The third and subsequent years are dominated by research activities, which will conclude with the writing of a thesis. The average time for completing a Ph.D. in our School is about 6 to 7 years. The precise duration depends on many factors, including preparation, perseverance, and sometimes factors outside of your control.

You can consult a complete guide to degree completion steps. Or a briefer, step by step description.

Students are required to pass the preliminary oral examination before the end of the third year in our program. See the document on process and policies.

Graduate students in the School of Physics and Astronomy who have been accepted as speakers or as poster presenters at a conference or meeting are eligible for partial travel support. Consult the requirements and instructions to apply.

During the last year of graduate study, you are eligible to apply for a Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship awarded by the Graduate School in a University-wide competition . The Fellowship is meant to support the last year of research before graduation, and are generally awarded to students with both a good academic background and significant research accomplishments. Deadlines for application are typically in February of the year before the academic year of your expected graduation. Typically the first step in the process is an internal School competition, followed by nomination to the Graduate School if selected.

The Ph.D. thesis represents the capstone of your graduate student career. It begins with the preparation of a dissertation, a written document summarizing your original research while in our program. You can find a template on Overleaf to prepare the document in LaTeX. The template can also be downloaded from GitHub. The templates conform with the official University guidelines which you may want to consult if you do not use the templates.

A dissertation committee needs to be set up by the student in consultation with the adviser, with a composition determined by University policy. The thesis defense date and time is scheduled by the student, in consultation with the adviser and the committee members following these steps. When the defense is formally scheduled, the names of the committee members are entered by the student into the scheduling online interface. The composition of the committee is then approved by the adviser and by the Director of Graduate Studies. Note that the adviser cannot serve as the chair of the Thesis Defense Committee (SPA policy).

In the online form, you will also designate at least three reviewers for the thesis, who will need to approve it as being ready for defense before the Graduate School will schedule your final defense. Two of the reviewers must be faculty in the Physics graduate program (and one of them can be the adviser). The third reviewer must be a committee member from outside physics. Complete copies of the dissertation should be given to the thesis reviewers at least three weeks before the public defense. A Thesis Reviewer's Report form must be submitted online by the thesis reviewers at least one week before the thesis defense is scheduled. The thesis should also be given to the other committee members at least two weeks prior to the defense.

The thesis defense consists of public and private parts. The public portion is a one hour lecture. 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. Following the lecture, 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 a vote. For a pass, there must be no more than one dissenting vote.

Following the defense, the examining committee may request modifications to the dissertation. When all changes are complete, your adviser will sign a form certifying that the dissertation fulfills all the requirements for the degree. This document, and a final copy of the dissertation, must be deposited with the Graduate School. The detailed steps are given here.

The Graduate School permits an opportunity to graduate any 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 completed, 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.