Physics, M.S.

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Overview

The goal of the M.S. program in Physics is to provide innovative and high quality education and training opportunities to students interested in continuing their education beyond the undergraduate level. The program aims at providing a strong foundation for further study at the Ph. D. level in Physics or related fields, for acquiring positions in industry, and for teaching at secondary and post-secondary institutions. The Department of Physics has an active research program with modern on-campus experimental facilities, and with access to regional and national research facilities including the nuclear and free electron laser labs located on the nearby Duke University campus. The department strives to extend its research capabilities with strong student participation through significant and valuable contributions to science and technology.

Research Specialization (Major)

The Department of Physics offers research opportunities with specializations in Nuclear Physics, Solid State Physics, Theoretical Physics, Computational Physics, Nanotechnology, and Spectroscopy. Theoretical and experimental research activities are available in most areas. A student may select one of the areas of specialization for research towards fulfillment of the requirement of a thesis or non-thesis research project.

Research subfields include:

Experimental low-energy nuclear physics
Experimental intermediate-energy nuclear physics
Experimental Neutrino physics
Experimental studies of X-ray pumped nuclear isomer states
Theoretical high/low-energy nuclear physics
Nanotechnology/nanoscale materials – theoretical studies of the optoelectronic and sensory properties
Semiconductors – material formation and characterization, optoelectronics (experiment & theory)
Renewable energy – photovoltaic solar cells (experiment & theory)
Gigahertz to terahertz radiation (experiment)

Regional collaborative projects include:

Duke University, North Carolina

Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory: Experimental low-energy nuclear physics
Physics Department: Neutrino physics, Nanotechnology
Chemistry Department: Nanoscale materials
Free Electron Laser Laboratory: Materials research
Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics: Metamaterials, Nanophotonics

Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Virginia

Hyper-nucleon physics research
Nuclear and nucleon structures and strong interactions
Polarimeter for linearly polarized protons

National Institute of Science and Technology, Maryland

Fundamental neutron physics experimental collaboration with Neutron Interactions and Radiation group

Active national and international collaborations exists between department faculty and scientists at Cornell University, State University of new York (Albany), University of South Florida, Ohio University (Athens), Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, NASA - Glenn research laboratory in Ohio, National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, research centers in Japan, Korea, Russia, Croatia, and Western Europe.

Admission Requirements

A minimum of 30 credits in Physics at the undergraduate level, with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in the Physics courses, is required for unconditional admission to the graduate program. A conditional admission may involve correcting physics topic deficiencies by taking undergraduate courses which are prerequisites to graduate courses. Undergraduate physics course deficiencies need to be removed within one semester of admission into the program.

Degree Requirements for the Master of Science in Physics

A minimum of 30 credits, including 6 research credits, are needed to satisfy the requirements of the M.S program in Physics. Of these, 15 credits are from “core” graduate courses in Physics. The remaining 9 credits may be chosen from the “elective” graduate courses or 5000 level courses in Physics, or from course offerings in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, that have been approved by the Physics Department. Students planning to continue their studies for a PhD degree are strongly advised to complete additional credit hours. Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher to remain in the program.

Core Courses

Total Core 15 hours

Electives Courses

Thesis Option

Students are normally expected to perform research under supervision by the Physics faculty and bring their work to a successful conclusion as a thesis. The research for the thesis must be chosen at the time of applying for admission to candidacy. Upon completion of the written thesis, the student will defend the work orally before the departmental graduate committee.

Non-thesis Research Project Option

Students may elect to complete a project (0 credit hours) in lieu of a thesis, in which case three elective hours must then be substituted for PHYS 5900 . The student however must select this option at the time of applying for admission to candidacy. Upon completion of the research project, the student must make a written and oral presentation of the work to the departmental graduate committee.

Minor

Minor credits, up to 9 credit hours, may be chosen from the “elective” graduate or 5000 level courses in Physics or from courses in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science that have been approved by the Physics Department (e.g. Biotechnology, Advanced Physical Chemistry CHEG 5710 , and CHEG 5720 ).

Foreign Language Requirement

In addition to the 30 credits, the students are required to pass either a foreign language proficiency examination, or complete an approved course in a Computer Science programming language or a course in Statistics.

Master’s Comprehensive Examination

Students must successfully complete a written Comprehensive Examination to include three areas of physics, including Electricity and Magnetism, Analytical Mechanics, and Quantum Mechanics.

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