The second year of graduate school is a transitional period between the coursework and the beginning of a research career. M.Sc. degree students should finish by the end of this year. Ph.D. students should complete the following by the end of the second year: pass the GWE, find a thesis advisor, start preparing for the oral exam, finish the required coursework except for a few advanced topics courses, and start on the thesis research. During the third and subsequent years, research will occupy most if not all your time.

A Graduate Degree Plan is required for both M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. It is formally stated on a form available online http://policy.umn.edu/forms/otr/otr198.pdf. For M.Sc. degree candidates, the form should be submitted after completion of 10 credits. For Ph.D. degree candidates the form should be submitted at least two weeks before the Preliminary Oral Examination. The Graduate Degree Plan lists all the courses that students have taken and will take for the degree. Courses must also be identified as to whether they satisfy the major or minor requirements. Any transfer courses from other graduate institutions should also be listed on the Graduate Degree Plan Form, and it is at this point that they become part of the student official graduate record at the University of Minnesota. When the form is completed, it must be signed by the adviser and the Director of Graduate Studies, and then submitted to the Graduate School. If there is a designated minor (outside physics), the form must also be signed by the Director of Graduate Studies for the minor field.

This list of program courses must satisfy the degree requirements listed in Chapters 4 and 5. In general, there is no need to list any courses in excess of the minimum requirements for a given degree. Substituting or deleting courses listed on the form requires submitting a revised Graduate Degree Plan form to the Graduate School that must be first signed by the adviser and the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Preliminary Oral Examination is the last exam that needs to be passed before the student is formally admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. The exam must taken by all Ph.D. students before the end of the third year. The goal of the exam is to determine whether a student has acquired enough knowledge to begin productive thesis-level research. The exam includes an oral defense of a thesis prospectus, with demonstration that the student has a reasonable plan for the thesis, as well as general knowledge of physics principles pertinent to the chosen field of research.

A Preliminary Oral Examination committee needs to be set up by the adviser, which has to be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. The committee consists of four members, three from Physics and one from outside Physics (for example, MIfA, EECS, CEMS, etc.). If there is a minor, the outside member should be from the minor field. Beside the adviser, there should be both an experimental and a theoretical faculty member in the student's subfield of physics.

After passing the oral exam, a student is eligible to take Ph.D. thesis credits (PHYS 8888). 24 of these credits are required for the Ph.D. degree. These should be taken immediately beginning the semester after passing the oral, up to the 14 credit limit per semester. Once these credits are completed, the student is considered to be “All But Dissertation” (ABD).

Detailed policies pertaining to the Preliminary Oral Examination are given in the Physics Graduate Policies. later Additional advice is given in the advice from the DGS section.

The Thesis Defense Committee will be appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with the student and the adviser. This Committee is often the same as the Preliminary Oral Exam Committee, but it need not be. The adviser can not be the chair of the Thesis Defense Committee. The Director of Graduate Studies will designate 3 reviewers for the thesis, who will need to approve the thesis as being ready for defense before the Graduate School will schedule your final defense. Usually, the adviser will be one of these reviewers. The Committee member from outside physics must be a thesis reviewer.

Before starting, students should review the Graduate School thesis format rules. They should look at other theses, particularly those in the same specialty area, to get an idea of how theses are organized. Note that many students have developed electronic templates and packages to format the thesis.

Before the thesis defense students must request a Graduation Packet. Requests for a Graduation Packet can be made up to one semester before the thesis defense. Included in the packet are the Thesis Reviewer's Report, Application for Degree, and Preparing Doctoral Dissertation. Complete copies of the thesis should be given to the thesis reviewers at least three weeks before the defense. The Thesis Reviewer's Report form must be signed by the thesis reviewers at least one week before the thesis defense is scheduled. After the reviewers sign the form, the student should give a copy of the thesis to all remaining members of the Committee. This should be at least one week before the defense.

The thesis defense consists of a public and a private portion. The public portion is a one hour seminar. Because the thesis presentation is required to be public by the University, the time and place of the thesis defense must be announced in the weekly departmental calendar. It is the student responsibility to make sure that this announcement is made. After the seminar, there will be an opportunity for questions from anyone in attendance. Next, the Committee will have an opportunity to privately question the student about the thesis. At this time, generally, only questions about the thesis and related subjects are asked. Finally, the Committee will excuse the student and take its vote. For a pass, there must be no more than one dissenting vote.

The Graduate School permits an opportunity to graduate each month of the year. If the Graduate Application for Degree form is submitted by the end of the first business day of the month, the student will graduate as of that month provided all other requirements are complete and all forms are in the Graduate School office by the end of the last business day of the month. Otherwise, the date of the degree will be delayed until the month in which all the requirements are completed.

Core Courses - Required

5001: Quantum Mechanics I

5002: Quantum Mechanics II

5011: Classical Physics I

5012: Classical Physics II

5201: Thermal and Statistical Mechanics

5072: Best Practices in College Physics Teachings - 2 semesters (required to be a TA)

Atomic Physics and Optics

4711: Introduction to Optics

8161: Atomic and Molecular Structure

Biophysics and Medical Physics

5081: Introduction to Biopolymer Physics

5401: Physiological Physics

5402: Radiological Physics

8311: Biological Physics of Single Molecules

8312: Biological Physics of Macroscopic Systems

8300: Biological and Medical Physics Seminar

Condensed Matter Physics

4211: Introduction to Solid State Physics

5701: Solid State Physics for Engineers and Scientists

5702: Solid State Physics for Engineers and Scientists

8702: Statistical Mechanics and Transport Theory

8711: Solid State Physics I

8712: Solid State Physics II

8750: Advanced Topics in Condensed Matter Physics

8700: Condensed Matter Physics Seminar

Elementary Particle Physics

4511: Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics

8011: Quantum Field Theory I

8012: Quantum Field Theory II

8013: Special Topics in Quantum Field Theory

8901: Elementary Particle Physics I

8902: Elementary Particle Physics II

8911: Introduction to Supersymmetry

8950: Advanced Topics in Elementary Particle Physics

8900: Seminar: Elementary Particle Physics

Mathematical, Advanced Quantum, and Computational Physics

5041: Analytical and Numerical Methods of Physics I

5042: Analytical and Numerical Methods of Physics II

8001: Advanced Quantum Mechanics

8301: Symmetry and its Application to Physical Problems

Nuclear Physics

4511: Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics

8801: Nuclear Physics I

8802: Nuclear Physics II

8850: Advanced Topics in Nuclear Physics

8800: Seminar: Nuclear Physics

Plasma and Space Physics

4611: Introduction to Space Physics

4621: Introduction to Plasma Physics

8601: Plasma Physics I

8602: Plasma Physics II

8611: Cosmic Rays and Plasma Astrophysics

8650: Advanced Topics in Space and Plasma Physics

8600: Seminar: Space Physics

Relativity and Cosmology

5022: Relativity, Cosmology, and the Universe

8501: General Relativity and Cosmology I

8502: General Relativity and Cosmology II

8200: Seminar: Cosmology and Astrophysics

Physics Education

8100: Seminar: Problems of Physics Teaching and Higher Education

Typical course programs for various sub-fields can be found here.

Typical courses for first year students were discussed in the previous section. In the succeeding years, the selection of courses will depend on the student's research field and on whether the student is a theorist or experimentalist. Some of these courses are not offered every year. By the second year a student should be regularly attending the chosen research group's seminars. After 24-28 credits of course work during the first year, another 12-16 credits are required for the Ph.D. program. Since most of the 8xxx classes are 3 credits, 4 to 6 such courses, along with the group seminar, will be needed.