Graduate students interested in becoming members of the MSU Gravity Group must demonstrate a mastery of Physics and, in particular, of General Relativity and gravitational wave theory. To do so, the student must first pass the MSU Department of Physics Comprehensive Examination at the PhD level (both written and oral components). In addition to this, the student must pass an oral exam, which tests her/his broad knowledge of General Relativity. This exam is chaired by the students's advisor plus one or two other core gravity faculty members. All examiners must be satisfied with the student's broad knowledge of General Relativity. The exam draws from the following reading list:

  1. Chapters 1-6 of the textbook “General Relativity” by R. M. Wald or all but Chapter 9 of the textbook “Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity'' by Sean M. Carroll.
  2. Sections 9.1 to 9.4 of the chapter “Gravitational Radiation” by K. S. Thorne in the book "300 Years of Gravitation'', edited by S. W. Hawking and W. Israel.
  3. The review article “An Overview of Gravitational-wave Sources” by C. Cutler and K. S. Thorne, gr-qc/0204090.

This exam should be taken and passed by all prospective graduate students interested in writing a dissertation through the advisement of the Gravity group. The exam should be taken as early as possible, normally after the completion of PHSX 523 (General Relativity 1). Graduate students should also strive to take as many relativity courses as offered during their tenure in the graduate program. Normally, this will consist of PHSX 523 and 524.

After becoming members of the Gravity group, students will be allowed to obtain a PhD in Gravitational research. As all other graduate students, gravity students must submit a Ph.D dissertation in compliance with departmental and graduate school rules. The dissertation must be based on research carried out by the graduate student during her/his tenure at MSU. Gravity students are recommended to complete at least 4 papers to be published in refereed scientific publications. Moreover, the Gravity group encourages the dissemination of scientific results at conferences and workshops. Gravity students will be required to present her/his results in at least 2 conferences or workshops before completion of their Ph. D. Venues for such presentations include the APS April Meeting, the Pacific Coast Gravity Meeting, the International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation, the Amaldi Meeting, or other special workshops or invited talks at accredited Universities.

Updated: March 12, 2015 10:13