Introduction

Application Process

• Requirements
• How to apply
• Deadlines
• Frequently asked Questions

International Students

• ELI / ITA
• Visa issues

Overview of Degree Programs

• PhD
• MS
• MS non-thesis
• General rules
• Complete rules

Financial Support

• Conditions
• TA and Instructor positions
• Support Guidelines

Graduate Student Resources

• Courses
• UD Handbooks and Catalog
• Campus "life"
• International student info
• Careers

Graduate Student Travel Grants

• Application Form

Graduate Student Awards

• Daicar Bata Awards
• TA Awards

THE Ph.D. DEGREE

Students may enter the Ph.D. program after successfully completing an M.S. degree program, at the University of Delaware or elsewhere, or may be admitted directly to the Ph.D. program directly after a Bachelors degree. To obtain a Ph.D., students will normally follow the course intensive regular track. Students entering the program with an M.S. degree in Physics or Astronomy that are particularly well prepared may choose to follow the less coursework intensive fast track.

Course Requirements:

Students on the regular track must satisfy the following requirement:

• Taking and passing, with an average grade of 3.0 or better, 30 credits of course work within the first five semesters after entering graduate school. At least 18 credits must be from among 800-level PHYS courses (excluding PHYS868). Of these 18 credits at the 800 level, 12 credits (i.e. 4 courses) must come from the following group of 6 courses. These courses have to be passed with a grade of B or better.
  PHYS 809, PHYS 810
  PHYS 811, PHYS 812
  PHYS 813, PHYS 815
  

Students following the fast track must meet the following requirements to remain on that track:

• Taking at least 12 credits of PHYS classroom courses at the 800-level within their first year. (Also note that students who have not passed the candidacy exam must take at least 5 PHYS courses in their first year.)

All students in the Ph.D. program are required to complete 9 credits of doctoral dissertation (PHYS 969)

Course credit earned at the University of Delaware to obtain an MS in Physics may be applied toward the doctoral degree. Students on the regular track may, with approval of the Graduate Review Committee, apply graduate course credits earned elsewhere, but not used to obtain a previous degree, toward the doctoral degree to a maximum of 9 credits.

Ph.D. Candidacy Exam:

The written part of the candidacy exam: All students in the Ph.D. program must pass the written part of the Ph.D. candidacy exam at the latest at the next offering of the exam after the end of their third semester in the graduate program.

If a student on the fast track has not passed the written part of the exam after two semesters, the Graduate Review Committee will promptly review the student’s progress and issue a determination whether the student should remain on the fast track or should shift to the regular track.

The exam will be given twice a year, in late August and in late January. The exam will be graded as a whole and will consist of 4 sections, each with 4 problems. The sections of the exam and the textbook and associated material from which that section will be based are:
• Classical mechanics - covering all the material except chapters 4 and 14 in S.T. Thornton and J.B. Marion, "Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems", 5th edition;
• Electricity and Magnetism - covering all material in D.J. Griffiths, "Introduction to Electrodynamics", 3rd edition;
• Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics - covering chapters 1-9 in F. Reif, "Fundamentals of Statistical and Thermal Physics";
• Quantum Mechanics - covering chapters 1-8 in B.H. Brandsen and C.J. Joachain, "Quantum Mechanics", 2nd edition.
Special relativity problems, if any, will only appear on the Electricity and Magnetism section of the exam.

The oral candidacy examination: Within 18 months after passing the written part of the Ph.D. candidacy exam, a Ph.D. candidate shall make an oral presentation on the proposed dissertation research to a committee consisting of the members of the Ph.D. dissertation committee and two additional members appointed by the director of the graduate program. This committee shall examine the students in matters regarding the proposed research program. A student who fails the examination has one opportunity to retake the exam. This has to take place within 6 month of the original examination

Ph.D. Dissertation: Upon successful completion of a research program, the Ph.D. candidate will write a dissertation showing originality of thought and scholarship, properly expressed in English. The dissertation is defended in an oral examination administered by the student's dissertation (doctoral) committee (see below). The committee may require that changes or revisions be made to the dissertation. The final oral examination is not considered to have been passed until the dissertation revisions have satisfied the committee. In general, doctoral committees should strive to achieve consensus concerning the student’s performance and quality of work. In the case of dissenting votes, the majority opinion rules and a majority vote in favor is needed for a successful defense.

Role of the Ph.D. committee:

• Within six months of passing the written part of the Ph.D. Candidacy Examination, the candidate, together with his/her advisor, should decide upon the composition of the dissertation committee.
• The PhD candidate should provide the members of the Ph.D. committee with an annual report (due May 15) outlining the progress made and plans for the following year. At least six months prior to the anticipated defense of the dissertation, the candidate will make a careful written and oral presentation to the dissertation committee, which may advise upon the final stages.

Composition of the Ph.D. committee: It is the policy of the University's Office of Graduate Studies that each dissertation committee will consist of between four and six members.

• At least one committee member will be drawn from an academic unit other than the department of the advisor, or from an institution or organization external to the University.
• The chair of the committee is the faculty member in charge of the candidate's research and dissertation.
• At least one member of the committee will be a member of the DPA faculty from a research area distinct from that of the candidate. For this purpose, the distinct research areas are: 1) Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2) Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 3) Condensed Matter & Material Physics, 4) Particle Physics, 5) Nuclear Physics, and 6) Space Physics.
• At least one member of the committee will be from the DPA faculty.

The members who satisfy the various requirements need not be distinct.

Summary of degree requirements

Summary of time limits