Ph.D. Degree Programs

The Guidelines presented here are meant to be highlights. Full rules and regulations of the Graduate School can be found in the Graduate Catalog, which is available at http://www.grad.msstate.edu.

Graduate School rules, procedures and forms are complex, change continuously, and many events have deadlines. There are deadlines for:

Applying for graduation.
Thesis/dissertation defense or non-thesis comprehensive exam.
Dean’s signature on thesis/dissertation signature page.
Initial submission of thesis/dissertation to the Library.
Final (library-approved) thesis/dissertation to the Library.

Students should check the Graduate Academic Calendar on the Graduate School website. When in doubt about anything, a student should consult with the Physics and Astronomy Department Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Henk Arnoldus.

Dr. Henk F. Arnoldus
Graduate Coordinator for Physics
Phone:662-325-2919
E-mail: hfa1@msstate.edu

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree Programs Offered

We offer the following options for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree Program:

in Physics (through the College of Arts and Sciences)
in Engineering, concentration Applied Physics (through the Bagley College of Engineering)

Graduate School Degree Policy

The Graduate School awards the degree (not the Physics Department)

The Graduate School will not award a degree if:

GPA lower than 3.00 on all graduate courses taken.
GPA lower than 3.00 on courses on the Graduate Program of Study.
D or F on Graduate Program of Study courses.
More than two C or lower grades on all graduate courses taken while in the program. This includes courses not on the Graduate Program of Study. A retake can be used to mitigate this condition.
More than one D or F on all graduate courses taken while in the program. This includes courses not on the Graduate Program of Study. A retake cannot be used to mitigate this condition.
A grade I (Incomplete) in any course.

A student falls under the rules of the Graduate Catalog that was in effect at the time of her/his admission to the program.

Overall Requirements

At the time of entering the graduate program in Physics, all students are required to take placement examinations in classical mechanics, electromagnetic theory and quantum mechanics. The results of these examinations are used to determine whether the student has the appropriate background to take the 8000-level courses. If a student performs unsatisfactory on an exam, she/he will be required to take the corresponding 6000-level course(s).

Students are required to have a research advisor and begin research within one year after entering the program. Before that, the graduate coordinator is the academic advisor of the student. Once a student has a research advisor, she/he must form a Graduate Committee and formulate a Graduate Program of Study, both in a timely manner. If a student wishes to have an advisor from outside the Physics Department, the student needs permission from the Graduate Coordinator.

Required Courses are listed in a separate document. If a student wishes to take a course outside the Physics Department, the student needs permission from her/his advisor.

Students who will have teaching assignments are required to attend and pass the Teaching Assistant Workshop. International students who will have teaching assignments are also required to attend the International Teaching Assistant Workshop (Fall admission only).

Credits and Performance

Students must be enrolled in at least 9 and at most 13 graduate credit hours (courses numbered 6000 or higher) in Fall and Spring in order to hold an assistantship. This includes possible ESL classes.

Student must be continuously enrolled for at least one credit hour in the Fall and one in the following Spring or Summer until all degree requirements are met.

If the only thing left is graduation, then no enrollment required.

In order to maximize the number of Physics credit hours, the Department strongly encourages students to enroll in 13 credit hours per semester. Students should normally not take more than 9 credit hours of lecture courses per semester. The additional credit hours should be Research, PH 8000 (MS) or PH 9000 (PhD).

Continuing financial support is contingent upon the student maintaining at least a 3.00 GPA and making satisfactory progress towards the degree, and for students with teaching assignments, maintaining a satisfactory teaching performance.

Unsatisfactory performance may lead to probation or dismissal. The details of such procedures are given in the document ‘Physics Policy on Probation and Dismissal’.

If a student continues in a PhD program, after receiving the MS in Physics degree from MSU, courses taken while in the MS program may be used to fulfill requirements for the PhD program. However, courses with a grade of D or F may not be used, and no more than two courses with a C may be used. Used courses with a C will count towards the ‘C rule’ of the Graduate School: A student cannot have more than two courses with a C or lower grade while in the program. If a student receives a third C or lower grade while in the PhD program, the student must be put on probation, and repeat one of the three courses, and earn an A or B. If a student receives a fourth grade of C or lower, the student must be dismissed. This Physics rule is stricter than the Graduate School rule.

Course Retake Policy

A student may retake a course if her/his ‘Request to Retake a Course’ is approved. Only one course can be repeated. A record of both courses taken will remain on the transcript, and both grades will be included in the computation of the GPA. No additional credit hours are generated from a repeated course. The higher grade will count for the above rules.

Examinations

Written preliminary examinations on classical mechanics, mathematical physics, electromagnetic theory and quantum mechanics are required for non-thesis MS students and PhD students. The subjects of these examinations are covered in the courses:

PH 8213 Mechanics
PH 8233 Methods of Theoretical Physics I
PH 8243 Methods of Theoretical Physics II
PH 8313 Electromagnetic Theory I
PH 6333 Electromagnetic Fields II
PH 8743 Quantum Mechanics I
PH 8753 Quantum Mechanics II

The examinations on classical mechanics and quantum mechanics are offered just before the start of the Fall semester, and the examinations on mathematical physics and electromagnetic theory are offered just before the start of the Spring semester. If a student fails an exam, she/he is required to take it again the following year. Each exam can only be attempted twice.

Theses and Dissertations

Theses and dissertations must be approved by the Library before graduation. For details, see http://lib.msstate.edu/thesis/. The signature page must be approved by the Library before the defense. At least two weeks before the defense, a copy of the thesis or dissertation should be given to the members of the Graduate Committee. The thesis or dissertation should be sent to the Library after the defense, so that comments by the Graduate Committee can be included.

Students who pass the thesis/dissertation defense in a semester, but did not meet the deadlines for submission of the thesis/dissertation to the Library will the next semester need to enroll in GRD 9010 01 (zero credit and only $100 fee), and meet the Library deadlines for that semester.

PhD Guidelines

PhD students are strongly encouraged to dual enroll in the MS program, and receive a non-thesis MS in Physics along the way. The Graduate Committee has at least four graduate faculty with the major professor (from Physics) as chair. In addition, in the Physics PhD program, an external graduate faculty from MSU must be included, and for the Engineering PhD program a graduate faculty from the Bagley College of Engineering must be included.

Students are required to attempt all four written preliminary examinations within two and a half years after entering the program. If a student does not pass the four written preliminary examinations, she/he will be encouraged to complete the MS-Thesis-Option program.

After passing the written preliminary examination (the pass date is the date of passing the fourth exam) the student has to take the oral comprehensive examination (known as ‘Proposal Defense’) within a reasonable period of time. During this exam, the student gives a presentation to the Graduate Committee of the proposed PhD research project. A summary of this presentation should be given to the members of the Graduate Committee at least two weeks prior to the exam. A student may attempt the oral comprehensive exam at most twice. After passing the exam, the student will be admitted to candidacy. A student should consult with the Graduate Coordinator about procedures and forms at least one month before the planned exam.

Students must take the oral comprehensive examination before:

June 1 for December graduation,
November 1 for May graduation,
February 1 for August graduation.

The student must graduate within 5 years after passing the oral comprehensive exam (hard rule by the Graduate School).

Required forms for the oral comprehensive examination:

Declaration of Examination/Defense
Committee Request
CAPP Graduate Program of Study
Report of Examination Results
Admission to Candidacy
Physics PhD Comprehensive Examination Evaluation Form (Physics PhD only)
Comprehensive Examination Evaluation Form (Engineering PhD only)

After passing the oral comprehensive examination, the student can defend the dissertation at any time. This includes a presentation of the research results by the student to her/his Graduate Committee. A student should consult with the Graduate Coordinator about procedures and forms at least one month before the defense.

Required forms for the dissertation defense:

Declaration of Examination/Defense
Announcement Flyer
Report of Examination Results
Physics PhD Dissertation Defense Evaluation Form (Physics PhD only)
Dissertation Defense Evaluation Form (Engineering PhD only)

In addition, two copies of the Library-approved signature page must be signed.

Before initial submission of the dissertation to the Library, the student must complete the Survey of Earned Doctorates. Go to: https://sed.norc.org/.

Engineering PhD: Complete the Bagley College of Engineering Graduate Exit Survey: http://www.bagley.msstate.edu/grad/ , link on the left. Print copy and ask major professor to sign it. Bring to the Dean, together with the signature pages.