Physics, PhD
Contact Info
| Website: | http://physics.wustl.edu/graduate |
Doctoral Candidacy
To earn a PhD at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; pass certain examinations; fulfill residence and Mentored Experience Requirements; write, defend, and submit a dissertation; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. For the details of doctoral degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Doctoral Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.
Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 36 (Note: Remission applies for a maximum of 72 graduate-level units.)
- Degree Length: 5 years
- Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
- Grade Requirement: students in the PhD program must maintain an average grade of at least a B (3.0 GPA).
Year One
- Fall: Take three or four courses, plus PHYSICS 5820 Research Seminar and PHYSICS 5970 Supervised Teaching of Physics. Assistant in Instruction for one course.
- Spring: Take three or four courses. Assistant in Instruction for one course. Look for a thesis advisor.
Year Two
- Fall: Take three or four courses. Confirm your thesis advisor and qualifying committee by submitting the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) form. Complete the qualification procedure (below).
- Spring: Take three or four courses. Begin thesis research.
Year Three
- Students no longer enrolling in 9 units of academic courses must enroll in ASGS 9000 Full-time Graduate Research/Study.
Year Four
- Thesis research. Students no longer enrolling in 9 units of academic courses must enroll in ASGS 9000 Full-time Graduate Research/Study.
- Submit Title, Scope and Procedure Form.
Year Five
- Complete research. Students no longer enrolling in 9 units of academic courses must enroll in ASGS 9000 Full-time Graduate Research/Study.
- Submit dissertation defense committee form to the graduate program administrator.
- Write dissertation, undergo oral defense and submit dissertation to the Office of Graduate Study.
PhD in Physics
Outline of Requirements
- Complete 36 units of academic credit (detailed below), maintaining an average grade of at least a B (3.0 GPA).
- Pass the PhD qualification procedure. This requirement must be completed before a student can formally join a research group and is normally completed before the start of the third year.
- Complete the teaching requirements.
- Write a thesis (doctoral dissertation information below).
- Pass an oral dissertation defense examination.
36-Unit Academic Credit Course Requirement
Courses that count toward academic credit are as follows:
- Any regular 5000-level lecture courses in the physics department, including PHYSICS 5970 Supervised Teaching of Physics and PHYSICS 5820 Research Seminar
- Courses outside of the Physics department, if approved by the student's advisor and the director of graduate studies
- Special topics courses, for which students should register: PHYSICS 5890/PHYSICS 5900
- Supervised research, for which students should register: PHYSICS 5930/PHYSICS 5940 (Supervised research may be used for a maximum of 6 units of academic credit.)
- Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
PhD Qualification: Course Requirements
For qualification, students must pass six core 5000-level physics courses. In those courses, the student must maintain an average of a B (3.0 GPA), with no more than one grade lower than B-. A given core course may be taken only once. If more than six core courses are taken, the GPA will be determined from the best six course grades.
Students must take the following four courses:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PHYSICS 5010 | Theoretical Physics | 3 |
| PHYSICS 5050 | Classical Electrodynamics | 3 |
| PHYSICS 5230 | Quantum Mechanics I | 3 |
| PHYSICS 5290 | Statistical Mechanics | 3 |
| Total Units | 12 | |
They must also take at least two of the following:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PHYSICS 5020 | Methods of Theoretical Physics | 3 |
| PHYSICS 5060 | Classical Electrodynamics II | 3 |
| PHYSICS 5070 | Classical Mechanics | 3 |
or PHYSICS 5090 | Nonlinear Dynamics | |
| PHYSICS 5240 | Quantum Mechanics II | 3 |
These requirements can be modified for students who have completed equivalent courses while working toward a master's degree in physics at other universities.
Qualifying Examinations
Progress toward the PhD is contingent upon the student passing examinations that are variously called preliminary, qualifying, general, comprehensive, or major field exams. The qualifying process varies according to the program. In some programs, it consists of a series of incremental, sequential, and cumulative exams over a considerable time. In others, the exams are held during a relatively short period of time. Exams may be replaced by one or more papers. The program, which determines the structure and schedule of the required examinations, is responsible for notifying the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, of the student’s outcome, whether successful or unsuccessful.
PhD Qualification: Oral Examination Requirement
To qualify, the student must give a presentation to a committee of three physics faculty members (i.e., the prospective research advisor and two others). The student should demonstrate a basic understanding of a major topic of current research in the selected area of study, chosen in consultation with the student’s prospective thesis advisor. One week before the oral exam, the student must prepare a written paper (approximately 1500-3000 words) summarizing the content of the presentation and give it to the committee. The student’s responses to questions raised by the examination committee are graded as adequate or not. Students have a chance to respond to inadequately answered questions in writing within 48 hours after the examination. The student is not allowed to receive assistance in preparing the written response from any other individuals. The answers should either be given in person to the chair of the examination committee or emailed to the chair as a PDF file so that it is time stamped. The committee will determine whether the written answers are sufficient.
The committee must be chosen and approved by the department chair by the beginning of a student's third semester. The oral examination should be taken by the beginning of a student's fourth semester. If the student fails the oral examination, they can take it again one additional time.
Teaching Requirements
These requirements must be completed before the student submits their doctoral dissertation to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences:
- Complete PHYSICS 5970: Graduate students are required to take PHYSICS 5970 Supervised Teaching of Physics. Students typically take this course during their first fall semester.
- Complete at least 20 units of mentored teaching experiences.
- Complete four hours of oral presentations: Graduate students must complete a total of four hours of specialized oral presentations. Examples of such presentations include teaching a class (e.g., when substituting for a professor); giving seminars, such as the weekly graduate seminar; or giving oral presentations at conferences, journal clubs, and the like.
Mentored Experience Requirements
Doctoral students at Washington University must complete a department-defined Mentored Experience. The Mentored Experience Requirement is a doctoral degree requirement that is notated on the student’s transcript when complete. Each department has an established Mentored Experience Implementation Plan in which the number of units that a student must earn through Mentored Teaching Experience(s) and/or Mentored Professional Experience(s) is defined. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plans outline how doctoral students within the discipline will be mentored to achieve competencies in teaching at basic and advanced levels. Some departments may elect to include Mentored Professional Experiences as an avenue for completing some units of the Mentored Experience Requirement. Doctoral students will enroll in ASGS 8005, 8010, or 8015 Mentored Teaching Experience - Assistant in Instruction; ASGS 8020 Mentored Teaching Experience - Mentored Independent Teaching; or ASGS 8120 Mentored Professional Experience to signify their progression toward completing the overall Mentored Experience Requirement for the degree.
The Doctoral Dissertation
A Research Advisory Committee (RAC) must be created no later than the end of the student's third year; departments may set shorter timelines (e.g., by the end of the student's second year) for this requirement. As evidence of the mastery of a specific field of knowledge and of the capacity for original scholarly work, each candidate must complete a dissertation that is approved by their RAC.
A Title, Scope & Procedure Form for the dissertation must be signed by the committee members and by the program chair. It must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, at least six months before the degree is expected to be conferred or before the beginning of the fifth year of full-time enrollment, whichever is earlier.
A Doctoral Dissertation Guide and a Dissertation Template that give instructions regarding the format of the dissertation are available on the website of the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Both should be read carefully at every stage of dissertation preparation.
The Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, requires each student to make the full text of the dissertation available to the committee members for their review at least one week before the defense. Most degree programs require two or more weeks for the review period; students should check with their faculty.
The Dissertation Defense
Approval of the written dissertation by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) is strongly recommended before the student can orally defend the dissertation. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee that examines the student during the defense consists of at least five members. Normally, the members of the RAC also serve on the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. The dissertation committee is then additionally augmented to ensure that the following criteria are met:
- Three of the five members (or a similar proportion of a larger committee) must be full-time Washington University in St. Louis faculty members or, for programs involving Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partners, full-time members of a Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partner institution. All members must be authorized to supervise PhD students and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study. One of these three members must be the PhD student's primary thesis advisor, and one may be a member of the emeritus faculty.
- All other committee members must be active in research/scholarship and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study whether at Washington University in St. Louis, at another university, in government, or in industry.
- At least one of the five members must bring expertise outside of the student's field of study to the committee, as judged by the relevant department/program and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
The approval processes outlined in the RAC section of the Doctoral Council bylaws also apply to the doctoral dissertation committee, including approval of each dissertation committee by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
The student is responsible for making the full text of the dissertation accessible to their committee members for their review in advance of the defense according to program rules. Washington University in St. Louis community members and guests of the student who are interested in the subject of the dissertation are normally welcome to attend all or part of the defense but may ask questions only at the discretion of the committee chair. Although there is some variation among degree programs, the defense ordinarily focuses on the dissertation itself and its relation to the student's field of expertise.
Attendance by a minimum of four members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, including the committee chair and an outside member, is required for the defense to take place. This provision is designed to permit the student's defense to proceed in case of a situation that unexpectedly prevents one of the five members from attending. Students should not plan in advance to only have four members in attendance. If four members cannot attend, the defense must be rescheduled. The absence of all outside members or of the committee chair also requires rescheduling the defense.
Students, with the support of their Doctoral Dissertation Committee chair, may opt to hold their dissertation defense in person or by utilizing a virtual or hybrid format.
Submission of the Dissertation
After the defense, the student must submit an electronic copy of the dissertation online to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. The submission website requires students to choose among publishing and copyrighting services offered by ProQuest’s ETD Administrator. Students are asked to submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates separately. The degree program is responsible for delivering the final approval form, signed by the committee members at the defense and then by the program chair or director, to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Students who defend their dissertations successfully have not yet completed their PhD requirements; they finish earning their degree only when their electronic dissertation submission has been accepted by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
Master's Degree Along the Way
- Complete 36 units of academic credit, maintaining an average grade of at least a B (3.0 GPA).
- Pass the PhD qualification procedure.
As part of their degree requirements, PhD students must complete a program-defined Mentored Experience Requirement (MER) as per these guidelines. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP) is the written articulation of a program-defined degree requirement for PhD students to engage in mentored teaching activities and/or mentored professional activities, collectively referred to as MERs.
Mentored Experience Requirements (MERs)
Philosophy of Teaching
The MER for the PhD in Physics consists of a Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs) as an Assistant in Instruction (AI). This requirement aligns with the goal of developing clear communication skills, both orally and in writing, which are essential for all physicists. We consider teaching preparation a vital component of learning effective communication. This encompasses various forms of teaching, including lecturing, individual instruction, leading and participating in discussions, and advocacy. Whether pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship, a teaching position, or a research role in industry or at a national laboratory, new PhD graduates will find that diverse teaching experiences are crucial for their success.
Preparatory Engagement
Preparatory Engagement activities are those that represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication. Pedagogical preparation engagement activities are normally completed before students are permitted to engage in assisting or teaching in a classroom.
Two preparatory activities are required:
- Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Graduate Student Mentored Teaching Orientation: Students are required to attend the graduate student mentored teaching workshops offered by the CTL during orientation week. This orientation will familiarize students with their instructional roles as an AIs and with essential policies relating to teaching at WashU. This includes, in particular, instruction on Title IX policies, emergency preparedness, and what assistants in instruction can do to maintain a fair, safe, and inclusive environment for teaching and learning.
- Departmental Introduction to Teaching: A department led introduction to teaching will likewise be held during orientation week and further emphasize more discipline-centered topics such as different learning styles of physics students and/or AI responsibilities within the physics department.
Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs)
Assistant in Instruction (AI)
An Assistant in Instruction (AI) is a PhD student who is directly engaged in the organization, instruction, and/or support of a semester-long course primarily taught by a faculty member. An AI receives mentorship from a faculty member related to best practices in classroom engagement, instruction in the field, interpersonal engagement, and other relevant skills. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each AI experience. To complete each AI assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for course numbers and details.
After completion of the Preparatory Engagement activities, graduate students engage in AI for 20 total MER units. There are a variety of classes available, and every effort is made to match graduate student interests and abilities to their AI assignment.
AI tasks associated class will be worth 5, 10, or 15 MER units, dependent upon their assignment and required tasks. AIs for 10 MER units are typical, but some classes will have multiple AIs assigned for 5 MER units. Introductory labs (two sections per week) offer the most contact time (15 MER units). Advanced labs and leadership in the introductory labs require outstanding skills and a substantial commitment to physics teaching.
In addition to grading and discussing homework solutions with the lecturer, the AIs involve the following tasks:
- Maintaining office hours
- Leading help sessions
- Preparing homework assignments and solution sets
Moreover, during an AI, students are also encouraged to present a lecture in the class with which they are connected.
Required Pathways for Completion
Students work with their faculty mentor and their Director of Graduate Studies to plan how and when they will complete their MERs. Students register during the normal registration period for courses in accordance with one of these approved pathways.
Students typically engage in AIs during their second and third semesters.
Pathway #1
| ASGS 8005 | Take one time |
| ASGS 8015 | Take one time |
Pathway #2
| ASGS 8010 | Take two times |