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M.S. Physics
Master's Program in Physics-Optical Physics Option
Admission The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required of all applicants. Minimum requirements in order to be considered for admission to the graduate program in Physics are the standard university criteria of a 3.0 (A=4) grade point average (GPA) for the last 60 attempted semester hours of credit earned toward the baccalaureate, or a GRE score of at least 1000 on the combined verbal-quantitative sections of the General (Aptitude) Test. The GRE subject test in physics is required for admission to the doctoral program. Students entering the graduate program with regular status are normally expected to have completed course work generally required for a bachelor's degree in physics, including mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, and quantum mechanics. International students whose native language is not English will be required to have a minimum score of 550 on the TOEFL examination.
Degree Requirements The Master of Science in Physics degree requires a total of 33 semester hours. The student has the option of choosing either a thesis or a non-thesis option for the master's degree. All master's students must take 18 semester hours of core courses. The thesis option requires 9 additional semester hours of electives, plus 6 semester hours of thesis. The non-thesis option instead requires 15 semester hours of electives and a written comprehensive exit examination. All electives must be approved by the student's advisory committee. The Master of Science in Physics candidate who has chosen the thesis option is required to conduct a program of original scientific research or some investigation involving a creative element and to submit a written thesis detailing these investigations. An oral defense and examination of the thesis is required.
For complete details see graduate catalog entry for the Physics MS Program.
