This section described the policies of the School of Physics and Astronomy concerning Physics graduate students.

The oversight of the graduate program in Physics has been delegated by the Physics Graduate Faculty to the Graduate Education Committee. The Director of Graduate Studies acts as an ex-officio member of the Graduate Education Committee. Requests for exceptions to the stated policies, or suggestions for policy changes should be directed to the Graduate Education Committee either through its Chair, or through the Director of Graduate Studies. The Committee will consider such requests and suggestions and either take action itself or, as necessary, forward them with a recommendation to the Physics Graduate Faculty for action.

(Revision April 2024)

Graduate students in physics will be considered to be making satisfactory academic progress in the Physics Graduate Program when they satisfy the following criteria, as documented in the Annual Progress Review form provided by the School. Exceptions to these policies in extreme situations must be approved by the DGS.

First Year:

• Students should complete the core courses (5001/2, 5011/2, 5201) with at least a 3.0 GPA.
• Students must take the “Introduction to Research” seminar. [Note: they are encouraged to also attend the Colloquium and group seminars]
• If students want to receive summer support from the School, they must find a research advisor within the School to guide their research.
• Students must take the GWE at the end of their first year.

Note 1: Students who do not maintain the minimum GPA or who have not passed the GWE will receive an official warning letter from the department that instructs them to find an advisor for either a Plan A or Plan B Master’s program. These warnings will go out in the middle of June, after the GWE results are determined. Students who are warned must find a research advisor for the M.S. by the end of the summer after their first year.

Second Year:

• Students who have passed the GWE should have found a research advisor for their Ph.D. research.
• Students should be taking 8xxx level courses in their sub-fields and must maintain a 3.0 GPA.
• By the end of the second year, students must have a research advisor.
• Students must pass the GWE by the end of the second year.

Note 2: Students who have passed the GWE in their first year are strongly encouraged to take the oral exam by the end of the second year.

Third Year and beyond:

• Students must pass the oral exam by the end of the 2nd semester of their third year. (See note 2 above)
• Students must have completed their course work with at least a 3.0 GPA.
• In the third year and beyond, students must show progress toward their Ph.D. by making an annual presentation on their research in a format that may depend on their research area, for example by giving a talk in their group seminar.

Additional requirements, and University wide time limits:

1. The financial aid resources of the School of Physics and Astronomy consist of teaching assistantships (“TA appointments”), research assistantships (“RA appointments”), Graduate School Fellowships awarded to the School for stipends and tuition, and a few Endowed Graduate Fellowships. RA appointments are granted by individual faculty members supported by research funds, and are subject only to review by the School Head. Such appointments are contingent on the availability of research funds. Other appointments are made by the Director of Undergraduate Studies (TA appointments), or faculty committees acting through the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). They are all reviewed by the School Head. From time to time, the School may nominate students for various other awards. These recommendations are made on a merit basis, and are subject to the policies of the particular award.

2. It is the policy of the School to support all graduate students making satisfactory academic progress on a 1/2 time basis. However, the resources available to the School may not permit such support in all cases. Thus, the School will generally allocate the available resources according to the policies specified here.

3. Except in unusual cases, financial support for entering graduate students who do not receive fellowships will be in the form of a 1/2 time TA appointment. The TA appointment will be renewed for a second year subject to satisfactory academic progress by the student, and satisfactory performance of the required TA duties. Satisfactory academic progress does not require passing the graduate written examination during the first year. Graduate students who enter the program without financial aid, but who pass the graduate written examination will be treated in succeeding years as if they had entered with a 1/2 time TA appointment.

4. Students who are offered TA appointments will be generally notified by early February of the year commencing their studies, and will be required to accept or reject them in writing by April 15 (the University of Minnesota is a signatory to the April 15 Resolution). Once accepted, the TA appointment is considered a commitment by the student for the term of the appointment. Students may be released from their TA responsibilities in the event of an equivalent RA appointment or for other reasons if approved in advance by the DGS. Such consent will only be given when it is possible to find a replacement.

5. Some TA positions will be awarded for the summer session. Applications are generally solicited during Spring Semester. Priority will be given to current TA's who do not have summer research support.

6. Graduate students in their third through fifth years and making good progress towards their Ph.D. may receive a 1/4 or 1/2 time TA appointment if requested by their adviser in advance of the term and approved by the Head of the School. Such students must have passed the graduate written examination and, for students in their fourth year and beyond, also the oral examination. Students in their forth year or beyond must have an annual evaluation of progress conducted by their oral exam committee, and a report issued to the DGS attesting to their satisfactory progress.

7. The total of the TA, grading and RA appointments for any student may not exceed a 50 percent appointment, unless a higher limit is approved by the adviser, the DGS, and the Head of the School. (International students may not exceed the equivalent of a 50 percent appointment during the academic year.)

Students holding TA or RA appointments are eligible for a tuition waiver equal to twice the percentage of their appointment. Thus, a 1/2 time TA or RA is eligible for a full tuition waiver, and a 1/4 time TA or RA is eligible for a half tuition waiver. A full tuition waiver entitles the student to take up to 14 credits of graduate courses in a semester. Students that receive fellowships do not get a tuition waiver but, if the fellowship award includes funding for tuition, an internal billing form will be submitted to the Student Financial Aid Office to pay for any tuition not waived as part of a TA or RA appointment. Fellowship tuition awards and waivers generally do not cover Collegiate, Student Services, or other fees that may be assessed by the University.

Tuition cost is based on residence. The tuition for Minnesota residents is approximately half the tuition for non-residents. The key aspect is that any graduate student with a 1/4 time appointment or more as either a TA or an RA is considered a resident for each semester in which such appointment is held. This resident tuition status also applies to members of the student's immediate family. For a student holding an appointment for two consecutive semesters, the resident tuition period extends up to four semesters beyond the term of appointment.

After passing the preliminary oral exam, the student should begin taking thesis credits. After completing the oral exam and 24 thesis credits, the student is eligible for ABD (“All But Dissertation”) status. Upon attaining ABD status, the student registers for one credit of Phys 8444 per semester. Such a registration is necessary for student loan deferment and, for international students, to satisfy visa requirements.

Note that if you register for any other course while on ABD status, you will need to personally pay the tuition fee.

Our program allows formal leave of absence requests for medical or personal issues. It is also possible to take some time away from School activities by registering for “GRAD 999” for no credit (up to 4 semesters). This possibility is open only to US citizens and permanent residents who can maintain “active” student status with the Graduate School in this way. This option does not require a tuition payment, but it does not allow graduate assistant employment nor does it provide health insurance coverage. This option is not possible for non-US citizens because they are required to maintain “full time” status for visa purposes. There is instead a “Reduced Course Load” form provided by ISSS for International Students who wish to register for GRAD 999.

Graduate students ­do not register in the summer, except as follows:

You might register in the Summer if you have passed the preliminary oral, have an RA appointment for the Summer term, and only need to complete the required 24 thesis credits to become ABD. Thesis credits need to be taken over two semesters which can in principle include the shorter Summer term as one of the two semesters. If you are in this situation, then your adviser and Ginny Olson need to look at your specific situation and available funds to decide if it would be advantageous for you to take some of those credits in the Summer term, and get you to ABD status a semester earlier.

Important: If it is determined that you should take thesis credits in the Summer term, then the office must be informed sometime in May. The specific deadline changes year to year depending on the appointment calendar, but it is generally around the middle of May. Failure to do so, may result in you being responsible for the entire tuition bill. Retroactive summer registration (e.g., June, July, August) is NOT allowed as all tuition payments are tied to the type of payroll appointment a person has for the Summer, as entered into the system in May.

All summer fellowship recipients must take 1 credit of Directed Research, PHYS 5994, if they have not attained ABD status. This includes all first-year students who receive departmental fellowships, all recipients of NSF, NASA, and the named fellowships like the Burlaga, Goldman, Greiling, Larkin, Hoff Lu, Pepin, and Voloshin, and all NSF-NRT students.

If a summer fellowship recipient has attained ABD status they must take 1 credit of Phys 8444. This includes all recipients of NSF, NASA, and the named fellowships like the Burlaga, Goldman, Greiling, Larkin, Hoff Lu, Pepin, and Voloshin.

Registration is mandatory and failure to register for the 1 credit may result in your fellowship being terminated by the University. If you have a fellowship that is awarded through another unit, e.g. the Medical School, Dentistry, etc, you must contact them about the registration issue and payment.

In the Summer term, students are subject to Medicare and Social Security taxes. The current combined rate in 2020 (FICA) is 7.65% of gross pay. You will revert back to not paying those taxes in the Fall term when classes start.

If you were paid as a 50% time RA or TA during the academic year, your health insurance will automatically continue through the Summer.

If you received a fellowship during the academic year, then you may receive a bill for your Summer health insurance; should that occur, please e-mail the office so that we can arrange payment from the fellowship that paid you during the academic year.

1. The Graduate Written Examination (GWE) will be prepared and administered by a faculty committee especially designated for this task. The GWE Committee will assign the grades and make recommendations concerning the passing requirements to the Physics Graduate Faculty. The Faculty will make the final determination of the threshold score for students to pass the examination.

2. The general criterion for passing the exam is to demonstrate a strong and comprehensive knowledge of undergraduate physics at a level similar to the one taught to undergraduates at the University of Minnesota. To pass, students should demonstrate a broad range of knowledge in the core subjects of classical dynamics, electricity and magnetism, thermal and statistical physics and quantum mechanics. Students are expected to be able to apply their knowledge to solving explicit problems in these areas. In addition, students are expected to have some general knowledge about physics specialty areas such as astrophysics, atomic physics, condensed matter physics, elementary particle physics, nuclear physics, and space physics. The required level of understanding in these latter subjects is mostly qualitative. In the past, the passing score for the examination has been approximately 65%. The faculty may adjust this threshold (only down) in order to maintain a consistent level of difficulty with previous years. Further information on the exam, and how to prepare for it is given here.

3. The GWE is given once annually at the end of the Spring Semester. It is comprised of two parts on two successive days, each being 4 hours in length.

4. Students entering the graduate program in the Fall Semester must pass the GWE no later than the Spring exam of their second year. Under exceptional circumstances, students who fail to pass the GWE by the time set above may be permitted another attempt of the exam upon application to the Director of Graduate Studies. Necessary conditions for another attempt of the GWE is that the student has completed all credit requirements for the M.Sc. degree by the end of their second year, and that the adviser believes that there is a high likelihood that student will pass in his/her third attempt. Students not passing the GWE should complete an M.Sc. degree not later than their second year. With the exception noted, students past the second year who have not passed the GWE will not receive TA support.

6. Extensions or variations to the timetable given in the previous paragraphs may be granted by the Graduate Education Committee only in exceptional cases such as extended illness, leaves of absence, etc.

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 be 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.

• The Oral Exam needs to be passed before the end of the third year in our program, but you will typically do it sooner sometime during your second or third year.
• You will be receiving an email from the office of Graduate Student Services and Progress when you have completed all the requirements prior to taking the Oral Exam. Should you misplace the message, you can find a copy of the scheduling form in your Communication Center in MyU.
• Deciding on the committee and scheduling the exam is your responsibility, in consultation with your adviser.
• You must officially schedule the preliminary oral examination online as soon as the dates are set. You may do it at Doctoral Preliminary Oral Examination Scheduling.
• The Graduate School will prepare a Preliminary Oral Examination Report form, and send it to the chair of the exam committee. Once the exam is finished, the committee chair will report the result to the Graduate School.
• Plan the date keeping in mind that you will take thesis credits the semester after you pass the oral. Therefore late in the semester is preferable to the beginning. The cut-off date is the day in which the semester officially starts, although it is possible to extend it to the “last day to add a course without college scholastic committee approval” which is two weeks into the semester.
• Students must pass the preliminary oral examination at least one semester before receiving their Ph.D. degree.

A preliminary Oral Examination committee needs to be set up by the student in consultation with the adviser. The committee consists of at least 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. Note that the adviser cannot be the committee chair.

Normally the student will contact potential committee members, and once the committee is set, the student will find an appropriate date on which to hold the exam. The committee needs to be approved by the program and the college. Instructions on how to submit the committee assignments is at https://onestop.umn.edu/academics/grad-and-professional/examination-committees

The exam is based on a concise written summary of a proposed PhD research project which may ultimately form the basis for the Ph.D. thesis. The recommended length is between 20 and 30 pages (double spaced). It should be given to all the committee members at least two weeks before the exam. Note that this summary does not have to contain any original research done by the student, although it may have preliminary results. The exam begins with a presentation of the summary, which should last no more than 20 minutes, although questions during this part may extend this time period. The presentation is followed by questions from the committee. The balance of the exam should consist of questions suggested by the research summary and how it fits into the general framework of physics, but not necessarily confined to the narrow research area.

The examination should not exceed 90 minutes.

At the end of the examination, the Committee has three options: pass, pass with reservations and fail. Decisions of the committee must be approved by at least a 3 to 1 vote.

If the student does not pass the examination, 10 weeks have to elapse before one allowed retake. Only two attempts to pass the examination will be allowed.

Pass with reservations means that the student will need to do some specific work in order to lift the reservations. The nature of the work will be communicated to the student in writing within one week after the examination. A copy of this letter must be sent to the GSSP along with the Preliminary Oral Examination Form. When the student has satisfied the committee's reservations, a second letter or email informing the student and GSSP that the reservations have been removed, and that the student may proceed toward the degree is also required. A student who is unable to satisfy the committee's reservations may be terminated from doctoral candidacy and from the graduate program.

When the exam is either passed or passed with reservations, 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).

1. For the M.Sc. degree, a committee is required to review the thesis (Plan A), and to administer a final oral examination (Plans A and B). This committee consists of three members, one of whom must represent the minor field or be outside of the major field of the thesis/project.

2. For the Ph.D. degree, a committee reviews the dissertation and administers the final examination. The committee consists of at least four members: the adviser, a theorist and an experimentalist from the major field of research, and a member from outside the Physics Graduate Program. The outside member may be from the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, or from the Program in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, if that person is able to represent the minor field.

3. The student in consultation with the adviser will nominate the committee members. The committee will be submitted for approval to the DGS.

4. The adviser cannot serve as the chair of the committee.

5. The required steps for scheduling the final defense are given in the following Graduate School Page.

5. The Director of Graduate Studies may make last-minute substitutions due to absence or illness using the above criteria. The Graduate School must approve of these substitutions.

6. Instructions for dissertation submission and formatting.

1. At least two-thirds of all credit hours in an M.Sc. or a Ph.D. program must be taken on an A-F basis.

2. There are no formal grading restrictions on 8000 level courses; however, an adviser may require a student to take at least one 8000 course in the student's sub-field on an A-F basis.

3. The required core courses PHYS 5001/2 and 5011/2, if they are used on an M.S. or a Ph.D. program, must be taken on an A-F basis.

4. Instructors must clarify to students during the first two weeks of classes the standards of performance required under both the A-F and S-N grading systems.

Registration warnings and holds may be issued for the following reasons:

1. GPA below 3.0 in required core courses, or cumulative GPA below 3.0 for Ph.D students and 2.8 for M.S. students.

2. More than 6 credits of “Incomplete.”

3. No approved M.Sc. graduate degree program (for M.Sc. students) by the end of the third semester.

4. No approved Ph.D. graduate degree program (for Ph.D. students) by the end of the third year.

As stated in Paid and Unpaid Leave of Absence, Graduate teaching assistants do not receive paid vacation other than official University of Minnesota holidays. The University does not recognize the time between terms as holidays.

Around the end of the Fall semester, some of you may perhaps be planning international travel of personal nature. If you are an international student and are planning to travel outside of the United States, please remember the following items:

• If you are a TA during the preceding Fall 24 semester, your travel must be after the semester is over, and your TA responsibilities are completed. Talk with your faculty instructor to ensure your departure date is acceptable. If you are an RA, please discuss your travel plans with your adviser.
• If you are a TA during the following Spring semester, you MUST be back in Minnesota the week before the semester starts. If you are an RA, please discuss your travel plans with your adviser.
• Please fill out this form for department approval as soon as possible: https://form.jotform.com/213406153674049 . This form will provide you with a letter that is the documentary evidence for Funding/Assistantship verification letter, and that you will need this to re-enter the U.S.
• ISSS must sign your travel signature line on your I-20
• When re-entering the U.S., you must be able to provide evidence that you have enrolled full-time during the entirety of your career as an F-1 student. An unofficial transcript from the University is the best way to verify enrollment. You can obtain an unofficial transcript through MyU.
• Please also review ISSS's webpage regarding traveling outside of the United States: https://isss.umn.edu/fstudents/travel/outside-us