It is necessary to pass, or be exempted from (see Section 3.5.1), all the core courses which are listed below, with their typical timing:
First semester (fall):
- PHYS 530 (Theoretical Mechanics)
- PHYS 561 (Quantum Mechanics 1)
- PHYS 559 (Graduate Laboratory)
- PHYS 590 (Current Research)
Second semester (spring):
- PHYS 517 (Statistical Mechanics)
- PHYS 557 (Electrodynamics I)
- PHYS 559 (Graduate Laboratory), if not taken in the fall semester
- PHYS 590 (Current Research)
See Section 4.1 for detailed descriptions of the courses. Students are strongly advised to fulfill this course requirement as soon as possible to avoid delaying progress in the Ph.D. program. However, individual circumstance, e.g., the need to take an English course, may necessitate a delay for one or two courses. An overall course plan for the first year should be developed in consultation with the adviser or the Directory of Graduate Studies, keeping in mind the requirements for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree given in Section 3.2.6.1.
The Graduate Laboratory, PHYS 559, is offered in both semesters but the capacity of the facilities is such that only half of the incoming class can sign up each semester; students should therefore register at the first available opportunity.
Appropriate courses a student has taken at another university may be used to gain exemption from most of
the required courses—see Section 3.5.1. The exception is the PHYS 590 course on current faculty research.
Occasionally, an incoming student will have inadequate preparation in a particular area: for example, the lack of an undergraduate quantum mechanics course which is a prerequisite for one of the core courses, Phys. 561 (Quantum Mechanics I). In such cases, the student’s adviser or the Director of Graduate Studies may recommend that the student take certain undergraduate courses in their first year, which can delay completion of the Ph.D. degree. It should be noted that such a student must nevertheless take the Qualifying Examination on the same schedule as the rest of the incoming class, i.e., in the fall semester, and if necessary, in the spring semester of the student’s first year (see Section 3.2.6).