Doctor of Philosophy in Physics

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Check departmental information for any additional requirements.

The student learning outcomes for this degree are located at http://www.niu.edu/assessment/clearinghouse/outcomes/index.shtml.

Admission

Students seeking admission to the Ph.D. program in the Department of Physics must meet all the requirements for admission to the NIU Graduate School. In addition to the standard requirements for graduate admission, the doctoral program requires degree-seeking applicants submit the following materials:

Baccalaureate Field: A B.S. in Physics. Outstanding candidates from other related fields with substantial course work in physics will also be considered.
Letters of Recommendation: Three (3) letters of recommendation are required.
Personal Statement: Your personal statement should be approximately 250 to 750 words in length. It should outline your preparation for graduate study in physics, as well as your goals for graduate school and beyond. It should also explain why you believe the program at NIU can best help you meet those goals.
Resume/CV: A current resume or CV is required.
Tests Scores: GRE General scores are not required for applicants and will not be used for admission purposes. Physics GRE scores are also not required but can optionally be used to strengthen an application. A satisfactory score on the Physics GRE can also be used to place out of the department’s MS exam. When preparing your score report for upload, be sure that your name and all scores are legible. If you are sending scores, use institution code 1559. NIU does not require department codes; neither does the testing center.

Deadlines: The Ph.D. Program in the Department of Physics admits new graduate students during the spring and fall semesters, on an annual basis. It follows deadlines set by the Graduate School at NIU, though priority consideration is given to applicants who apply by February 1 for start in the following fall semester and August 15 for start in the following spring semester. These priority deadlines are earlier than the general graduate school deadlines.

Please note: International students should review additional information on the department page about test score requirements for assistantships. These are in addition to any Graduate School requirements for admission.

Course Requirements

The Graduate Studies Committee of the department is responsible for approving each student’s program to meet the course requirements specified below. Each student must complete at least 90 semester hours of graduate course work. The committee will assess all work done at other institutions and will recommend acceptance of transfer credit for any graduate work deemed appropriate, subject to the policies of and approval by the Graduate School. The Graduate Studies Committee of the department is also responsible for the administration of the qualifying and candidacy examinations. All Ph.D. students are required to register for PHYS 798, Physics Seminar, for two semesters. In addition, all students are required to complete the following.

Core Courses (15)

All Ph.D. students must successfully complete at least five of the following six courses:

PHYS 600 - Classical Mechanics Credits: 3
PHYS 660 - Quantum Mechanics I Credits: 3
PHYS 661 - Quantum Mechanics II Credits: 3
PHYS 663 - Statistical Physics I Credits: 3
PHYS 670 - Electromagnetic Theory I Credits: 3
PHYS 671 - Electromagnetic Theory II Credits: 3

Distribution Requirements (12)

All students are required to take 12 semester hours in physics at or above the 600 level, excluding PHYS 659, PHYS 699, PHYS 798, and PHYS 799, distributed over two areas of the discipline. Up to 9 semester hours of this requirement can be replaced by courses of comparable level in engineering, biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or geology. If all six of the core courses are successfully completed, then one of them can be applied to this distribution requirement.

Courses chosen to meet the distribution requirement must be approved in each case by the Graduate Studies Committee of the department.

Dissertation (24)

A minimum of 24 semester hours in PHYS 799, Doctoral Research and Dissertation.

Elective Course Work (39)

This may include dissertation work as well as graduate course work in physics and the other natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. The courses chosen to meet this requirement are subject to the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee.

Qualifying Examination

A student without a master’s degree in physics is required to pass a qualifying examination which will consist of the proficiency examination for one of the specializations in the M.S. physics program. Students admitted to the program with a master’s degree in physics are exempt from the qualifying examination. Students admitted to the Ph.D. program with a master’s degree in a related field can be exempted from the qualifying examination with approval of the department.

Candidacy Examination

The candidacy examination is a written examination based on the core courses and other graduate courses. The examination is to be taken within one year of completion of the core courses.

Language/Research-Tool Requirements

There are no foreign-language or extra-departmental research tool requirements. The mathematics prerequisites to undergraduate physics courses constitute a sufficient researchtool requirement.

Dissertation Committee

The dissertation committee for each student will be nominated by the chair of the department and appointed by the dean of the Graduate School. This committee will consist of three to five graduate faculty members and will otherwise meet the specifications of the Graduate School. It will be chaired by the dissertation director, who is appointed by the chair of the department and the deans of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and of the Graduate School.

Oral Dissertation Defense

An oral examination on the dissertation will be conducted by the dissertation committee according to Graduate School regulations.