Departmental regulations ensure that students receive a substantial education in advanced physics, timely mentoring from the faculty, and sound research experience if they write a dissertation. Students in this latter category are strongly encouraged to become involved in research as early as possible in their graduate careers. Reasonable exceptions to the regulations described below can be granted by the DGS in writing. Such exceptions will be based upon the special needs or circumstances of individual students.
Academic Advising Upon admission, all incoming M.S. and Ph.D. students are automatically advised by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Prior to beginning their first semester, students meet with the DGS to develop a comprehensive plan for their graduate coursework, reflecting their academic needs and research interests. The DGS continues to serve as the primary academic advisor until a new advisor is established. Students may establish a new academic or dissertation advisor at any time by submitting the New Advisor Form, which details the advisor's roles and responsibilities.
M.S. Requirements
M.S. students have the option of obtaining their degrees by completing courses only (Plan B) or by including a research thesis (Plan A). Plan A students are required to take PHY 770 during their first two semesters. The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to faculty research programs and opportunities. Each week, students hear about the research programs of one or more faculty members. By the end of the semester, students are asked to submit brief written documents describing their research interests and capabilities. Regular grades are assigned for this course.
M.S. students must meet the Graduate School course requirements described in "Graduate School Regulations". One of these is that 2/3 of the total credit hours (24 for Plan A and 30 for Plan B) must be in "regular", e.g. lecture or lab, courses. The Department also requires that the student must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in the "regular" courses used to satisfy this requirement, and these must be 3-credit hour courses in the Department. (As an exception, courses in other departments may be substituted with the permission of the DGS.)
The student must form an M.S. exam committee, consisting of (at least) three faculty members, to administer a final oral examination; the format of this exam will be decided by the committee in consultation with the student. For Plan A students, this committee should meet with the student at least once/year to discuss the student's research progress and provide a written report to the DGS.
Ph.D. Requirements
1) Core courses - Core courses for Ph.D. students are six courses PHY 504, 611, 613, 614, 615, 632 and elective AST 639, which can substitute for either PHY 613 or 615. The substitution should be approved by the PhD advisor at the time of qualification.
The average of a student's final grades for the six core courses must be B or higher (GPA > 3.0), with no more than one final grade of C. Students failing to meet this grade requirement may repeat core courses or else study independently and take special examinations, administered by present or past instructors of the individual courses and designed to ensure that the student has mastered the course material. Also, students who have mastered the contents of one or more core courses prior to entering the program may request special examinations in lieu of taking the courses. All requests for special examinations will be made to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), and the time and format of the exam will be determined by the DGS in consultation with the instructor. Students will be expected to meet the core course requirement by the end of their sixth semester.
2) Ph.D. breadth requirements - Prior to qualification for the Ph.D., students are required to pass (with grades of A or B) at least three approved topical graduate courses, each from a different area. The regularly offered topical courses (with areas) are: 554 (atomic physics), 591,592, 605, and 639 (astrophysics), 524,525, and 624 (condensed matter physics), 555 and 630 (nuclear physics), 556, 605, 616, and 716 (particle physics), 545 and 546 (radiation medicine), 535 (advanced laboratory), and 508 (computational physics). Students may also include PHY 600 as well as graduate courses taught outside the Department upon written consent of the DGS. [Note that PHY 605 ("Gravity") may be used to satisfy the breadth requirement in either astrophysics or particle physics. AST 639 may be used to satisfy the breadth requirement only if it is not contributing to the core courses requirement.]
3) Early research experience - New Ph.D. students are required to enroll in a 1 credit hour course (at present PHY 770) during each of their first two semesters in the program. The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to faculty research programs and opportunities. Each week, students hear about the research programs of one or more faculty members. By the end of the semester, students are asked to submit brief written documents describing their research interests and capabilities. Regular grades are assigned for this course.
Prior to qualification for the Ph.D., students must complete at least 3 credit hours of a research course, hold a research assistantship for at least one semester, or participate in research during a summer semester. This latter option will be strongly encouraged. In all cases, the student will write a brief description of the research activity, and the faculty mentor will write a brief evaluation of the student's effort. Both documents are submitted to the DGS and become a part of the student's file.
4) Advisory Committee. - The Ph.D. advisory committee consists of 4 faculty members (one from outside the dept.). Once established, this Committee meets at least once per year with the student and provides a brief written report of this meeting to the DGS. (This meeting can include a research seminar by the student; see below.) Students are encouraged to establish this committee as early as possible and must establish the committee before qualification.
5) Qualification for the Ph.D. - Students must (a) meet the requirements described above, (b) establish an official PhD Advisory Committee as required by the Graduate School, and (c) pass the oral Qualifying Examination. Students are encouraged to qualify for the Ph.D. by the fifth semester, and they are required to do so by the end of the seventh semester.
6) Annual committee meetings. - The Ph.D. candidate must give a substantial oral progress report on his or her research (for example, in the form of a seminar) each year prior to their dissertation defense (final exam). A majority of Advisory Committee members (if practical, all of them) are to be present for this report. From the presentation, committee members will identify any academic weakness in the research in time to correct them before the final exam. Each committee meeting will result in a written report submitted by the chair to the DGS.
7) Submission of dissertation draft to the Advisory Committee - The candidate must give all committee members a complete draft of the dissertation at least four weeks prior to the final exam. Any significant shortcomings in the dissertation document will be identified prior to the time that the "Dissertation Approval Sheet" is submitted to the Graduate School.
The student must secure the signatures required by the Graduate School on the "Dissertation Approval Sheet". In signing this form, committee members certify that the dissertation document is in essentially complete form, with only minor changes anticipated. If a majority of the committee is unwilling to sign the "Dissertation Approval Sheet", prior to the two-week Graduate School deadline, the dissenting members will provide a written explanation to the student and to the DGS of the necessary changes in the dissertation document. In such a case, the DGS will consult with the student and the committee members about an appropriate time to reschedule the exam.
Courses taken outside the department
The Physics & Astronomy Department encourage students to increase their employment options after graduation by broadening their education in physics-related fields. In fact, we allow students to partly satisfy their breadth requirements by taking outside courses that are approved by the DGS. At the same time, we expect students who are financially supported by the department to make reasonable progress toward their physics degrees, and we expect teaching and research assistants to allow sufficient time to carry out their assigned tasks. Therefore, we place some restrictions upon the courses that M.S. and Ph.D. students may take outside the Physics Department.
The policy
- Any student receiving financial aid as described above who wishes to take courses taught outside the department must seek written approval to take these courses.
- Students supported by teaching assistantships or fellowships must seek the approval of the DGS.
- Students supported by research assistantships must seek approval of student’s academic or dissertation advisor. The advisor will inform the DGS of this approval if it is granted.
- Approval for outside courses will be given if the course bears a clear connection to the student's academic program in the Physics Department and if the course will not negatively affect the student's ability to carry out activities associated with an assistantship or fellowship. Outside courses not directly related to the student's academic program in the Department may also be approved at the discretion of the DGS (for students supported by teaching assistantships, or fellowships) or an advisor (for students supported by research assistantships).
- If a student disregards this policy, the Department will have the option to discontinue financial support for the student.
- This policy applies to courses offered outside the Physics Department and not cross-listed with physics courses and applies to all graduate students holding teaching or research assistantships or fellowships administered by the University of Kentucky.