Admissions Requirement: A bachelor’s degree from an accredited U. S. college or university or a similarly recognized international university is required for admission to and completion of a graduate program.

Time Limit: A master’s degree must be completed within six years of entering the degree program. Additional time may be requested by the student’s committee and submitted to the Vice Provost of Graduate Studies for review.

Course and Credit Requirements: All Master’s degrees require the student complete a minimum of 30 semester credit hours. Graduate students are required to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA for degree-program courses. Grades of C- or lower will not be accepted for a graduate degree.

Course Number Acceptability: The program of study for a master’s degree cannot include more than 12 semester credits of courses at the 5000 level. Credits in the following areas are not acceptable in a degree program: foreign languages (unless included in an approved Program of Study), continuing graduate advisement, individual home study, military science, and courses numbered below 5000.

Coursework Validity: Class credits must be revalidated if more than 8 years have elapsed before completion of degree. The student’s supervisory committee (SC) is responsible for developing and submitting the revalidation plan to the Vice Provost of Graduate Studies for approval. The plan and determination must be verified in writing and include the Vice Provost of Graduate Studies and the student’s major professor.

Matriculation Start Semester: A master’s degree must be completed within six years of entering the degree program. Additional time may be requested by the student’s advisor and submitted to the Vice Provost of Graduate Studies for review.

Thesis / Project Requirements

Plan A: The Plan A a master’s degree requires the preparation and defense of a thesis. The thesis is to be a contribution to the field of knowledge based on the student’s own research or a treatment and presentation of known subject matter from a new point of view.

Plan B: A Plan B master’s degree requires the preparation and defense of a paper. The Plan B paper is usually a review of literature, with conclusions drawn after conceptualizing an area of inquiry, planning a systematic search, and analyzing and critiquing the acquired information. The summary and conclusions developed should enhance the student’s knowledge in the discipline.

Required Training: All graduate students are required to complete the online CITI-Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) training.

Required Forms

Approval of academic forms required for master’s students by the School of Graduate Studies:

Supervisory Committee Approval Form
Program of Study
Master's Thesis/Project Approval
Appointment for Examination
Authorship and Copyright (Plan A)
Format and Style and Electronic Publication Approval (Plan A)
Title Page (Plan A)
Report/Creative Project Submission (Plan B)
Record of Examination
Graduation Application

Further Information

Further details regarding Physics MS degrees can be found in the Physics Department MS Handbook.

Physics - MS

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Program Overview

Program Requirements

Program Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes