PROGRAMS

Undergraduate Program
Minor Program
Graduate Program: MS PhD
Degree Requirements (Registrar's Office)

Undergraduate Program

The Department of Physics offers courses at the undergraduate level leading to a BS degree in physics. The program for the physics major includes the following courses:

PHYS 101, PHYS 101L, PHYS 210, PHYS 210L, PHYS 212, PHYS 217, PHYS 220, PHYS 221L, PHYS 222, PHYS 226, PHYS 235, PHYS 236, and PHYS 257L. Moreover three elective courses must be selected from PHYS 223, PHYS 228/228L, PHYS 231, PHYS 232, PHYS 248, PHYS 249,and CHEM 211 or CHEM 212. Also required are the following courses in mathematics: MATH 101, MATH 102, MATH 200,(or EE 015), MATH 201, MATH 202, and MATH 212.

Physics majors must obtain a cumulative average of at least 70 in the physics courses normally taken in the sophomore year (PHYS 210, PHYS 210L, PHYS 212,)and a cumulative average of at least 70 in MATH 201 and 202 before they are allowed to proceed to junior level courses. Students who wish to transfer to physics must fulfill the above mentioned criteria.

No physics major is allowed to register in physics courses numbered 217 and above for a third time. Physics majors whose physics average falls below 70 will be placed on departmental probation. If this probation is not removed within two semesters, the student will be dropped from the department.

Minor Program in Physics

The Department of Physics offers a minor in physics comprising one of the following sequences:

Sequence 1 : PHYS 210, PHYS 210L, PHYS 211 (or PHYS 220), PHYS 212, PHYS 217, PHYS 221L, and PHYS 236.

Sequence 2 : PHYS 210, PHYS 210L, PHYS 211 (or PHYS 220), PHYS 212, PHYS 217, PHYS 228, and PHYS 228L PHYS 101, PHYS 101L, PHYS 210, PHYS 210L, PHYS 211, PHYS 211L, PHYS 212, and PHYS 212L are introductory courses for students of chemistry, computer science, or engineering.

PHYS 103, PHYS 204, PHYS 205, PHYS 204L, and PHYS 205L are introductory courses for students of nursing, public health, biology, petroleum studies, and for students wishing to enter the Medical School and who are not physics or chemistry majors.

Students shall receive credit for only one of PHYS 101 or PHYS 103. PHYS 204, PHYS 205, PHYS 204L and PHYS 205L are not equivalent totally or in part to PHYS 210, PHYS 210L, PHYS 211, PHYS 211L, PHYS 212, or PHYS 212L. Students shall receive credit for courses in only one of the preceding two sets.

Graduate Program

MS in Physics

The department provides facilities for graduate work leading to the MS degree. The research activities of the department include material science, condensed matter physics, molecular physics, paramagnetic resonance, non-linear dynamics, astrophysics, high energy physics, superstring theory, and quantum gravity.

The MS program requires the completion of 21 credits of courses and a thesis. The courses consist of four core courses: PHYS 301, PHYS 302, PHYS 303, and PHYS 305, and nine credits of physics graduate electives. After completion of the four core courses, the student must pass a qualifying exam. The student must then select a thesis adviser who will present a thesis proposal to the physics faculty for approval. The MS degree is granted after the student defends his/her thesis successfully.

PhD in Theoretical Physics (More)

The PhD program requires the completion of at least 27 credits of courses. These include 15 credits in the core program (5 courses), and at least 12 credits beyond the core program, out of which one course must be in the concentration area, and the others can be taken as electives.

Upon completion of a minimum of 15 credits of graduate course work including the four core courses: PHYS 301, PHYS 302, PHYS 303 and PHYS 305 with a cumulative average of 85 or above in the core courses, the student may sit for a written comprehensive exam to determine whether he/she has acquired the background necessary to continue in the PhD program.

After choosing a dissertation adviser, the student must formulate, submit and defend a doctoral research proposal to demonstrate a capacity to pursue and complete a doctoral research project.

A student is granted the PhD degree upon approval of his/her PhD dissertation by the dissertation committee in a public session. In addition to the general graduation guidelines specified by the University, the Physics Department also requires that part of the PhD dissertation work be published or accepted for publication in a refereed journal by the time of graduation.