Detailed Overview of the Physics Graduate Program Admissions

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.

Degree Requirements

Assistantships and Fellowships

Research Areas:

Admission Requirements

General Requirements

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

International Applicant Requirements

All applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit official scores received from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). TOEFL & IELTS will not be required if the applicant has studied in a U.S. institution for 8 consecutive semesters (4 years), or if they took 4 years of instruction at an institution outside the U.S. which has English as its medium of instruction.

Full admission will be granted with the following TOEFL score: Internet Based (IB) 79-80, Computer Based (CB) 213, or Paper Based (PB) 550.

All students with TOEFL scores of IB 79-80 to 99, CB 213 to 249, and PB 550 to 599 will be re-tested with The University of Mississippi English Placement Test prior to registration to determine if the student must enroll in the special English course (EFS-100) during their first semester of enrollment.

Full admission will be granted with an IELTS score of 6.

All students with IELTS scores of 6 - 7 will be re-tested with The University of Mississippi English Placement Test prior to registration to determine if the student must enroll in the special English course (EFS-100) during their first semester of enrollment.

Students with lower TOEFL or IELTS scores are occasionally admitted on conditional status. Please see the details on the International Programs website.

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.

Admission Process

Step One: Apply Online

All applications are submitted through the University of Mississippi Graduate Admissions web sites: Apply Online Now

Step Two: Supply Standardized Test Scores

Provide the Graduate School with GRE scores and if needed the TOEFL or IELTS score. To report the GRE or TOEFL scores you'll need to supply the Educational Testing Service (ETS) the following information:

Institution Code: 1840
Department Code 808

Step Three: Supply Official Transcripts

Request official transcripts from all of your undergraduate and graduate coursework to be sent to the graduate school at the following address:

Graduate School
University of Mississippi
P.O. Box 1848
University, MS 38677-1848
Attention: Graduate Admissions

Step Four: Request Application Review by a Research Group

For Ph.D. and M. S. Students

Each research group selects its own students for admission to the Ph.D. and M. S. programs. The typical procedure for students who know which area of physics they are most likely to study is to request that research to group review the application via the E-mail addresses provided below. Please supply us the student ID assigned by the online application site. You can supply statements of research interest and letters of recommendation as directed by the research group. Undecided students will also find a link below to alert us to their interest.

Contact Information for Research groups:

Atmospheric Physics: atmadmis@phy.olemiss.edu
Physical Acoustic: paadmis@phy.olemiss.edu
Experimental High Energy Physics: hepexadmis@phy.olemiss.edu
Theoretical High Energy Physics: hepthadmis@phy.olemiss.edu
Classical and Quantum Gravitation: gradmis@phy.olemiss.edu
Condensed Matter and Solid State Physics: cmadmis@phy.olemiss.edu

For Master of Arts or Undecided Students

M. A. or Undecided students: udadmis@phy.olemiss.edu

Application Deadlines

You can consider March 1st as a deadline for all materials for fall admission to be insured of full consideration. Admission is on a rolling basis and some applications are accepted after that date. Students are rarely accepted for spring admission. Consult your research group of interest before applying for spring admission.