Requirements for a Master’s Degree in Physics

The masters degree requires 30 semester-hours of work, including the six hours of thesis. The remaining 24 hours of technical courses must include at least 18 hours of Physics and at least six hours of supporting work (usually outside the Department). The courses must generally be graduate courses taken for a grade, but up to six hours may be taken pass/fail, and a maximum of nine hours may be upper-division undergraduate courses, provided that no more than six of those hours are in one category, Physics or supporting work. The Physics Department does not generally approve seminar, research (390/690), or advanced topics courses for a Master’s program beyond three hours of Technical Seminar and the 390 required with 380N. All work must be completed within a six-year period.

In addition to the Master of Arts in Physics, for which the requirements above suffice, the department also awards a Master of Science in Applied Physics. This degree requires specific coursework: 380N, 387K, 389K, the Physics of Sensors (386K), and the Technical Seminar. The supporting work must be in Engineering, Chemistry, or Geological Sciences.

At the beginning of the semester in which you plan to graduate, you must have your program of work approved (if you have not done so earlier) and must apply for a degree with the Graduate School. The guidelines and deadlines to apply to graduate are available online from the Graduate School’s web site. They will also give you information regarding the format required for theses, about which they are adamant. Be sure to consult the Graduate School for all deadlines, especially the submission of the thesis.

Work done for a Master’s degree may also be used as part of the Ph.D program, but earning a Master’s degree does not extend any of the deadlines specified for the doctoral program. A Master’s degree is not required for a Ph.D. degree, and most students proceed directly to the doctorate.

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