Physics Doctoral Degree

The PhD degree is essentially a research degree. Students complete an original and significant piece of research and are at the forefront of one area of physics. Students are expected to enter the academic world in a teaching and research capacity or industrial and government research laboratories as senior scientists.

Students in the PhD program must perform satisfactorily on a written qualifying examination followed by an advancement-to-candidacy oral examination. A scholarly dissertation must be written, and a final oral examination in defense of the dissertation completes the requirements for the PhD.

A student is allowed two attempts to pass the written qualifying examination within the student’s first six semesters as a regular classified graduate student. The student’s first attempt must be within the student’s first four semesters as a regular classified graduate student. Students who fail twice cannot continue in the graduate program.