Undergraduate Program
Graduate
Program:
MS,
PhD
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.
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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.
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PhD in
Theoretical Physics
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.
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