Graduate Info
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At Penn there are active groups in both experimental and theoretical astrophysics, particle physics, and condensed-matter physics. The graduate program in Physics and Astronomy currently has aproximately 100 students, 34 standing faculty, 16 emeritus faculty, and approximately 35 postdoctoral fellows, plus visiting scholars and full-time scientific support staff. Emeritus faculty in many cases remain active members of the department, conducting research and supervising graduate students.
Available to students on campus are two interdisciplinary NSF-funded research centers: the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) and the Nano-Bio Interface Center (NBIC). Linked to these centers are the state of the art LRSM/MRSEC facilities, the NBIC/NSEC facilities, and the Penn Regional Nanotechnology Facility. Graduate students who have an interest in nanoscience can apply for graduate fellowships to the NSF-funded Penn-Drexel IGERT program. This program is designed to provide students with an opportunity to embark on research in the multidisciplinary field of nanotechnology. Additional opportunities for faculty and students are provided by the state-funded Nanotechnology Institute and the Institute of Medicine and Engineering. We also perform research at the synchrotron facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory and the neutron facilities at NIST. We participate in high energy physics experiments at CERN, Fermilab, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The department operates two observatories, the Homestake Neutrino and Cosmic Ray Observatory, a leading extraterrestrial neutrino and high energy cosmic ray observatory, and the Flower and Cook Observatory which focuses on interacting and astrometric binaries. In addition the department participates in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory in Canada and the Baksan Neutrino Observatory in Russia.
We participate in the medium energy facility at Michigan State University, the electron accelerator facilities in Newport News, VA (CEBAF), San Diego Super Computing Center, and the University of Illinois Advanced Computing Lab. Other on-going programs are with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Naval Research Laboratory.
Joint Programs
The department encourages cross disciplinary interactions. Active research programs link the department to the departments of chemistry, geology, computer science, electrical engineering and materials science, biophysics and the medical school.
The Doctor of Philosophy in Physics
The Ph.D. is the primary graduate degree offered by our department. The degree is granted upon completion of an original and significant investigation in physics or astronomy, which must be presented in a written dissertation and defended in a final oral examination.
In the first year, most students enroll in formal courses in the subjects covered by the preliminary examination. The department requires all students to take a seminar which provides an introduction to graduate studies in the department, one-semester graduate-level courses in laboratory techniques and statistical mechanics, and two courses from a selection outside the student's major field of specialization. Exemption from these courses is granted only if the student has already completed an equivalent course elsewhere. Most students continue to take advanced classroom and seminar courses for the duration of their studies. Credit for thesis research partially fulfills the University requirement of 20 courses for the Ph.D. degree. Up to 8 credits may be transferred from another institution. There is no foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy.
Most students in the Ph.D. program participate in the teaching activities of the department at some time during their graduate careers, usually serving as teaching assistants during the first year. Some serve as part-time teaching assistants in subsequent years.
For students with normal undergraduate preparation, the Ph.D. requires 4 to 6 years to complete.
The M.S. Degree in Medical Physics
The Department of Physics and Astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences, in conjunction with the Departments of Radiology and Radiation Oncology in the School of Medicine, is pleased to offer the Master of Medical Physics (MMP) degree. This program meets the academic and career interests of technically prepared college graduates who seek to combine their interests in graduate physics with growing career opportunities in the field of medicine.
The MMP program will provide students with rigorous training in essential graduate physics courses as well as more traditional coursework in biology and medical physics. The program offers a well-rounded education, balancing classroom, laboratory and clinical experiences. Students will be introduced to both clinical and research aspects of medical physics through The University of Pennsylvania Health Systemâs (UPHS) state-of-the-art medical imaging and therapy facilities. The traditional problem-solving techniques emphasized in physics graduate training will enable students to address a wide variety of problems encountered in the modern medical environment and to evolve with the field as it continues to embrace the most advanced technologies. The program will also stress communication, ethics and responsibility (in both clinical and research settings) promoting the highest possible standards in patient care. Full-time students will complete the program in two years. In the second year, students will spend a significant amount of their time completing appropriate clinical rotations in the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Part-time study may be possible, and will be considered on an individual basis by the program director.
Go to the College of General Studies' web site for information:
The M.S. Degree in Physics and Astronomy
The department will award an M.S. degree upon completion of the following requirements:
Overall satisfactory performance (B average) in eight graduate-level courses, which must include one semester of classical mechanics and two semesters of electricity and magnetism, and may include two courses in scientific fields other than physics.
Admission to Graduate Studies
The graduate program in physics and astronomy is directed primarily towards the PhD degree, emphasizing completion of an original and significant research investigation. The department will, however, award a M.S. degree signifying a knowledge of physics well beyond the undergraduate level but without the comprehensive background and intensive research effort of the Ph.D.
The departmental research program presently emphasizes experimental and theoretical works in particle physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, astrophysics, and astronomy.
Application materials may be obtained from:
Graduate Office
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Pennsylvania
209 S. 33rd St.
Phila., PA 19104-6396
Telephone: (215) 898-3125
email: admiss -at- physics.upenn.edu
The department requires that applying students take the general GRE exam and the subject GRE in Physics. Non-native English speakers must also take the TOEFL exam and the TSE (Test of Spoken English) to be considered for a teaching assistantship. Some of these requirements may be waived on a case-by-case basis for advanced students who are transferring from another institution.
Download Paper Application (using Adobe Acrobat):
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/GAS/Adminfo.html
Apply Online:
https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=upenn-g
Transfer of Credit
Students may receive credit for graduate courses taken at other institutions, though no more than 8 credits may be transferred. After the Graduate Chair determines whether an equivalent graduate course has been taken, the student must go to the current instructor for that course for a standardized evaluation of the instructor's design. If the instructor determines that the student knows the course material that course will be waived and, if appropriate, credit will be given.
If a student received a grade below B+ in Physics 531 (Quantum I) and subsequently received a grade of B+ or higher in Physics 532 (Quantum II) they may take the transfer of credit evaluation to have their 531 grade changed the following fall.
Financial Aid
Graduate students in Physics and Astronomy receive financial aid in the form of research, teaching, or non-service fellowships. The department attempts to support all students during the course of their work for the Ph.D. In practice, essentially all students are fully supported for the duration of their studies. The financial support includes both full tuition and an annual stipend. The annual stipend for the year beginning September 2005 is $21,500.
Entering graduate students are usually supported as teaching fellows. Teaching fellowships require no more than twelve hours of service per week; this amount of time does not interfere with a student's progress toward his or her degree.
Most second-year students, and virtually all advanced students, are supported as research fellows. Second-year students whose interests have not crystallized sufficiently to allow them to choose a field of specialization serve as teaching fellows for a second year. Research carried on as a research fellow is either part of or preparatory to dissertation research.
The First Year At Pennsylvania
The first year of graduate education is devoted to two goals. Students take formal courses on the basic subjects in physics and astronomy, and at the same time familiarize themselves with the research done in the department so that they will be able to make informed choices regarding their fields of specialization.
A faculty advisor is assigned to every first-year student, in addition to the mentoring available from class professors and the graduate chair. Faculty members in every research field participate in Physics 501, the "first-year seminar", where they present talks on the research in their particular fields and describe what their experience has been. These seminars go a long way toward addressing the needs of beginning graduate students to understand the range of research possibilities at Pennsylvania.
Some students prefer to come to the University during the summer prior to their first year of graduate studies. We provide summer research positions for all entering students who want them, since a few months spent in one of our labs can aid in meeting the second part of the student's educational needs. For the same reason, all students are encouraged to devote the summer between the first and second years of study to research in one of our labs. Summer research frequently serves as a very useful trial period or as a time to start on one's ultimate thesis research.