The program for the master's degree is not fixed, but is planned by the student and a member of the Graduate Faculty who acts as an advisor to meet the student's individual needs and interests.
Each candidate for the master's degree must fulfill all Graduate School requirements for that degree. The student should become familiar with the current requirements and the order in which they must be fulfilled.
The candidate must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 45 quarter credit hours, including work on the thesis (A student ordinarily will have at least 10 hours of Physics 999 on her/his record.), and must pass the Qualifying Examination at the master's level. (See Section 4.) The research culminates in the presentation of a satisfactory formal thesis and the passing of the Final Oral Examination. (See Section 2 below.)
The candidate must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 50 quarter hours of graduate work, and must pass the qualifying examination at the master's level. (See Section 2 below.) No thesis is required, but the candidate must demonstrate satisfactory competence in individual research work. This individual work shall form a coherent program which will be the subject of a final written report. The requirement that the student demonstrate competence in individual work will normally be fulfilled by the satisfactory completion of 10 quarter hours of Physics 816. Students registered in this course may (a) do advanced experimental work under the supervision of the student's advisor using special facilities available in the advisor's laboratory, (b) do advanced theoretical work under the supervision of the student's advisor or (c) design, construct and test a new experiment for use in a class or laboratory setting. This work may be completed under the supervision of a faculty course supervisor. (Note: students may not register for more than 6 credit hours of 816 in any given quarter.)
The student must submit a satisfactory written report of the work and pass the Final Oral Examination administered by the student's advisor and a faculty member approved by the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee. (See Section 2 below.) The certification to the Graduate School of the successful completion of the requirements for Plan B shall be made by the student's advisor and the Vice Chairperson for Graduate Studies.
A student who has been admitted to candidacy (passed the General Examination) for the Ph.D. degree (Section 3) may be recommended for the M.S. degree by the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee without prejudice to her/his status as a candidate for the doctorate.
Application for the M.S. degree under this option must be initiated by the graduate student on the appropriate Graduate School form which must be signed by her/his advisor and the Vice Chairperson for Graduate Studies.
M.S. programs are planned on an individual basis by the student and her/his advisor. Each program, however, is expected to reflect competantcies represented by the following minimum requirements (See the list of courses in Appendix A).
Courses:
The student together with her/his advisor will be responsible for the development of a program of course work and research appropriate to her/his background, abilities, and goals. This will include a minimum of 10 credit hours of research (i.e., P999 on Plan A or P816 on Plan B).
There will be considerable variation in the preparation and ability of students who have an M.S. degree as their goal. A possible one-year program is given below as one example.
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A student working for a Master's degree (plan A or B) is required to pass a Master's Examination designed to test the candidate's ability in physics. The Qualifying Examination (See Section 4) will serve as the written portion of the exam. The departmental Graduate Examinations Committee is responsible for grading the exam and the results will be reported to the student, the student's advisor, and the department Graduate Studies Committee. Master's candidates will have two years of full-time equivalent study from the date of their first enrollment in which to pass the Qualifying Examination at the Master's level. As many attempts during that period as needed will be allowed. The examination is offered twice a year.
The oral portion of the Master's Examination is held after the submission for approval of the thesis (plan A) or final written report (plan B) and in the quarter the student expects to graduate. An "Application to Graduate" form must be filed with the Graduate School no later than the second Friday of that quarter.
The oral examination will be at least one hour in length. It will be conducted by a committee composed of the candidate's advisor (chairperson) and at least one other member of the graduate faculty.
The chairperson of the examining committee is responsible for arranging the examination and for certifying its results to the Graduate School and to the departmental Graduate Studies Committee. (There is a form for the report to the Graduate School.) The report of a two-person committee must be unanimous in order to be considered satisfactory. The certification to the Graduate School of the successful completion of the requirements for plan B shall be made by the student's advisor and the Chairperson of the departmental Graduate Studies Committee.
A candidate who fails this examination must register in the Graduate School and continue work for an additional quarter before an opportunity will be given for a second examination. No student will be permitted a third examination.