Courses
ESR Courses
- ESR 620, 621, 622
Environmental Science.
- ESR course requirements
must be completed by the end of the fourth year of study.
- Two years of ESR 607
Seminar.
Physics Courses
- Competence at the
graduate level in the core areas of physics: quantum mechanics,
classical mechanics, electrodynamics, and statistical mechanics.
Students are required to pass at least three (with grades B- or
higher) out of the following four sequences of graduate physics
courses:
- PH 511, 618, 619
- PH 624, 625, 626
- PH 631, 632, 633
- PH 664, 665, 666
- Three more
regularly scheduled lecture/lab quarter courses offered by the Physics
Department starting from PH510 and above, excluding PH 515, 525, 526,
531, 532 and 564.
- Physics course
requirements must be completed by the end of the third year of study.
- PH 607 Seminar (Current
Literature) -- minimum three terms, TAs are required to participate the
entire length of the assistantship.
Additional Courses
- Competence in the
mathematical techniques used by physicists including statistics and
computer programming as indicated in the Environmental Sciences and
Resources Ph.D. Requirements (see ESR office).
- The student may fulfill
this requirement either by having completed the approved courses or by
passing special examinations in these courses. This requirement should
be completed by the third year of study.
Courses Outside of the Department
If the student opts to take courses outside the department,
no more than one course per term can be taken without prior approval
from the department chair.
Comprehensive
Examination
The Comprehensive Examination will be composed of the following
two parts:
- Comprehensive I:
Mechanics, Thermodynamics, and Optics
- Comprehensive II: Electricity
& Magnetism, Modern Physics, and Experimental Physics
The dates of these exams will be announced in the beginning
of the academic year. The exams are typically offered in, respectively,
Fall and Winter terms of each academic year. Every exam offered must be
taken until the student passes those exams. The student must pass at
least one of the exams by the sixth term in the program to continue in
the program and the second no later than the ninth term.
Advising
The student must have a
faculty advisor. By the end of the first term, the student must have
completed the advisor selection process by filling out the Selection of
Advisor Form available from the department office. The advisor must be
selected and approved by the end of the second term.
Changing
Advisors
The student must have a
faculty advisor. The student can petition for a change in faculty
advisor to the department's Graduate Affairs Committee and the
Department Chair.
Annual
Progress Report
By the end of the sixth
week of the Spring term, the student must submit an Annual Progress
Report (available from the department office) to their advisor. The
original will be filed in the student's permanent file.
Master's Degree
Master's work must be completed within the first two years
that the student is in residence at PSU. Students with a master's from
a different university are expected to do a master's at PSU as well.
Per University rules, graduate course work completed for a previous
degree at a different institution cannot count towards a degree at PSU.
Prospectus and
Candidacy
In addition to passing the Comprehensive Examination, the
student must submit a prospectus outlining a proposed research project
suitable for the doctoral dissertation in Environmental Sciences and
Resources/Physics. The prospectus must be approved by the student's
Supervisory Committee consisting of the research advisor plus at least two
additional members from physics, at least one member to be
chosen from one of the following six departments: Chemistry, Biology,
Civil Engineering Geology, Geography, and Economics and one
representative from the Office of Graduate Studies (any department but
physics). Two recommendations for representative in priority order must
be listed on the GO-16D. The graduate office representative is selected
by the Graduate Office and all members are notified by the Office of
Graduate Studies. These members should be mutually agreed upon by the
student and her/his research advisor. A copy of the approved prospectus
must subsequently be approved by the Environmental Sciences
Coordinating Committee. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to
preclude early preliminary research on a problem of interest. A student
who has successfully completed the requirements for Courses and
Comprehensive Examination and whose dissertation prospectus has been
approved is advanced to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy.
The student should be advanced to candidacy no later than by
the fourth year of study.
There is both a minimum and a maximum time after advancement
before the dissertation defense. The minimum time is four moths from
the date the Office of Graduate Studies determines as the effective
date of candidacy. The maximum time allotted for the program to
candidacy is four years. Termination from the program will occur at the
end of the fourth year after advancement. The only exception is for a
leave of absence that is preapproved by the advisor and department
chair.
The student is advised to also consult the University
Bulletin for additional information. The summary is presented here as a
guideline for the student. All applicable University rules will
prevail, except where the department's rules are stricter than the
University's
Dissertation and Final
Oral Examination
The candidate's Dissertation Committee including the
representative of the Office of Graduate Studies shall conduct a final
oral examination based primarily on the subject area of the
dissertation. He or she should also give a ESR or Physics seminar, open
to the public, prior to the final defense of the Ph.D. thesis. The
completed dissertation, in an acceptable form, must be in the hands of
the committee members a minimum of two weeks in advance of the final
oral examination. The student is required to provide four copies of the
final version of the dissertation to the Office of Graduate Studies.
Two copies will end up in the Library, one copy is for the ESR program
and one copy is for the department.
Seminar Participation
Candidates are expected to attend and participate in Physics
Department and Environmental Sciences and Resources seminars or
colloquia on a regular basis during their tenure in the Department of
Physics. The student is required to present one Environmental Sciences
and Resources seminar before he/she graduates. Participation in Physics
Seminar is required for all teaching assistants. Non-teaching
assistants must participate for a minimum of three terms.
Termination from the Program
Continued admission in the program depends on the
satisfactory progress in the studies. Failure to abide by the
department's and university's rules will result in termination from the
program.
Doctoral Residence Requirements
A minimum of three academic years of satisfactory graduate
study beyond the baccalaureate is required. A minimum of three
consecutive terms (counting Summer term or not) must be spent in
full-time residence, with registration for nine or more graduate
credits each term, after admission to the doctoral program at Portland
State University.
