College of Science

Department of Physics

In addition to the general requirements , students completing a Plan A MS degree must complete four of the nine required PhD courses listed below (see Doctor of Philosophy ). Plan B MS students must complete five of the nine courses, and Plan C MS students must complete six of the nine courses. Each student is required to pass PHYS 5800  (Physics Colloquium) for four consecutive semesters, beginning with the first semester after matriculation. The student must also submit and orally defend either a thesis (Plan A) or a research report (Plan B) at the discretion of the student’s supervisory committee. Plan A and Plan B MS candidates must present a colloquium to the department on the research topic during the time the thesis or research report is being written. The department also accepts Plan C, which has no research component. For Plan C, the student must complete 33 credits of graduate-level classwork, the composition of which shall include the required courses listed above. In addition, the student must present a seminar and a paper to his or her supervisory committee on a topic related to educational or managerial aspects of physics graduate education, which is chosen by his or her supervisory committee.