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Department of Physics
Department Chair: Dr. Lloyd Hillman
The Department of Physics has an exceptionally strong graduate program. Nearly 100 graduate students are currently enrolled in M.S. and Ph.D. programs, including the M.S. in Optics and Photonics Technology. We also support the interdisciplinary Optical Science and Engineering Ph.D. program (see page 33). A dozen or so Ph.D. degrees are awarded annually. Over twenty faculty bring in several million dollars in external contracts and grants every year, and much of these resources go, either directly or indirectly, to the support of graduate students. Our world-class research facilities are housed in the recently constructed Optics Building, with many tens of thousands of square feet of laboratory space, and comparable office facilities for faculty and graduate students. Our main research thrust areas are in Astrophysics/Space Science and Optics, with additional research opportunities in Materials Science and General Relativity/ Gravitation Physics. Details can be found on our web site (see address above). Many of our graduate students work in close collaboration with scientists at the nearby Marshall Space Flight Center and the US Army Redstone Arsenal. Others work in collaboration with the many research centers on campus, such as the Center for Applied Optics and the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research.
Our admissions standards follow those of the Graduate School – a total score of at least 1500 on the GRE examination, plus an undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) of B or better (3.0 on a 4.0 scale), is required for unconditional admission. Students with lower GRE scores or lower GPAs may still be admitted conditionally, with approval of the Chair and the Graduate Dean. Newly admitted students typically hold Graduate Teaching Assistantships, which carry very competitive stipends and full tuition remission, and involve duties ranging from teaching undergraduate laboratories to development of new course materials/demonstrations. By the second year of graduate study, most students transfer to Graduate Research Assistantships, which carry higher stipends and involve research work leading to the M.S. thesis or Ph.D. dissertation. All students are admitted initially into the M.S. program. Approximately half of our M.S. students elect to take 24 hours of coursework and to write a master's thesis. Others elect to take 33 hours of coursework and pass a Comprehensive Examination, offered every January. Copies of previous examinations are available in the Department Office. An option is available for earning a Master of Science in Physics with an Alabama Class A Teaching certificate. Admission to the Ph.D. program is granted upon passing of the Comprehensive Examination. Coursework in the first year and a half should be taken with this examination in mind; thereafter, a specific Program of Study, especially tailored to the student's research direction, is planned in collaboration with the student's Dissertation Supervisory Committee. The Ph.D. degree requires 48 hours of coursework, 18 semester hours of dissertation research, and passing the comprehensive examination. The average time to graduate with an M.S. is 2 years and the average time to a Ph.D. is 4 to 5 years. Our graduates are highly sought after in both academic
and industrial research domains. Our faculty have many connections in
their disciplines that facilitate the search for post-graduation employment,
and as a result most of our graduates have employment opportunities
already arranged prior to graduation. As more and more of our graduates
enter outside employment, our reputation is growing as a truly excellent
place to pursue a challenging and rewarding advanced degree. |
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