The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) supervises program planning and all graduate work. The DGS serves as academic advisor for the period during which the student is completing course requirements. A satisfactory rate of progress toward a higher degree is required at all times. A student whose progress is insufficient may at any time be asked to withdraw.
No student may become a candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree without first fulfilling the requirements for the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degrees at Columbia. A satisfactory rate of progress is required at all times. A student whose progress is insufficient may at any time be requested to withdraw.
The following represents the obligation and requirements for students who wish to obtain the Ph.D. degree at Columbia. Please retain these guidelines for reference throughout your program of studies.
This degree is a prerequisite for the M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees, unless a student has been awarded two Residence
Units of advanced standing.
POINTS OF LETTER-GRADE CREDIT: 30; at least 24 within the department. No credit is granted for work completed at other universities.
PROGRAM OF STUDY: 15 points of physics courses numbered 6000 or higher, with an overall performance satisfactory to the Committee on Graduate Work. The courses are to be chosen in consultation with the student’s academic advisor, to insure knowledge of classical and quantum physics.
RESIDENCE UNITS: 2 (minimum). Any student who fails to complete the requirements for the MA degree within four consecutive terms (not counting summer terms) must obtain permission from the department chair in order to continue work into fifth term.
LANGUAGE EXAMINATION: None
ESSAY: None
This degree is a prerequisite for the Ph.D. degree and will be conferred upon certification by the department.
| Typical length of
program:
|
Three years, including the time spent for the
M.A.degree. |
| Examination:
|
Qualifying Examination. |
| Languages:
|
None. |
| Residence Units:
|
Six full-time, including the two earned for the M.A. degree. |
| Points of credit:
|
30 earned for the M.A. degree; none if the student has been awarded two Residence Units of advanced standing. |
| Required Courses:
|
See the list of required courses below. |
The qualifying examination is taken by all students without exception, after no more than one term of residence. The examination consists of two parts: the written part is given in three sections in early January – Section I covers Classical Physics, Section 11 covers Modern Physics and Section III covers General Physics including contemporary research and order of magnitude estimate. The written exams are followed after approximately one week with an oral interview in which each student meets with three faculty members to go over the questions done on the written exams and to discuss research plans.
The material covered in the Physics Qualifying Examination is at the level of advanced undergraduate courses. It is intended that students will use their first semester in the program to review their overall knowledge of undergraduate physics and to fill in any gaps in their knowledge. The Qualifying Examination is intended as a diagnostic tool to help the faculty and the students know where there may be preparation gaps and allow these to be addressed before moving on to research. The Department relies on filtering that is done pre-admission by the Graduate Admissions Committee. Our experience is that the admissions process successfully identifies students with appropriate preparation so that the Qualifying Examination can be relied on as a fine-tuning diagnostic tool NOT a filter.
Following the oral exams, the faculty meets to consider for each student the results of the qualifying examination, the student’s academic record to date and other available information. These criteria determine whether to permit a student to continue work toward the doctorate. Each student will then be placed in a category:
Pass……………… qualified
to continue in doctoral program
Conditional Pass …decision withheld pending
completion of specific course work
Retake Exam ……must repeat the examination again when it is next given
Fail………………. cannot repeat the examination and must terminate
The results of the meeting are made available to the students shortly after the meeting by the Physics Director of Graduate Studies. Generally about 80% of the students pass the exam on the first try.
For students that do not pass on their first try, they are automatically allowed to take the exam the following year. Based on the results of the qualifying exam, in some cases students may be asked to either: (a) retake specific portions of the written exam, (b) retake the entire exam or (c) take advanced undergraduate courses in areas where the faculty have found weaknesses in preparation.
Generally, if a student fails to pass the exam on a second try, they will not be allowed to continue on to a PhD. They will be allowed to complete the spring semester, giving them the opportunity to consider their future options. In exceptional cases a student may be allowed to take the exam for a third time.
Copies of examinations given in previous years can be obtained in Room 704. From these, students may judge the scope of knowledge expected.
All entering students are required to take the following
basic sequence of courses during the first two academic 
years (minimum passing grade is B-):
II) Two field-specific courses, chosen from the list below with the assistance of a faculty adviser. Normally, both courses will be in the same field. Note that some course are listed both here and in i) above. In case of overlap, one course may fill both requirements but does not count twice toward the total number of courses required for the M.Phil.
Students who have previously mastered the equivalent material in G6092 and/or G6037-G6038 may elect to fulfill these requirements through course examination alone. Placement examinations to exempt out of these courses are offered at the beginning of the Fall term.
Any course chosen from the 6000 and 8000 level offerings of the Physics, Astronomy, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, Chemistry and Biology Departments may be taken to bring a student’s point total up to at least the 30 points required by the University. In addition to the courses listed in categories I and II above, the Physics Department may offer the following 6000 and 8000 level courses:
Students who have previously mastered the equivalent material in G6092 and/or G6037-G6038 may elect to fulfill these requirements through course examination alone. Placement examinations to exempt out of these courses are offered at the beginning of the Fall term.
Teaching is the principal method of support for first and second year graduate students, who are appointed as Teaching Fellows. Most assignments are to teach small laboratory sections or problem sessions in elementary courses. In general, this program concentrates on teaching in the first two years, while the student is taking graduate courses. The maximum teaching assignment for a Faculty Teaching Fellow is approximately four contact hours per week for four terms.
AN APPLICATION IS REQUIRED FOR THE AWARD OF THE M. Phil DEGREE.
See Rasma Mednis for the M. Phil Application form.
The requirements for the Ph.D. degree, except for the
dissertation, are given above as M.Phil requirements.
ResearchResearch for the dissertation is a particularly important part of a student’s training. Topics for research may be in either experimental or theoretical physics. Even before taking the Physics Qualifying Examination, a student should attend department Colloquia and research group seminars in which new findings by various research groups of the department are discussed. In this way, an uncommitted student may learn of problems or areas of research of particular interest and challenge.
Graduate students who have passed the Qualifying Examination are strongly urged to find a sponsor for doctoral research by the end of their second year of residence.
A student and his or her sponsor decide upon a suitable problem, and arrangements are made for space and other necessary physical facilities. Students are required to find a sponsor by the end of the fourth term. Any student unable to find a sponsor in this time may be informed that they will not be admitted to a third year of graduate study.
Students who wish to do their research in theoretical physics are urged to complete the basic graduate courses as soon as possible to allow for the inclusion of advanced and specialized theoretical course work in the early part of the research program. Only those students with special talents for theoretical work are encouraged to specialize in theory. A strong academic record does not by itself insure success in theoretical physics. Students who wish to undertake theoretical research must submit their names to the Committee on Theoretical Physics (notices about this are posted after each administration of the Qualifying Examination).
Students who wish to undertake research outside the department must obtain the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
Candidates for the Ph.D degree must complete all requirements including examinations and the defense of the dissertation within no more than seven years of their first registration in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. If a student receives two Residence Units of advanced standing, all degree requirements must be completed within six years.
Extension of the time limit will be granted only on the recommendation of the student’s sponsor and the department chairman to the Dean when special circumstances warrant. Such extensions are initiated by submitting to the department chairman a schedule of work in progress and a schedule for completion.
AN APPLICATION IS REQUIRED FOR THE AWARD OF THE M.PHIL. DEGREE. See the Administrative Coordinator for the M.Phil. Application form.
The doctoral dissertation should provide clear and literate evidence that the candidate has successfully completed or made a substantial contribution to some original research. The aim of the research should be formulated in a manner which clearly indicates its significance and its relationship to the already existing body of knowledge in the particular field of research and, where relevant, to the wider field of physics. In the account of the research, there should be adequate explanation of the particular problems and difficulties encountered, and of the manner in which these were overcome. The achievement of the research, both in relation to the original aims and the possible future developments of the subject, should be dealt with explicitly. The dissertation should contain adequate reference to the literature of the subject, but should nevertheless be intelligible, in principles if not details, to a well-informed physicist who is not necessarily a specialist in the candidate’s own field. The dissertation will accordingly be a self-contained, perhaps rather extended document, which has been written by the student. Joint papers are not acceptable in fulfillment of the dissertation requirement.
If a candidate is working with a research advisor outside the Physics Department, an additional departmental defense exam is required. When the dissertation is completed, the candidate will present a copy to each member of his/her departmental defense committee. In the department defense the student must demonstrate (a) thorough mastery of the elementary aspects and fundamental principles of his/her field, (b) possession of the theoretical background necessary for intelligent evaluation and analysis of his/her research, and (c) acquaintance with the current status of research in his/her field. The department defense is also attended by the student’s faculty advisor. At the time of the oral examination, the committee will either approve the dissertation or indicate the alterations it requires. Approval qualifies the student for admission to the University defense examination.
A comprehensive program of financial aid, including fellowships and appointments in teaching and in research, is available. The practice has been to support all full-time graduate students in the Physics Department. Students receive the prevailing stipend and appropriate tuition and health fees for five years, provided that they remain in good academic standing. If students receive a year of advanced standing, they are entitled to four years of fellowship funding.