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Requirements for a Master’s Degree
The Master's degree requires thirty (30) credits of graduate work of which a minimum of twenty one (21) shall be in course work.
Course Requirements
A candidate for the M.S. degree in physics is expected to take at least three (3) of the following five courses. One of these three must be Introduction to Classical and Quantum Mechanics.
- PHYS 6210: Mathematical Methods in Physics (4 credits)
- PHYS 6410: Electrodynamics (4 credits)
- PHYS 6510: Quantum Mechanics I (4 credits)
- PHYS 6520: Quantum Mechanics II (4 credits)
- PHYS 6590: Statistical Mechanics (4 credits)
Grades in these courses lower than "B" are causes for concern even though a student may be maintaining an overall "B" average. When such a situation arises the student should consult his or her advisor, and some definite decision should be recorded as to what remedial steps are necessary.
The remainder of the course program will be selected by the candidate in consultation with the advisor and must be approved in advance by the Graduate Program Committee. There are particular requirements for students specializing in Astrophysics or Biophysics.
Research Requirements
Some research activity is required for the M.S. degree. There are two options for formalizing this:
Master's Thesis
Master's candidates choosing to write a thesis are expected to formulate a thesis problem in consultation with their research advisors. Once the topic has been chosen, an advisory committee of three faculty members is appointed. The advisor is chairperson, the other two members are chosen by the candidate and advisor in consultation. The secretary to the Graduate Program Committee should be notified in writing of the composition of this committee. This committee is responsible for giving final approval to the thesis. The student must file the thesis title with the secretary to the Graduate Program Committee at the beginning of that semester in which it is expected that the degree will be awarded. To receive a degree at the end of any semester, the student must be registered for that semester.
The original copy of the thesis approved and signed by the thesis committee must be deposited in the Graduate School Office before the date specified in the Institute calendar. The
Graduate
School
requires a fee for thesis binding to be paid by the Master's degree candidate. A duplicate copy of comparable quality must be placed in the Physics Library.
Once the thesis is completed from six (6) to nine (9) credits will be awarded for the research.
Research Project
The student may elect a research project. This project will be carried out under the supervision of a Physics Department faculty member. That faculty member will be solely responsible for approving the completion of the project. The student needs to submit a written project report to the research advisor and a copy sent to the chair of GPC at the end. (A one page simple guide of how to prepare a written research project report is available from the secretary of GPC.) Upon successful completion of the project, the student will receive 3 credits towards the master degree. Therefore, 27 credits of course work will be required to reach the necessary 30 credits.
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