This brief summary of Department and University rules and guidelines is meant to help you negotiate the path that leads to the Ph.D. degree. This World Wide Web version of the summary is updated regularly.

Overview	Master Of Arts degrees
Help, advice and additional information	Joining a research group
Courses	The Qualifying Examination
Teaching	The Ph.D. dissertation and defense
The Preliminary Examination

Overview

A typical graduate student seeking a Ph.D. in Physics or in Physics and Astronomy would follow a path like this:

• Learn about the fundamentals of physics and astronomy in formal courses, and about current research activities in seminars and colloquia and through personal contact with faculty
• Learn to teach physics and/or astronomy by serving as a teaching assistant
• Demonstrate proficiency in the fundamentals of physics in the preliminary examination
• Join a research group
• Demonstrate proficiency in a specialty area, and a capability for performing research, by passing the qualifying examination
• Conduct research, write and publish articles describing the work, and identify as soon as possible a specific thesis subject that would require independent and original work that could be included in a dissertation
• Write and defend a dissertation, a substantial and original contribution to knowledge in physics or astronomy

It usually takes 4-6 years to travel this path. Along the way, one gradually masters a research specialty, and develops into a professional scientist: an independent and critical thinker, capable both of conceiving and conducting innovative research programs that advance the frontiers of physics or astronomy, and of disseminating the resulting knowledge widely and effectively.

You have been admitted to the University of Rochester Physics and Astronomy Ph.D. program because you have demonstrated the potential to develop into a scientist of high caliber. The Department will provide many research opportunities, and will do its best to maintain an environment in which you can realize your potential. Please keep in mind, however, that the factors most important for success in this endeavor are your own initiative, intelligence, creativity, and capacity for hard work.

Help, advice and additional information

Most of the questions you will have about the Ph.D. program, particularly those concerning registration forms, examination schedules, and other aspects of University bureaucracy, can be answered by the Department's Administrative Assistant for Graduate Affairs:

Barbara Warren Department of Physics & Astronomy Bausch & Lomb 210 University of Rochester Rochester, NY 14627-0171 (585) 275-4356 barb@pas.rochester.edu

The Graduate Student Adviser is the faculty's principal point of contact for most first-year and second-year graduate students. You should feel free to consult with the Graduate Student Adviser about course work and schedules, research opportunities, the choice of field for a Ph.D. thesis, or indeed any other matter on which a professor's input would seem helpful. The Graduate Student Adviser eventually passes most of these responsibilities on to each student's Thesis Adviser, but continues to monitor each student's progress, with the help of the student's Thesis Adviser and Dissertation Advisory Committee. The current Graduate Student Adviser is:

Prof. Eric G. Blackman Department of Physics & Astronomy Bausch & Lomb 417A University of Rochester Rochester, NY 14627-0171 (585) 275-0537 blackman@pas.rochester.edu

Each year, the Department's graduate students select two Graduate Representatives to serve as the Department's principal points of contact with the graduate student body. Among their responsibilities are the organization of student input on proposed Department policy, attendance at Department meetings, and coordination of selection of graduate student members of the Department's Graduate Curriculum Committee and Graduate Admissions Committee.

Under special circumstances, and upon written recommendation from the Graduate Student Adviser, the Department's rules can be waived by the Department Chair.

Graduate studies in Physics and Astronomy are formally carried out in the College, under the supervision of the Dean of the College, and the Dean of Research and Graduate Affairs, both of whom have offices in Lattimore Hall (third floor). All Ph.D. programs are carried out under the aegis of the Council on Graduate Studies of the University. Individual graduate programs and the selection of Ph.D. Qualifying Examination committees must be approved by the Dean of Research and Graduate Affairs. Committees for the Ph.D. Thesis Defense, as well as the dates for these examinations, must be approved by the University Dean of Graduate Studies.

For more details, consult the Official Bulletin on Regulations Concerning Graduate Studies at the University of Rochester (available from the Graduate Student Counselor, and soon to appear in digital form on the World Wide Web) and the official University Graduate Studies Bulletin.

Courses

(The following rules were formally adopted by the Department on May 15, 1996.)

Each student must complete at least eight advanced four credit-hour courses (numbered PHY 400-589) in the Department, with at least a grade of B. These courses cannot be research or reading courses, and at least two of the eight must be specialty courses. The transfer of credit from other institutions (up to 30 credit hours), or substitution by courses taken in other departments, must be approved by the Graduate Student Adviser. During their first two years of study, prospective candidates for the Ph.D. in Physics or in Physics and Astronomy will generally take courses selected from the following list:

• Quantum mechanics: PHY 407, PHY 408, PHY 509, PHY 510
• Mathematical methods: PHY 401, PHY 402, PHY 404
• Statistical mechanics: PHY 418, PHY 519
• Advanced classical mechanics: PHY 411
• Classical electrodynamics: PHY 415, PHY 516

The subject matter of these courses constitutes the common core of physics, on which students are tested in the Preliminary Examination. Selection of courses should be based on the student's educational background, with advice from a committee of the Department and the Graduate Student Adviser, who will interview all students shortly before the start of the first term of study. Course registration forms for first-year and second-year students must be signed by the Graduate Student Adviser.

Other frequently-offered courses of general interest include:

• Gravitation, general relativity: PHY 413, AST 554
• Field theory: PHY 511
• Geometric methods, symmetries: PHY 405, PHY 406

The specialty courses are two-term advanced-level sequences in specific fields of modern physics (numbered PHY 5x1, 5x2), and several independent one-term courses in astrophysics (AST 4xx, 5xx). Students normally take the sequence in their chosen research specialty. The Department strongly recommends that all students take a second specialty sequence at some time during their graduate studies. Several special-topics courses are also offered each year. Links to Physis and Astronomy course lists and descriptions can be found on the Graduate Programs page.

First-year students are required to attend the weekly Research and Teaching Seminar, PHY 597, which provides a survey of the research interests of the Department's faculty members. All students are strongly encouraged to attend the Department Colloquia, and the biweekly Research Seminars presented by each of the Department's research groups.

It is also possible to officially audit a course, that is, to register for and participate in a course without necessarily performing all the coursework, and without receiving a grade or formal credit. The reason for registering as an auditor is that an auditor who completes all requirements (homework and exams) can convert the course to full-credit status at a later date, with permission of the instructor in the course. Full-time graduate students with fewer than 90 completed credit hours may audit one course per semester, provided that the course is related to their field of study.

The University's graduate grading policy is described in the University Graduate Studies Bulletin. Our Department implements it as follows: student performance in first-year graduate courses is graded on the A-E scale (with plus and minus indications as appropriate), with A meaning excellent, B good, C poor, and E failing. This scale can also be used at a professor's option in subsequent courses, but most courses after the first year are graded S/E (pass/fail). Any graduate students with two or more grades of C on their records are considered to be on academic probation, and subject to review by the Department and the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies. (This happens quite rarely.)

Two years after entering the graduate program, and before taking the Qualifying Examination, each student must formally select a Plan of Study by completing a form (available from the Graduate Student Counselor) specifying the formal courses they plan to use to satisfy the degree requirements, and any reading and research courses, to complete a total of approximately 90 credit hours.

There is no formal foreign-language requirement for the Ph.D. degree in Physics or in Physics and Astronomy.

Teaching

(The following rules were formally adopted by the Department on April 10, 1996.)

A minimum of one year of service as a Teaching Assistant (TA) is required for a Ph.D. degree in this Department. This requirement is usually satisfied early in one's graduate career (most incoming students are supported financially through Teaching Assistantships). The basic duties of a TA, already familiar to most of you, include running recitation or laboratory sessions, offering office hours for consultation with students, and grading homework and examinations, all under the direction of a faculty member teaching the course. Faculty teaching supervisors may also ask TAs to assist in curriculum development. Curriculum development tasks include the upgrade of laboratory experiments, upgrade of laboratory manuals, preparation of any computerized homework problems, preparation of standard homework solutions, preparation for laboratory session by doing practice experiments, and participation in the training of new teaching assistants. Curriculum development activities can take place during the week before classes begin in the fall, during the four-week period between semesters, and during the three weeks after the end of classes in the spring term.

Teaching, as well as Research, Assistants are expected to be present for duties during the entire period of their appointment, even when classes are not in session. This appointment period typically extends from roughly one week before classes start in the fall until one week after commencement in the spring. Teaching Assistants are required to spend the first week prior to the start of fall classes participating in the Department's TA Training Program. Students who are registered for twelve credit-hours of non-research courses are expected to work an average of 16 hours a week on their teaching or research responsibilities. Students are entitled to two weeks of vacation during the academic year, which should be arranged in coordination with their faculty teaching or research supervisors.

Our Department values the services performed by the TAs, and considers teaching to be a vitally important part of graduate education. Accordingly, we offer a two-day Training Program every fall before classes start, to help students sharpen their TA skills. This is followed by regular meetings during the academic year, and a teaching seminar, which shares time with the research seminars as part of PHY 597. Enrollment in the TA Training Program and PHY 597 is required of each first-year graduate student, independent of the nature of financial support. Both the Department and the University provide annual awards for outstanding performance as a teaching assistant. The Department's Graduate Teaching Award and the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Award are given on the basis of performance measured by student evaluations and supervisory-faculty recommendations. The Department may also nominate candidates for the University's Edward Peck Curtis Award, given for excellence in teaching by graduate teaching assistants.

In addition, the Department also offers to its Ph.D. students an opportunity to earn a certificate in college teaching of physics and astronomy. The training program leading to this certificate includes complete responsibility for teaching an introductory physics course during the summer session, under the general guidance of a faculty mentor. More information on this certificate program can be obtained from the Undergraduate Office in Bausch and Lomb Room 211.

The Preliminary Examination

(The following rules were formally adopted by the Department on April 11, 1996, and modified on January 8, 2000 and February 27, 2002.)

The Preliminary Examination is a written test offered over a two day period twice a year - once in September and once in January. Students normally take it during the second year of graduate study, usually in January of that year, but well-prepared students can request to take the examination earlier. The content and structure of this examination is designed to demonstrate that a student has the comprehensive grasp of physics required for the successful conduct of research. Most graduates remember the Preliminary Examination as one of the most onerous tasks of their graduate years, but virtually all acknowledge its value: in preparation for the test, one must integrate one's understanding of several fundamental tools of physics, learn how to use them together, and learn to select the most appropriate tool for solving any problem, rather than rely implicitly upon the narrow scope of textbook exercises to formulate one's approach.

The fundamental areas of physics - classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermal physics, quantum mechanics, and mathematical methods - comprise the subject matter of the Preliminary Examination. The level of difficulty and sophistication of the examination is consistent with that of first-year graduate and advanced undergraduate courses. Five questions must be answered on each day of the exam, as follows:

• First day (9:00 AM - 12:30 PM)
  Two out of a choice of three questions on Classical Electrodynamics, two out of a choice of four on Mathematical Methods, and one out of a choice of two on Classical Mechanics and Special Relativity.
• Second day (9:00 AM - 12:30 PM)
  Three out of a choice of five questions on Quantum Mechanics and two out of a choice of three on Statistical Mechanics.

On the first day of the Examination, students pursuing degrees in Physics and Astronomy may replace the questions on probability (PHY 402) and linear spaces (PHY 404) with special ones on astrophysics (based on material covered in AST 461, AST 462, or AST 453).

Perhaps the best way to learn the details of the content and difficulty of the Preliminary Examination is to look at previous editions, many of which are available from the Graduate Student Counselor. Most students find that the optimal way to practice for the Preliminary Examination is to solve as many problems as possible from previous Preliminary Examinations. The Department strongly encourages students to form study groups in preparation for the Preliminary Examination. Studying with one's peers is a fruitful way to practice problem-solving techniques, and is a means to alleviate the mental stress that inevitably accumulates as the examination approaches. Students will also find most members of the faculty and senior graduate students willing and able to advise and help with the preparation for the Preliminary Examination.

The Preliminary Examination is written and graded by the Department's Examination Committee. This committee, in consultation with the rest of the Department faculty, also determines the criteria for passing the exam at the Master's level or Ph.D. level. To continue in the Ph.D. program one must pass the exam at the Ph.D. level. The committee that administers the Preliminary Examination can decide to pass a student if the total grade (for both days) is adequate, or it can require that the student repeat the poorly performed parts of the Examination at its next offering. If a student shows specific weaknesses, the committee may also choose to pass that student under the condition that the student remedies the deficiency with additional coursework.

Advanced transfer students, who have passed such an Examination at another American graduate school, may be excused from taking it in the Department. This decision will be made by the Graduate Student Adviser, in consultation with members of the Preliminary Examination Committee and the Department Chair.

Master Of Arts degrees in Physics

By passing 30 credit-hours of advanced courses as described above (exclusive of research and reading courses), and passing the Preliminary Examination at least at the Master's level in the judgment of the Examination Committee, a student earns a Master of Arts degree in Physics, under the set of requirements called "Plan B" in the Official Bulletin on Regulations Concerning Graduate Study. The degrees and diplomas so earned are presented at the following May graduation ceremonies.

Joining a research group

(The following rules were formally adopted by the Department on February 21, 1996.)

As soon as possible, graduate students should become familiar with the research programs available in the Department, choose a field of specialization, and arrange with a faculty member to serve as Thesis Adviser and principal Ph.D. supervisor. It is recognized that many students start graduate school without a definite commitment to any particular field of specialization. During their first year of study, students should attend seminars and colloquia, speak with other students and with faculty members about their work, take reading courses, and in general explore the opportunities in the Department. It is each student's own responsibility to find a thesis adviser. Usually, one's adviser will provide financial support (in the form of a Research Assistantship) through some appropriate research grant.

It is also possible to do a Ph.D. thesis working in research groups outside the Department. Recent physics dissertations have involved primary thesis advisers in the departments of Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Optics, Philosophy, Radiology, at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics and in research departments at Eastman Kodak and the Xerox Corporation. If you choose to work with a Thesis Adviser who does not hold a full-time appointment at the University nor an appointment in this Department, then besides obtaining the agreement of the Thesis Adviser, you must immediately find a member of our Department who is willing to act as the Internal Adviser for your thesis. The Internal Adviser should have interest or expertise in the proposed area of research, so as to offer effective guidance, as needed. The Graduate Student Adviser must be apprised of your proposed arrangement. In consultation with the Department Chair and Associate Department Chair, the Graduate Student Adviser will appoint an ad hoc committee of four Physics and Astronomy faculty members, including the Internal Adviser, but not necessarily corresponding with the make-up of the Qualifying Examination or Dissertation Advisory committees described below. The ad hoc committee will rule upon the suitability of the area of research and of the advising arrangement. A favorable ruling must be obtained before you may receive support through a Research Assistantship. Please note that you must continue to follow the rules of the Physics and Astronomy Department as a member of an extra-departmental research group, and to list Physics and Astronomy as your primary institutional affiliation in any publications.

After beginning research, and before compiling a total of 90 credit hours, students should register for PHY or AST 595 (Ph.D. Research) during each academic year in order to obtain course credit for these activities.

The Qualifying Examination, and admission to candidacy for the Ph.D.

Students must pass the Qualifying Examination to continue for the doctoral degree. The exam is usually taken once the student has chosen a Thesis Advisor and an area of research (though not necessarily a specific thesis). The function of the Qualifying Examination is to demonstrate that the student is ready to proceed with such research. If the Qualifying Examination is not taken within two years of passing the preliminary examination, students must provide the Graduate Student Advisor with a study plan, approved by a research advisor, indicating when the qualifying exam will be taken.

To take the Qualifying Examination, each student must establish contact with a member of the faculty, who can act as the sponsor, and consult with the Graduate Student Counselor about the proper forms and procedures. The sponsor is usually the student's Thesis Adviser, but this is not mandatory. The sponsor will assign an appropriate research topic (not necessarily a proposed thesis project), on which the student will prepare an oral presentation, no more than about twenty minutes in length, and an accompanying document, or Brief, of no more than ten pages. The examination topic, five copies of the brief, and suggestions for members of the Qualifying Examination Committee should be submitted to the Graduate Student Counselor at least two weeks prior to the date of the examination. The Committee for the Qualifying Examination will consist of at least four faculty members, including the student's thesis adviser (or sponsor), another faculty member in the same area of specialty, one theorist (experimenter) for a student in experimental (theoretical) physics, and one faculty member not closely related to the research project. One of the members may be from outside of the Department, if appropriate. A student working with a Thesis Adviser from outside the Department should arrange for both the Thesis Adviser and the Internal Adviser to serve on the Qualifying Examination Committee. The Qualifying Examination Committee is nominally appointed, and one member - not the thesis adviser or sponsor - designated as Chair of the Committee, by the Department Chair upon the recommendation of the Graduate Student Adviser. Each student should schedule the Qualifying Examination, in consultation with the Committee members and the Graduate Student Counselor, and make all final arrangements at least two weeks before the Exam.

Although answers to any questions students might have about the details and scope of their Qualifying Examination or Brief are those provided by the student's Thesis Adviser, Internal Adviser, or sponsor, much can also be learned by looking at recent briefs of other students. Ask your colleagues or the Graduate Student Counselor or the Graduate Student Adviser for examples.

Qualifying Examinations are supposed to proceed as follows. As the first order of business, the student is dismissed from the room, while the Qualifying Examination Committee discusses the ground rules of the examination, the order of questioning, and the student's record. Then the student is recalled, and proceeds with the verbal presentation of the research Brief. The examination proper commences at the end of this presentation. The basis chosen by the student and the sponsor serves as an initial focus for the examination, and usually occupies the bulk of the Committee's attention. However, the Committee is also empowered to test, as appropriate, the student's general knowledge and awareness of current issues in physics and/or astronomy, both inside and outside of the domain of specialization. At the conclusion of the questioning, the student is again dismissed from the room, while the Committee deliberates, and is recalled when the result of the exam is decided. At least three-fourths of the committee must vote affirmatively for the student to pass. The entire experience normally takes about two hours.

After the examination, the Committee files a written report with the Graduate Student Adviser, in addition to its formal pass/fail report to the College. Three members of the Examination Committee normally continue to serve as a Dissertation Advisory Committee for the student, and meet once a year (or more often, when needed) to provide the Graduate Student Adviser with a written report of progress towards a Ph.D. These regular meetings may be waived only by permission of the Graduate Student Adviser. The Dissertation Advisory Committee can be called into special session at any time by any of the following parties: the student, the Thesis Adviser (and/or Internal Adviser), or the Graduate Student Adviser.

As described in the Official Bulletin on Regulations Concerning Graduate Studies (p. 17), a student is admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. upon passing the Qualifying Examination. Progress on the ensuing research is monitored by the Dissertation Advisory Committee, but remains the primary responsibility of the student and the adviser.

Ph.D. candidates who have amassed 90 credit hours should register for PHY or AST 999 (Ph.D. Dissertation) during each term of the academic year.

The Ph.D. dissertation and defense

The requirements for the Ph.D. include passing the examinations and required courses outlined above, passing a total of 90 credit-hours of coursework, including reading and research courses, preparing a dissertation according to academic standards of independence and originality, and defending the work before a committee of professors in a Thesis Defense. The purpose of the Thesis Defense is to demonstrate the significance of the dissertation, and the adequacy of the arguments presented in support of the thesis. As such, the result of the Thesis Defense reflects the quality of each candidate's contribution to the development of knowledge.

Usually, a Ph.D. candidate has achieved sufficient mastery of the subject of the dissertation so that the Defense is not a cause for excessive worry. No student in the long history of our Department has ever failed the Thesis Defense in any area of Physics or Physics and Astronomy!

The written dissertation must conform to the format specified by the University Office of Graduate Studies. A booklet outlining the requirements, called The Preparation Of Doctoral Theses, is available from the Graduate Student Counselor. When it is complete, and approved by your Thesis Adviser, your dissertation may be registered with the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, and your Defense scheduled no sooner than four weeks afterward.

The rules for the Ph.D. defense are given in the Official Bulletin on Regulations Concerning Graduate Study. Briefly, a Thesis Defense Committee, appointed by the University Dean of Graduate Studies, consists of the Thesis Adviser, at least two other full-time faculty members from this Department, and at least one faculty member from another department. This part of the committee is usually nominated in the same way as a Qualifying Examination Committee. The student and Thesis Adviser suggest Committee members, and the student, in consultation with the Graduate Student Counselor, schedules the Defense. Suggested members and schedules, recommended to the Dean of Graduate Studies by the Graduate Student Adviser and the Department Chair, are virtually always accepted. The Dean of Graduate Studies appoints, in addition, a representative who serves as Chair of the Thesis Defense Committee.

Each Defense consists of a public, one-hour lecture by the candidate, followed by a closed-session and oral examination of the candidate's Thesis. The examination includes the subject matter of the dissertation, and developments in the specialty area in which the dissertation is written. After such questioning, the candidate is briefly excused from the room while the Thesis Defense Committee votes on the results. The vote to pass the Defense must be unanimous.

Go to Graduate Programs page.