 60

Program Requirements

Students seeking the degree of PhD in Physics must successfully complete a minimum 60 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 (3 credit hours)

SCIE 701Research Methods in Science

3

SCIE 702Research Seminar I

0

SCIE 703Research Seminar II

0

SCIE 795PhD Written Qualifying Examina

0

SCIE 796PhD Research Proposal Examinat

0

Program Electives (21 credit hours)

PHYS 701Advanced Computational Physics

3

PHYS 702Advanced Quantum Mechanics

3

PHYS 703Molecular Biophysics

3

PHYS 704Advanced Electromagnetic Theory

3

PHYS 705Nanophysics and Nanotechnology

3

PHYS 706Quantum Field Theory

3

PHYS 707Advanced Solid State Physics

3

PHYS 708Theoretical Astroparticle Physics

3

PHYS 709Experimental Techniques in Astroparticle Physics

3

PHYS 710Planetary Astrophysics

3

PHYS 711Quantum Transport and Optics

3

PHYS 712Atomic and Molecular Physics for Space Scientists

3

PHYS 713Electron Microscopy for Materials Characterization

3

PHYS 714Contemporary Topics in Applied Physics

3

CHEM 713Recent Advances in Physical Chemistry

3

CHEM 715Recent Developments in Nanochemistry

3

MATH 705Mechanics of interacting particles

3

MATH 708Partial Differential Equations

3

MATH 709Probability and Stochastic Processes

3

CHEG 703Applied nanotechnology

3

ECCE 778Physics and Manufacturability of Advanced Micro and Nano Devices

3

ECCE 781The Physics of Solar Cells

3

MEEN 782Materials Characterization Techniques

3

MEEN 792Advanced Nanomaterials and Their Mechanical Applications

3

MSEN 712Imaging of Materials: Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Microanalysis

3

PhD Research Dissertation (36 credit hours)

SCIE 799PhD Thesis Dissertation

36