Physics, M.S. (GS80 – Physics Major)
Within the Master of Science in Physical and Applied Science Program, Physics offers the Master of Physics Major (GS 80). Interested students can declare Physics (GS80) as their graduate major, and this will lead to a Masters Degree in Physics being awarded from Marshall University.
Students with an undergraduate degree in Physics or related fields are encouraged to apply to the Physics Master’s program to obtain a solid background in Physics, for a solid foundation to build their career goals.
We designed our Physics Master’s program to meet the needs of students who either want to acquire an advanced degree in Physics in order to pursue careers in industry, government or teaching, or as a bridge to a Ph.D. program in physics, astronomy or other fields. Graduates with an M.S. degree in Physics are regularly hired into positions requiring a high level of problem-solving or technical skills, by federal agencies or private companies. Click on the following link for a sample 2-year curriculum flowchart leading to the completion of the degree.
I. Admission:
Applicants should follow the admissions process described in the current catalogue or at the Graduate Admissions website.
In addition, Physics has the following requirements for admission into the Master Program:
1. A B.S. with at least 21 credit hours in physics.
2. A G.P.A of at least 2.5 for all college work
3. A minimum average of 3.0 in physics courses
Provisional Admission:
Students may be admitted to the Master of Science in Physics program with a “Provisional” status if two out of three criteria above are met. (Students who do not meet either criterion or meet only one criterion are not eligible for provisional admission.) Provisionally admitted students will be fully admitted to the program when they have completed 9 hours of classes from the core courses with no grade below a ‘B.’ A Physics faculty advisor will review the transcripts of each student in “Provisional Status” to decide which courses are needed to take to fulfill those 9 hour requirement.
II. Degree Requirements:
1. Required Courses (20 credit-hours)
PHY 600 Electricity and Magnetism………………………………………………………4
PHY 608 Statistical Physics…………………………………………………………………..4
PHY 630 Classical Mechanics……………………………………………………………….4
PHY 642 Advanced Quantum Mechanics……………………………………………..4
PHY 645 Methods of Mathematical Physics………………………………………….4
2. Advanced Lab (2 hours)
3. Elective courses (4 credit-hours)
4. Thesis (6 credit hours) or Elective Courses (10 credit hours)
Students can choose between the Thesis option and Non-Thesis option to complete the requirements for the M.S. program.
A) Thesis Option:
There are multiple research opportunities within Physics. Our Faculty is involved in diverse research area, such as theoretical and experimental condensed matter physics, nanoscience, solar cells, laser physics, optics, gravitational and computational astrophysics. Students can also pick a different research direction. The thesis must be submitted to a committee formed by 3 faculty members, and must give an oral presentation. The thesis option will be counted as 6 credit hours.
B) Non-thesis Option:
Students who already complete all required courses and labs and do not want to do a thesis can fulfill the requirement by taking 10 credit hours of elective courses from the graduate level courses (PHY 500 or 600) offered by Physics.
General Requirement: Students need to complete a minimum of 32 credits with thesis or 36 without thesis, with a GPA of 3.0 or better. Participation in the Physics colloquia is required for all graduate students.
III. Contact:
Questions about Physics graduate program should be addressed to the Department of Mathematics & Physics at math-physics@marshall.edu.