All students accepted for graduate study are usually assumed to be candidates for the PhD degree.

The requirements listed below are special to this department and must be read in conjunction with the general requirements of the Graduate School. Students who have been admitted and who wish to obtain a detailed view of the sequence of tests, oral examinations, special options, and the like can consult the administrative coordinator in 704 Pupin or the Physics Department website.

Three years of physics, with laboratory work, in fundamental college courses and a working knowledge of ordinary differential equations are required. Students who have not had sufficient laboratory experience have the opportunity to register for the laboratory course (PHYS G4051) in their first year of residence.

all students must submit one transcript showing courses and grades per school attended, a statement of academic purpose, and three letters of recommendation from academic sources.

Your statement of academic purpose should include the grades you obtained and the textbooks used for the highest level courses you took in Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Statistical Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics, and address the following question: What was your most interesting research experience, either in class, in the lab, or at work? What made it interesting?

Submission of GRE scores is allowed but not required, the choice is yours. We recognize that there are a variety of reasons why a student may not submit a GRE score, including expense and difficulty traveling to the test site. Therefore, we will give full consideration to all applications, with or without Physics GRE scores, in particular there will be no preselection based on GRE scores prior to the holistic review of all application materials.

The Graduate School requires the following minimum scores-
600 on the TOEFL paper-and-pencil test
100 on the TOEFL internet-based test
7.5 on IELTS