The official requirements for a graduate degree are prescribed in the Graduate Catalog, but there are also schedules and procedures listed in the Course Schedule for each semester, regulations listed in other University publications, and some requirements and procedures not to be found in any publication.  This is not an official publication. Although every effort is made to be accurate, the official rules are those as stated in official publications.

This guide covers the basic and usual procedures. Exceptions, special cases, and the procedures for treating them are omitted. If you have questions or uncertainty, be sure to visit to discuss the matter.

The Physics Graduate Office (Carol Noriega (carol@physics.utexas.edu), Graduate Coordinator -- 471-1664) is located in RLM 5.224. You can always refer to copies of the Catalog and Course Schedules there as well as notices of new courses, job opportunities, and fellowships. The Graduate Advisor, Prof. John Keto, is in RLM 10.315.

The Graduate Office is part of the physics department, whereas the Graduate School refers to the Vice President and Dean of the Graduate School with offices in the Main Building (Tower) -- Room 101.

General Requirements

The registration schedule for each semester is given in the Course Schedule. You can purchase copies in the University Coop, and other stores shortly before registration. There is an advising and registration period in the middle of each long semester for the following long semester. A regular advising and registration period precedes the beginning of the semester. The last day for possible registration is generally the fourth day of classes. You must maintain good standing, e.g. pay your library fines, to be permitted to register. Until you are admitted to Ph.D. candidacy, you must also be advised before registering. Come to the Graduate Office for this semi-annual review of your progress and plans.

You can easily change your choice of courses through the fourth class day. However, if you want to drop one of the core courses, you should consult the Graduate Adviser. After the fourth class day, it becomes increasingly difficult to change registration. Physics courses can be added and dropped through the Physics Graduate Office. The last possible day to add a course is generally the twelfth day of classes, and the addition requires special approvals.

To be designated a full-time student, you must be registered for a minimum of nine semester hours in a long semester. (The summer rules are more complex; consult the Graduate Office.) Full-time status is required for appointment as a Teaching Assistant (TA), Graduate Research Assistant (GRA), or Assistant Instructor (AI) as well as for students in University housing and for certain student loans and other financial assistance. You must maintain this status throughout the semester. (Although the explicit rules for dropping a course appear quite liberal, dropping a course can be practically difficult if you are registered for the minimum full-time load.)

The Graduate School has rules governing student employment. First-year students may not be appointed for more than 20 hours/week. Thereafter, employment is limited to a maximum of 30 hours/week. Employment of international students is subject to additional rules associated with visas.

You will find that many actions require the approval of the Graduate Adviser, the department, etc. The Graduate Adviser, who is also Chair of Graduate Studies Committee in Physics, provides most of these signatures. Special cases are reviewed by a physics faculty committee, the Graduate Studies Subcommittee (GSSC).

You will note that there are many times and deadlines for various actions -- registration, examinations, submitting forms, etc. Although the Physics Department tries to be as tolerant as possible regarding these matters, dates set by the University and Graduate School are rigid. Failure to meet these deadlines will require at the least special formal requests and petitions, might require the payment of late fees, and may simply be irreversible. Always allow yourself adequate time to meet these deadlines.

Requirements for a Masters Degree in Physics

The masters degree requires 30 semester-hours of work, including the 6 hours of thesis. The remaining 24 hours of technical courses must include at least 18 hours of physics and at least 6 hours of supporting work (usually outside the department). The courses must generally be graduate courses taken for a grade, but up to 6 hours may be taken pass/fail, and a maximum of 9 hours may be upper-division undergraduate courses, provided no more than 6 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 masters 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 apply for a degree with the Graduate School. The guidelines and deadlines to apply to graduate are available online from the Graduate School. 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 masters degree may also be used as part of the Ph.D. program, but earning a masters degree does not extend any of the deadlines specified for the doctoral program below. A masters degree is not required for a Ph.D. degree and most students proceed directly to the doctorate.

Requirements for a Ph.D. in Physics

The first requirement is straightforward. You must complete the four core courses (385K Classical Mechanics, 385L Statistical Mechanics, 387K Electromagnetism I or 387L Electromagnetism II, and 389K Quantum Mechanics I or 389L Quantum Mechanics II) within two years with no letter grade below B- and an average of B+. You may retake a course with the higher grade counting. For use in this calculation, physics instructors assign ± grades in these courses, counted as ±0.3. For the purpose of computing this average, a student who takes 380N may use that grade in place of one of the core course grades.

A well-prepared student may seek to fulfill the core course requirement by taking only the final examinations and earning the grade of at least B- for one or two of these courses rather than by registering for them; in this case, the student does not receive graduate credit for these courses and the grade is not counted toward the required average. (Only one attempt is allowed for each course, and the examination must be taken no later than the third semester to leave time to take the course within the two-year period.)

In addition to completing these core courses, you must demonstrate acquaintance with modern methods of experimental physics. Physics 380N meets this requirement, as does laboratory work done while a graduate student. Other acceptable evidence must be considered individually.

During this period, you should also be exploring specialties in which you might pursue research. For most areas, certain advanced courses are necessary to reach the level required for the qualifying examination. These courses and their prerequisites are principal considerations in scheduling your courses during the first two years.

When you have completed the preceding requirements, you may apply to take the qualifying examination, which in any case must be taken within 27 months of entering graduate school. This is a combination of public seminar followed by private oral examination on a topic of your choosing. The seminar need not present original work; you are expected only to demonstrate sufficient command of a specialty to begin original research in that area. The topic is usually that which will become your dissertation. As part of the examination, you will generally be expected to indicate a problem whose solution would be a satisfactory dissertation.

In preparation for this qualifier, you must choose a member of the Physics Graduate Studies Committee as chair of the examining committee, who will assist you in choosing a specific topic and preparing for the examination. You must select a total of four physics faculty members, at least one of whom must be a member of the GSSC, to serve as examiners and schedule a suitable time with them. The forms for this examination are available online and should be prepared two weeks in advance of the examination. A written abstract of the talk is required.

After you pass your qualifying examination, you may apply for Ph.D. candidacy. This requires finding a supervisor, selecting a research topic, assembling a dissertation committee, and formulating a program of work (list of courses. completed and future) that meets the requirements given below. The application for Ph.D. candidacy is available online from the Graduate School. The dissertation committee consists of at least five members, at least one of whom must be from a different department. The chairman of the Dissertation Committee ordinarily serves as the supervisor of research. When the research supervisor is not a member of the Graduate Studies Committee, a member of the Graduate Studies Committee will be appointed as co-chairman of the Dissertation Committee. If the supervisor is not a member of the physics department faculty, a majority of the committee should be. We can help you with this paperwork as well as answer related questions. You have one long semester after passing the qualifier to advance to candidacy. (Otherwise, you will not be permitted to register in Graduate School.)

In addition to the core courses listed above, you are required to take at least four advanced physics courses (with a letter grade of at least B-), at least one of which must be in a specialty not that of your dissertation. A current list of courses approved under this rubric is appended, but note that these courses are not offered each semester, some are no longer offered, and others may be added in the future. You are required to offer three courses in supporting work -- work outside your specialty -- including at least one course outside the physics department. This is generally met by the advanced physics course outside your specialty and two courses outside the department. The courses outside the department may be taken pass/fail. All these required courses and dissertation must be listed in your program of work. You may list other courses you have taken, but there is no reason to do so.

Once you have advanced to candidacy, you must enroll in PHY_99R (3, 6, or 9 hour course) dissertation research courses (take only the first semester you are in candidacy, do not repeat), then maintain continuous registration in PHY_99W, the disseration writing course. Advising is no longer required to register. You have three years to complete your dissertation and take any courses remaining on your program of work. If you have not completed the requirements within three years, further registration depends upon the recommendation of your dissertation committee and the Physics Department. If your dissertation committee finds that you are making good progress towards the degree, an additional year of candidacy is commonly granted. Beyond that however, candidacy will be extended only with specific argument and special circumstances.

At the beginning of the semester in which you expect to graduate, you must apply for graduation. There are multiple deadlines associated with graduation. Among these is the request for the oral defense of the dissertation, which requires the final abstract of the dissertation, drafts for the committee members, and signatures of the entire committee. The form must be filed with the Graduate School at least two weeks in advance of the examination. There is also a deadline for submitting the dissertation, including signatures of each committee member, in the exact form dictated by the Graduate School. Be sure to review all the requirements carefully and confer with the members of your dissertation committee to confirm that they will be available when needed. If you have not taken all the courses listed in your program of work, but have taken equivalent courses instead, you must formally request a change in your program of work. If you encounter or anticipate any problems, please see us as soon as possible to explore possible actions -- problems often have solutions, but they all take time to effect!

Intensive One-year Masters (Würzburg) Fall
380N - Experimental Physics
390 - Research Course
386N - Technical Seminar
3xx - Physics (or related) course

Spring
698A - Masters Thesis
3xx - Physics course
3xx - Physics course
3xx - Mathematics, CAM, EE, or other technical course

Summer
698B - Master Thesis
3xx - Mathematics, CAM, EE, or other technical course

The 6 hours of technical supporting work can be transferred from the University of Würzburg.

Advanced Physics Courses

PT
396K; Quantum Field Theory I
396L; Quantum Field Theory II
396P; String Theory I
396Q; String Theory II

HE
396J; Into. to Elementary Particle Physics

NU
397K; Intro. to High Energy Physics & RHIC I
397L; Intro. to High Energy Physics & RHIC II

REL
387M; Relativity I
387N; Relativity II

SM
385T; Advanced Topics in Statistical Mechanics

ND
382M; Fluid Mechanics
382N; Nonlinear Mechanics
382P; Biophysics

PL
380L; Plasma Physics I
380M; Plasma Physics II

CM
392K; Solid State Physics I
392L; Solid State Physics II
392N; Many Body Theory

A&M
395; Atomic & Molecular Physics
395K; Nonlinear Optics and Lasers

ACOUS
394T; Underwater Acoustics

THEORY
386K; Physics of Sensors

NON-SPECIAL*:
380N; Experimental Physics
387L; E&M II
389L; Quantum Mechanics II
381N; Advanced Method of Mathematical Physics