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Graduate Manual: 2009 - 2010
Graduate Examinations
One written examination is given every year in the last half of August. It serves both as the M.S. Comprehensive Examination and as part of the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination. The Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination also includes an oral examination. A Final Examination on the thesis and related topics is required for the Plan A M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.
All students must take the written examination within one year of entering. The results of the written examination may be applied to both the M.S. and Ph.D. programs. The written examination may be repeated once, the next time it is offered. Students must select an M.S. or Ph.D. committee and file the appropriate program form during the Spring Semester before taking this examination. Note: Students admitted to the Ph.D. program, who wish to receive the M.S. degree en route to the Ph.D., must inform the Department immediately after arriving on campus. They must select an M.S. committee before taking the written examination, and a Ph.D. committee during the semester in which they apply for the M.S. degree.
Postponement of the written examination is granted only in exceptional cases. Requests for postponement must be submitted to the Graduate Committee no later than April 1 by both the student and the advisor.
For both the Ph.D. and Plan A M.S. degrees, a final oral examination is conducted by the student’s Graduate Committee. This examination takes place after the thesis has been submitted and covers the thesis and related topics.
M.S. Comprehensive Examination
A student attempting to obtain the M.S. degree is allowed two attempts to pass this written examination at the M.S. comprehensive level.
A student who has passed the Ph.D. written Comprehensive Examination will be deemed to have passed the M.S. Comprehensive Examination.
Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination
The written and oral portions of the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination are considered separate examinations, and each must be passed separately.
The physics written comprehensive exam is a test of physics principles and their applications. It is a test of principles of broad utility which any practicing Physicist must know and be able to apply. The written examination consists of fifteen problems, each about an hour in length, drawn from typical undergraduate course work and from our first-year graduate core courses, namely quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism, classical mechanics, and mathematical methods.
The oral portion of the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination will be administered by the student’s Ph.D. committee. Students not pursuing an M.S. degree en route to the Ph.D. must take the oral examination by October 1, after the written examination is passed. Students pursuing the M.S. degree en route to the Ph.D. must take the oral examination during their first semester in the Ph.D. program, normally within one year after passing the written examination. The student’s Ph.D. Committee must approve the topic for a short talk to be presented by the student at the beginning of the oral portion of the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination. The topic, which must be new to the student, should be determined by the student and approved by the committee as early as possible after the written exam is passed, to insure adequate time for the student to study and prepare for the oral exam. The talk will be followed by questions on the talk and other topics. Committee members and the Graduate Representative appointed by The Division of Graduate Education must participate in the oral examination. If failed, the oral examination may be repeated once, six to nine months later.
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