Physics

[ undergraduate program | courses | faculty ]

Department of Physics
Graduate Student Affairs:
Mayer Hall Addition, Room 2623

http://physics.ucsd.edu

All courses, faculty listings, and curricular and degree requirements described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice.

The Graduate Program

The Department of Physics offers flexible PhD programs designed to provide a comprehensive, advanced education in physics while allowing students to tailor their studies to their specific interests. The programs combine graduate-level course work, research apprenticeships, teaching experience, and thesis research. The department offers curricula leading to the following degrees:

PhD, Physics (PY76)

PhD, Physics (Biophysics) (PY75)

Overall Entrance Requirements, Testing, and Advising

Entering graduate students are required to have a sound knowledge of undergraduate mechanics, electricity, and magnetism; to have had senior courses or their equivalent in atomic and quantum physics, nuclear physics, and thermodynamics; and to have taken upper-division laboratory work. An introductory course in solid-state physics is desirable.

Entering graduate students are assigned a faculty adviser to guide them in their program. Many students are supported as teaching assistants for the first year, beginning apprentice research toward the end of their first year. Prior to establishing a research adviser, assigned faculty advisers will conduct an annual progress review for each student. When a student’s association with a research area and research supervisor is well established, the research supervisor will conduct the annual research review. Students are expected to be settled with a research group by the middle of their second year of graduate study. At that point, students proceed to complete the departmental candidacy requirements and begin their thesis research. There is no foreign language requirement.

Entering graduate students must take an entrance diagnostic exam on undergraduate physics. The exam will cover mechanics, electricity and magnetism, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics and mathematical methods. Students who are found to have serious weaknesses in preparation will be directed to enroll in appropriate undergraduate upper-division courses.

Doctoral Degree Program in Physics (PY76)

Requirements for the Physics PhD

Students are required to pass core courses, advanced graduate courses, teaching requirement, PhD candidacy examination, and a final defense of the thesis as described below.

1. Core Courses for Qualification

Physics students are required to take seven core courses, earning a letter grade of B or better:

• PHYS 200A. Theoretical Mechanics I
• PHYS 201. Mathematical Methods for Physics
• PHYS 203A-B. Advanced Classical Electrodynamics I and II
• PHYS 210A. Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics
• PHYS 212A-B. Quantum Mechanics I and II

Students are expected to complete these courses by the end of their first year with the requisite grades but will be given up to two years. A department qualification committee will review all students and recommend corrective measures for students who do not meet the course grade standards. Students who do not qualify after two years may be asked to leave the program.

The university requires an annual evaluation of each graduate student’s progress toward PhD candidacy and thesis defense in spring quarter. These annual spring evaluations are to be conducted by a student’s assigned adviser until a research supervisor is well established. After advancing to candidacy, spring evaluations must be conducted by at least three members of the doctoral committee.

2. Advanced Graduate Courses for Qualification

Students are required to take three advanced graduate courses from at least two of the groups listed below. Students may petition for other STEM field classes to count as advanced graduate courses. Students shall complete the advanced courses no later than the end of the third year of graduate work, earning a letter grade of B or better.

• Group 1: Plasma
• Group 2: Condensed Matter
• Group 3: Particle Physics/High Energy
• Group 4: Mathematics
• Group 5: Biophysics
• Group 6: Astrophysics
• Group 7: General
• Group 8: Computational

3. PhD Candidacy Examination

In order to be advanced to candidacy, students must have met the departmental requirements and obtained a faculty research supervisor. At the time of application for advancement to candidacy, a doctoral committee responsible for the remainder of the student’s graduate program is appointed by the dean of the Graduate Division. The candidacy committee shall be chaired by a physics department faculty member other than the student’s adviser. The committee chair is responsible for the conduct of the examination and for reporting the result. The committee chair shall be chosen by the student and the adviser, subject to approval by the vice chair of graduate education.

The committee conducts the PhD qualifying examination during which students must demonstrate the ability to engage in thesis research. This involves the presentation of a plan for the thesis research project. As part of the procedure for advancement to candidacy, the student shall present a paper (no more than fifteen pages, including figures and bibliography) to the committee, no less than two weeks prior to the date of the candidacy exam. The paper shall consist of three sections:

1. A comprehensive introduction to the proposed thesis topic. This introduction should be accessible to any physicist and is not intended for topical specialists.
2. A description of research work and results completed so far. Relevant published or submitted work by the student may be reused for this section.
3. A description of the planned work that will be done to complete the thesis.

The committee may ask questions directly or indirectly related to the project and questions on general physics which it determines to be relevant.

4. Instruction in Physics Teaching

All graduate students are required to participate in the physics undergraduate teaching program as part of their career training. The main component of this requirement is an evaluated classroom-based teaching activity. All graduate student teaching accomplishments are subject to the approval of the vice chair for education. There are several ways to satisfy the teaching requirement, including: (1) leading discussions as a teaching assistant, (2) practical classroom teaching, under faculty supervision, (3) participation in an approved teaching development program offered by the Department of Physics or the campus Center for Engaged Teaching, or (4) transferred teaching credit from another institution or department. Students who satisfy the requirement by teaching at UC San Diego should enroll in PHYS 500 in the fall quarter during or prior to which they complete it.

5. Thesis Defense

When students have completed their theses, they are asked to present and defend them before their doctoral committees.

Time Limits for Progress to the PhD

In accordance with university policy, the Department of Physics has established the following time limits for progress to the PhD. A student’s research progress committee helps ensure that these time limits are met.

	Theorists	Experimentalists
Advancement to Candidacy	three years	three years
Total Registered Time and Support	seven years	eight years

Supplemental Master’s Degree

Students may choose to pursue a master’s degree en route to the PhD or may choose to leave with a terminal MS. Requirements for the master of science degree can be met according to Plan I (master’s thesis) or Plan II (comprehensive examination). (See “Graduate Studies: Master’s Degrees.”) For Plan II, the comprehensive examination is an oral exam. A list of acceptable courses is available on the department website.

Specialization in Computational Neuroscience (PY82)

The neuroscience graduate program, Department of Physics, and Department of Bioengineering offer a specialization in computational neuroscience. Students from these departments or program that pursue the computational neuroscience specialization are trained in the broad range of scientific and technical skills essential to understand the computational and theoretical basis of neural systems. Students in this specialization will be required to fulfill all of the academic requirements for a doctoral degree in their home department or program and must successfully complete a set of three core computational courses, any other course work as directed by the computational neuroscience committee, and successfully defend a thesis on an approved topic.

Computational Neurosciences Specialization Courses

1. BGGN 260/PHYS 279/BENG 260 (Neurodynamics)
2. PHYS 278 (Biophysical Basis of Neuronal Dynamics)
3. COGS 260 (Algorithms for the Analysis of Neural Data)

Specialization in Computational Science (PY79)

See “PhD in Mathematics with Specialization in Computational Science” for more information.

This PhD specialization is designed to allow students to obtain training in their chosen field of science, mathematics, or engineering with additional training in computational science integrated into their graduate studies. Prospective students must apply and be admitted into the PhD program in physics, and then be admitted to the CSME program.

Areas of research in the Department of Physics will include computational astrophysics and cosmology (studying star formation and the large-scale structure of the universe), computational condensed matter physics (studying nanodevices), computational quantum field theory (studying the four basic forces of nature), computational biological physics (protein folding and other biologically important complex structures), computational nonlinear dynamics, and computational plasma physics. Each faculty member works with graduate students on the listed research topics.

The specialization in computational science requires that students complete all home requirements for the physics PhD degree. Students are required to pass the core courses with requisite grades for qualification, advanced course requirements, PhD candidacy examination, teaching requirement, and a final defense of the thesis. The qualifying and elective courses for the CSME program (e.g., PHYS 241–244) can be used as part of the advanced course requirement, which is the same as for the physics PhD.

Qualifying Requirements

In addition to the home department qualifying exam requirements, PhD students must take the final exams in three qualifying exam courses from the list below. Courses taken to satisfy the qualifying requirements will not count toward the elective requirements.

1. MATH 275 or MAE 290B (Numerical PDEs)
2. PHYS 244 or CSE 260 (Parallel Computing)
3. One course to be selected from List A

List A: CSME Qualifying Exam Courses

1. PHYS 243 (Stochastic Methods)
2. MATH 270A, B, or C (Numerical Analysis)
3. MATH 272A, B, or C (Advanced Numerical PDEs)
4. MAE 223 (Computational Fluid Dynamics)
5. MAE 232A or B (Computational Solid Mechanics)
6. MAE 280A or B (Linear Systems Theory)
7. To be determined by executive committee

Elective Requirements

To encourage PhD students to both broaden themselves in an area of science or engineering as well as to obtain more specialized training in specific areas of computational science, students will be required to take and pass three elective courses from the following approved List B (four units per course). The executive committee may approve the use of courses not appearing on the following list on a case-by-case basis. Courses taken to satisfy the elective requirements will not count toward the qualifying requirements.

List B: Relevant Elective Graduate Courses in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering

1. MATH 270A-B-C (Numerical Analysis; not permitted for mathematics students)
2. MATH 271A-B-C (Optimization)
3. MATH 272A-B-C (Advanced Numerical PDEs)
4. MATH 273A-B-C (Computational Mathematics Project)
5. PHYS 241 (Computational Physics I)
6. PHYS 242 (Computational Physics II)
7. PHYS 221A-B (Nonlinear Dynamics)
8. CHEM 215 (Modeling Biological Macromolecules)
9. BGGN 260/PHYS 279/BENG 260 (Neurodynamics)
10. To be determined by executive committee

Program Policies

 The following is a list of policies for the PhD specialization with regard to proficiency, qualifying, and elective requirements:

1. Proficiency in computer engineering must be demonstrated by the end of the first year.
2. The qualifying exams must be passed by the end of the second year, or, on petition, by end of the third year.
3. The qualifying exams can be attempted repeatedly but no more than once per quarter per subject.
4. The qualifying exams in the home department and the CSME qualifying exams must all be passed before the student is permitted to take the candidacy (senate) exam.
5. Two electives outside the home department must be taken.
6. The two electives can be taken at any time before defending the thesis.
7. One of the electives may be taken S/U; the other must be taken for a letter grade.

Recommended Schedule

YEAR 1: PHYSICS CORE COURSES
PHYS 200A	PHYS 203A	PHYS 203B
PHYS 201	PHYS 212B	PHYS 210A
PHYS 212A
YEAR 2: CSME QUALIFYING COURSES
MATH 275	Non-Physics Elective	PHYS 244
PHYS 243	Adv Physics Course	Adv Physics Course
YEAR 3: CSME ELECTIVE COURSES
Non-Physics Elective	PHYS 241	PHYS 242

Specialization in Quantitative Biology (PY81)

A specialization in quantitative biology spanning four schools—biological sciences, physical sciences, Jacobs School of Engineering, and health sciences—is available to doctoral candidates in physics. This PhD specialization is designed to train students to develop and apply quantitative theoretical and experimental approaches to studying fundamental principles of living systems. The core of this specialization comprises one year of theory courses and one year of lab courses, most of which can be counted toward satisfying physics elective requirements. For more information, students should see the quantitative biology (qBio) website.

Requirements

1. Take required courses
2. Attend weekly seminars and participate in other qBio events
3. Pass qualifying exam and thesis requirements (according to rules set by the home department)

Doctoral Degree Program in Physics (Biophysics) (PY75)

The Department of Physics offers a graduate program which prepares students for a career in biophysics and that leads to a PhD in physics (biophysics). The physics (biophysics) PhD program consists of graduate courses, apprenticeship in research, teaching experience, and thesis research. Research in biophysics is being actively pursued in several departments (physics, chemistry/biochemistry, and biology) that also offer courses in, or courses relevant to, biophysics.

Requirements for the Physics (Biophysics) PhD

Students are required to pass core courses, advanced graduate courses, teaching requirements, PhD candidacy examination, and a final defense of the thesis as described below.

1. Physics (Biophysics) Core Courses for Qualification

Physics (biophysics) students are required to take seven core courses earning a letter grade of B or better:

• PHYS 200A. Theoretical Mechanics I
• PHYS 201. Mathematical Methods for Physics
• PHYS 203A-B. Advanced Classical Electrodynamics I and II
• PHYS 210A. Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics
• PHYS 212A-B. Quantum Mechanics I and II

Physics (biophysics) PhD students will be expected to complete these courses by the end of their second year with the requisite grades, but will be given an additional year if necessary.

The university requires an annual evaluation of each graduate student’s progress toward physics (biophysics) PhD candidacy and thesis defense in spring quarter. These annual spring evaluations are to be conducted by a student’s assigned adviser until a research supervisor is well established. After advancing to candidacy, spring evaluations must be conducted by at least three members of the doctoral committee.

2. Physics (Biophysics) Advanced Graduate Courses for Qualification

Students enrolled in the physics (biophysics) PhD program select three graduate courses from biology, biochemistry, chemistry, or physics in consultation with their adviser. Students shall complete the advanced courses no later than the end of the third year of graduate work, with a grade of B or better. Students may petition for other STEM field classes to count as advanced graduate courses. 

3. Physics (Biophysics) PhD Candidacy Examination

In order to be advanced to candidacy, students must have met the departmental requirements and obtained a faculty research supervisor. At the time of application for advancement to candidacy, a doctoral committee responsible for the remainder of the student’s graduate program is appointed by the dean of the Graduate Division. The candidacy committee shall be chaired by a physics department faculty member other than the student’s adviser. The committee chair is responsible for the conduct of the examination and for reporting the result. The committee chair shall be chosen by the student and the adviser, subject to approval by the vice chair of graduate education. In particular, conflicts of interest shall be avoided in choosing the committee chair.

The committee conducts the physics (biophysics) PhD qualifying examination during which students must demonstrate the ability to engage in thesis research. This involves the presentation of a plan for the thesis research project. As part of the procedure for advancement to candidacy, the student shall present a substantial paper (no more than fifteen pages, including figures and bibliography) to the committee, no less than two weeks prior to the date of the candidacy exam. The paper shall consist of three sections:

The committee may ask questions directly or indirectly related to the project and questions on general physics which it determines to be relevant.

4. Physics (Biophysics) Instruction in Physics Teaching

All graduate students are required to participate in the physics undergraduate teaching program as part of their career training. The main component of this requirement is an evaluated classroom-based teaching activity. All graduate student teaching accomplishments are subject to the approval of the vice chair for education. There are several ways to satisfy the teaching requirement, including: (1) leading discussions as a teaching assistant, (2) practical classroom teaching under faculty supervision, (3) participation in an approved teaching development program offered by the Department of Physics or the campus Center for Engaged Teaching, or (4) transferred teaching credit from another institution or department. Students who satisfy the requirement by teaching at UC San Diego should enroll in PHYS 500 in the fall quarter during or prior to which they complete it.

5. Physics (Biophysics) Thesis Defense

When students have completed their theses, they are asked to present and defend them before their doctoral committees.

Time Limits for Progress to the PhD

In accordance with university policy, the Department of Physics has established the following time limits for progress to the PhD. A student’s research progress committee helps ensure that these time limits are met.

	Theorists	Experimentalists
Advancement to Candidacy	three years	three years
Total Registered Time and Support	seven years	eight years

Supplemental Master’s Degree

Physics (biophysics) students may choose to pursue a master’s degree in physics en route to the PhD in physics (biophysics) or may choose to leave with a terminal MS in physics. Requirements for the master of science degree can be met according to Plan I (master’s thesis) or Plan II (comprehensive examination). (See “Graduate Studies: Master’s Degrees.”) For Plan II, the comprehensive examination is an oral exam. A list of acceptable courses is available in the Department of Physics Graduate Student Affairs office.

Departmental Colloquium

The department offers a weekly colloquium on topics of current interest in physics and on departmental research programs. Students are expected to register and attend the colloquium.

Supplementary Course Work and Seminars

The department offers regular seminars in several areas of current interest. Students are strongly urged to enroll for credit in seminars related to their research interests and, when appropriate, to enroll in advanced graduate courses beyond the departmental requirement. To help beginning students choose a research area and a research supervisor, the department offers a special seminar (PHYS 261) that surveys physics research at UC San Diego.