Detailed Overview of the Graduate Program

The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers three graduate degrees in physics: the Ph.D. degree, a thesis based master of science degree, and a non-thesis master of arts degree.

Graduate Advisor

Robert Kroeger 662-915-7921 Email: kroeger@phy.olemiss.edu
Contact Information

Research Areas:

Admission Requirements

General admission requirements to the Graduate School are a "B" average on undergraduate studies and a score of 900 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the General Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or 70th percentile on the Advanced Physics GRE.

For international students, a grade of 550 is required on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Competition for admission to the program is strong; therefore, higher scores are usually needed: GRE scores between 1050 and 1200 are typical, and international students who score less than 600 on the TOEFL are rarely admitted.

Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships

Graduate students can support themselves during degree studies through a combination of the following programs: teaching assistantships (offered by the department), research assistantships (offered by individual professors with research contracts), non-service Honor Fellowships (offered by the Graduate School), and NCPA Fellowships (offered on a competitive basis by the National Center for Physical Acoustics). Entering students usually receive a teaching assistantship for the nine-month academic year. Foreign students must pass a University administered SPEAK exam in order to qualify for a teaching assistantship. The NCPA Fellowships are awarded to exceptional students planning a pursue a Ph.D.

Teaching assistantships typically are $16,000–$19,000 per year; most research assistantships are comparable to or higher than teaching assistantships. Each assistantship carries a fee waiver that covers most of in-state tuition and all of the out-of-state tuition. (For the Academic year 2002-2003, the tuition waiver was approximately 85%.)

Degree Requirements

Each entering student must take the preliminary examination (based on undergraduate physics) to aid the student and the graduate adviser in selecting a course of study. For master's degree candidates the exam is purely diagnostic. Ph.D. candidates are required to score better than 70 percent on the test before they can take comprehensive examinations.

All students must teach laboratory or lecture sections for at least two semesters.

Ph.D. in Physics

A Doctor of Philosophy degree requires 54 hours of graduate course work exclusive of thesis credit, in a program approved by the student's advisory committee. At least 6 hours of credit in a related field, such as mathematics, chemistry, or engineering are required. 30 hours of the graduate course work must consist of courses in physics at the 600 level.

A test of overall comprehension of physics at the graduate level is taken after two or three years of course work. It is common for a student to begin degree research before the comprehensive examinations are attempted, but the student does not become an official Ph.D. candidate until the examinations have been passed.

To prepare for the examinations, Ph.D. students are required to take 6 core courses. Master's students typically take many courses from the core as well. Most students will also take Physics 551 and 552, Theoretical Physics, their first year.

Core Classes

Phys 609: Advanced Mechanics I	Phys 627: Adv Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics I
Phys 611: Quantum Mechanics I	Phys 612: Quantum Mechanics II
Phys 621: Adv Electromagnetic Theory I	Phys 622: Adv Electromagnetic Theory II

Additional Required Courses

Phys 607: Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Phys 625: Solid State Physics I

Ph.D. candidates must present a prospectus of their proposed dissertation research for approval by their committee subsequent to passing the comprehensive examination.

Students must recruit a professor to serve as research advisor for their thesis research, and must also form a faculty committee to guide them during the research. Ph.D. students must submit and defend a prospectus that outlines the research they propose. The prospectus cannot be defend until the comprehensive examination has been passed. Students are advised to defend the prospectus as soon as possible, for a student may not defend a dissertation in the semester of, or immediately following, the prospectus defense.

Students may pursue research in any of the areas discussed earlier.

M.S. in Physics

A Master of Science degree requires 24 hours of suitable course work and 6 hours of thesis (Phys 697); at least 12 hours of the graduate course work must consist of courses in physics at the 600 level.

M.A. in Physics

A Master of Arts in Physics requires 30 hours of suitable graduate course work, at least 15 hours of which must consist of graduate course work in physics at the 600 level.

For more information please see the complete graduate catalog at the academic programs web page.

Time Limits

Master's degree students must complete all work within six years. Ph.D. students must complete all requirements with five years of passing the comprehensive examinations.