Graduate Handbook: Degrees and Programs of Study

A. Master of Science (MS)

The MS degree requires 30 credit hours of graduate-level course work. These hours must include the graduate courses PHYS 6103, 6105, 6106, 6107 plus at least 6 hours of 8000-level Special Problem or Masters practicum research experience in Physics. The remaining credits are completed from Physics lecture courses at the 6000-level or higher. Use of a 4000-level physics course, or graduate courses from a school other than physics, is allowed with approval from the Associate Chair of Student Success. A minimum grade point average of 2.7 is required and no more than 3 hours may be taken on a pass/fail basis. There is no language or Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement. This degree usually takes 3 semesters of full-time study to complete. The School does not provide financial support for MS students.

At the end of their final semester MS students give a 20-min presentation on their research project to a committee consisting of their research advisor plus two other School of Physics faculty members. The student will be assessed on the research skills acquired during the program and the quality of their presentation. The assessment forms are available from the Academic Office and can be downloaded here:

The assessment forms are to be completed by each member of the committee, including the research advisor. If using the Fillable PDFs, the forms must be flattened by printing to a PDF file and then emailed to the Associate Chair for Student Success. The non-fillable forms are to be collected by a member of the committee (not the research advisor) and delivered to the Associate Chair for Student Success. The assessments are not used to pass or fail a student, but are used to provide constructive feedback to the student and to evaluate the effectiveness of the MS program. [Note: Ph.D. students who are obtaining the MS degree 'on-the-way' (see Sect. V.B below) do not need to give this presentation.]

During the semester preceding the semester when the MS degree is expected (i.e., the Spring semester for graduation in the Summer), a student must submit an Online Application for Graduation .

B. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

The Ph.D. degree requires successful completion of (1) a program of study in core and advanced physics courses; (2) a course in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR); (3) a Comprehensive Exam (consisting of a Thesis Proposal and an oral Proposal Exam); (4) a Minor course of study; and (5) a written Ph.D. thesis and a public defense of that thesis. Georgia Tech requires that all doctoral students maintain a 3.0 grade point average.

With the permission of the School’s Associate Chair for Student Success, a Ph.D. thesis may be written under the supervision of a Georgia Tech faculty member outside the School of Physics.

With the permission of the research supervisor and the School’s Associate Chair for Student Success, Ph.D. students may seek a concurrent MS degree from another School. If so, the courses taken for the MS may be counted to satisfy the Doctoral Minor requirement.

During the semester preceding the semester when the Ph.D. degree is expected, students must submit an Online Application for Graduation . See section V below.

[A Ph.D. student may also choose to obtain a MS in Physics 'along-the-way' after they have obtained the required number of credits (typically after the 1st summer in the program). See Sect. V.B below. As long as the MS requirements are satisfied, the MS can be awarded whether or not the Ph.D. is completed. The end-of-program presentation is not required for Ph.D. students to obtain the MS degree.]

1. Program of Study

1^st Year Course Requirements: Core Courses
All first-year Ph.D. students are required to take the following four core physics courses:

Students are expected to earn course grades of A or B in all core courses. Students who earn more than two grades of C or any number of D or F grades in the core courses may not continue in the Ph.D. program without the explicit permission of the School's Graduate Committee; however, if they wish, these students will be allowed to complete a summer Special Problems project in order to attempt to earn the MS degree.

A student who receives exactly two grades of C in the core physics courses will be given the option of completing a written 3-hr exam on each subject in order to continue in the Ph.D. program. The exams will be taken after the completion of the Spring semester and before the end of Phase 2 registration for the Summer semester (approximately mid-May). The exams will be written, administered and graded by the Graduate Committee, in consultation with the instructors of the 2 courses in question. The Graduate Committee will use the results of the exams and the student’s classwork in the courses to determine if the student passes the examinations. If a student fails one or both exams, or decides not to take the exams, they will be unable to continue in the Ph.D. program (although they can complete the summer Special Problem to earn the MS degree).

A student who earns one grade of C in the four core courses will be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program.

1^st Year Course Requirements: Elective Courses
In addition to the core courses, all first-year students will register for one 3-hour Physics elective course in the Fall and Spring semesters. These courses will be discussed during advising meetings held prior to the beginning of each semester between the Associate Chair for Student Success and each student. By discussing their academic background and interests, the Associate Chair for Student Success will make a recommendation to each student on their elective course for the semester. In almost all cases the elective courses will be graduate level lecture course (6000, 7000 or 8000 level), but 4000-level courses may be allowed, if appropriate. Students are expected to earn a C or better in both elective courses in order for the courses to count towards the Advanced Course Requirement (see below).

Classical Mechanics Requirement: The advising meeting will include a discussion on the student's background in Classical Mechanics, including their exposure to key topics (including, but not limited to, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics) and the textbook the student used in their undergraduate courses. If the student's background in Classical Mechanics appears insufficient then the student will be required to complete PHYS 6101 before being Admitted to Ph.D. Candidacy. In this case, a student may wish to take PHYS 6101 as their Fall elective course.

1^st Year Course Requirements: Special Problem Research
In the Spring semester all first-year Ph.D. students register in PHYS 8901 (Special Problem), a 3-hour course arranged with an individual faculty member, and taken on a pass/fail basis. Registration requires the permission of the professor. The Special Problem should be viewed as a serious opportunity to begin Ph.D. research with a faculty member. If, at mid-term, either the student or the professor concludes that a partnership toward an eventual Ph.D. is unlikely, the student should find another professor with whom to explore Ph.D. research for the second half of the semester. Students may not register for more than one Special Problem per semester.

First-year students register for PHYS 8901 again in the Summer semester. In most cases, students will be continuing with the same professor from the Spring Special Problem. However, if either the student or the professor wishes to make a change at the end of the Spring Special Problem, then the student will register for PHYS 8901 with a different professor for the Summer. As with the Spring semester, it is possible for students to switch to a different advisor mid-term, if necessary. The Summer Special Problem is a 9-hour course, taken for a letter-grade (to assist with attaining the MS degree `on-the-way’).

With the permission of the Associate Chair for Student Success, it may be possible for first-year students to take PHYS 8901 as their Fall or Spring elective course. This may be appropriate if a student already has an established research relationship with a professor. In this situation, the student would still need to satisfy the Advanced Course Requirement (see below).

Unless explicit permission is granted by the Associate Chair for Student Success, the first (Spring) Special Problem must be arranged with a regular physics faculty member (not an adjunct faculty member in another School). Adjunct faculty members may serve as Special Problem supervisors during subsequent semesters.

Students continue registering for Special Problem (PHYS 8901) until they are admitted to candidacy following the Proposal Exam. After passing the Proposal Exam (described below), students should register for Doctoral Thesis (9000) hours with their supervisor rather than Special Problems (8901) hours.

Advanced Course Requirement
Beyond the core courses, students are required to earn a C or better in two (2) advanced physics courses (6000, 7000 or 8000 level) at some point before they graduate. In most cases, this requirement will be satisfied after the first year of course work. Students must seek the permission of the Associate Chair for Student Success to register for more than one course outside the School of Physics each semester.

Nominal Schedule
Below is the nominal schedule for the first 3 years of the Ph.D. program.

2. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training

All doctoral students at Georgia Tech are required to complete a two-step RCR training process.

• The first step is an online training course that must be completed within 90 days of a student starting the Ph.D. program.
• The second step is an in-person training course, PHYS 8002, that is completed during the first Fall semester. This 2-credit hour course is taken on a pass/fail basis, and all students must pass the course to receive the RCR credit. Any student who receives an unsatisfactory grade in PHYS 8002 must complete the PHIL 6000 course during their first summer.

Students are not able to be admitted to candidacy without completing the RCR courses.

3. Minor Course of Study

Georgia Tech requires all Ph.D. students to complete 6 hours of graduate-level courses taken on a letter grade (LG) basis (more information can be found here ). Students can satisfy this requirement by taking two 3-credit courses from a School other than Physics, e.g., Mathematics, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Computer Science, etc. The 2 courses do not have to be all from the same School, but they should at least be loosely connected to a single intellectual topic. Students may also satisfy this requirement inside the School of Physics as long as none of the two courses is a specialty course in the subject area of the thesis research. For example, condensed matter students cannot use the courses Condensed Matter I and Condensed Matter II to help satisfy the Institute Minor requirement. However, these two courses could be used by a condensed matter student to satisfy the School’s Advanced Course Requirement (see Section II.B.1 above).

Ideally, courses for the Doctoral Minor should be at the 6000-level and above, but certain 4000-level courses may be taken for the Minor if they are needed as prerequisites for the graduate courses. Also, graduate courses taken at another institution can be used toward the Minor requirement.

Once students have completed their Minor courses, they should send the Associate Chair for Student Success a list of the 2 courses, and a proposed title for their Minor course of study.

4. Thesis Proposal & Proposal Exam - Admission to Candidacy

To be admitted to candidacy Physics Ph.D. students must write a Thesis Proposal and pass an oral Proposal Exam as described in detail below. The goal of these assessments is to ensure that the student has the necessary research skills and background knowledge in their area of physics to successfully pursue the proposed thesis research. The Proposal Exam will identify any deficiencies in the student’s preparation and recommend actions to remedy these problem areas.

Thesis Proposal

• Each Ph.D. student must prepare a written Thesis Proposal that follows this structure:

• The proposal must be single-spaced with each page containing a single column of text. In addition,
  • Margins, in all directions, must be at least an inch.
  • Page numbers must be included.
  • Only the following fonts are allowed:
    • Arial (not Arial Narrow), Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger;
    • Times New Roman at a font size of 11 points or larger; or
    • Computer Modern family of fonts at a font size of 11 points or larger.
    • A font size of less than 10 points may be used for mathematical formulas or equations, figures, tables or diagram captions and when using a Symbol font to insert Greek letters or special characters. Other fonts not specified above, such as Cambria Math, may be used for mathematical formulas, equations, or when inserting Greek letters or special characters.
• The proposal should be no longer than 15 pages, not including references. Figures and tables are included in the recommended page limits.
• The proposal must include a title and the student’s name. An abstract is not necessary.
• The completed Thesis Proposal must be sent to all members of the Thesis Proposal Committee no less than 1 week before the scheduled exam. Members of the Thesis Proposal Committee have the right to reject poorly-prepared Proposals, or to ask for delays in the exam date if they are not given enough time to carefully read the Proposal.
• Examples of Thesis Proposals: Julia Speicher (2021), Sami Hakani (2022)

Thesis Proposal Committee (TPC)

• Each Ph.D. student, in consultation with their advisor, will recruit 3 Georgia Tech faculty members to serve as their Thesis Proposal Committee (TPC).
  • The student’s advisor is not part of the TPC.
• In most cases, TPC members will be drawn from the School of Physics academic faculty; however, Georgia Tech faculty members from outside the School of Physics, including GTRI researchers, are also permitted.
  • Approval from the Associate Chair of Student Success is needed if a student wishes to recruit a TPC member from outside of Georgia Tech.
• Once all 3 TPC members agree to serve on the committee, the student will communicate their names to the Academic Office.
• The TPC must be finalized by the end of the Spring semester of a student’s 2^nd year in the Ph.D. program. However, if a student has changed research areas during their 2^nd year, then this deadline can be delayed.
  • Such students should discuss their case with the Associate Chair for Student Success who will decide on whether a delay is warranted.
  • The goal is for the TPC to be identified with plenty of time to schedule the Proposal Exam.

Timing

• The Thesis Proposal and Proposal Exam must be completed in the first semester of a student’s 3^rd year in the Ph.D. program (this would normally be the 3^rd Fall semester).
• Students who have had a break in their studies, or have switched research areas during their first 2 years in the program, are eligible for a delay in the exam timing. Such students should discuss their case with the Associate Chair for Student Success who will decide on whether a delay is warranted.
• The Academic Office in the School of Physics will coordinate with the TPCs to schedule the Proposal Exams. The Chair of the TPC will be responsible for the correct administration of the Proposal Exam and its aftermath. The Academic Office will inform students of the time and location of their Proposal Exam, as well as the Chair of their TPC, at least 3 months prior to the exam.
• Students must communicate the title of their Thesis Proposal to the Academic Office 1 week before their Proposal Exam. The Academic Office will then advertise the Proposal Exam to the School of Physics community. The advertisement will include the day, time, location, proposal title, and the names of the student’s research advisor and TPC.

Forms

• Before the Proposal Exam, the student should familiarize themselves with the DocuSign process for the Admission to Candidacy form.
  • This form requires the signature of the Associate Char of Student Success and not The Chair of the department. 
• The student must also arrange for the following Assessment Forms to be sent to each member of the TPC
  • Ph.D. Assessment Forms or https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_da0S1E6nPxpeNlY 
• The Chair of the Committee will need to complete the Proposal Exam Result form and email the form to the Associate Char of Student Success
  • Proposal Exam Form or https://forms.office.com/r/t3Yea98fG5  

Proposal Exam

• The Proposal Exam will proceed as follows with a recommended duration of 2 hours.
  1. The Exam begins with a public presentation of the thesis proposal by the student. This presentation should last 30 minutes, if presented without interruption. The quality of the presentation should be at the level of a contributed APS talk (i.e., well organized slides and clearly delivered).
  2. The structure of the presentation should mirror that of the written proposal, with roughly equal time spent on the literature review and the proposed research.
  3. Following the presentation and any questions from the general audience, the exam room is vacated except for the student, the research advisor and the TPC. At this point, the TPC will examine the student. The questioning should examine the student’s knowledge of their research area, as well as on the details of the proposed thesis research. The research advisor should participate rarely during the Exam, and ideally should only intervene to clarify any miscommunication between the student and the TPC.
  4. After the oral examination, the student will leave the room and the TPC will reach its decision after considering the quality of the written proposal and the student’s responses to the exam questions. The research advisor can provide input to the TPC. The possible outcomes of the exam are:
     1. Pass – the student is Admitted to Candidacy.
        • This is the outcome when the TPC identifies no areas needing improvement in the student's background or skills.
        • All members of the TPC complete the assessment forms
        • All members of the TPC and the advisor will electronically sign the Admission to Candidacy form.
        • The Chair of the TPC completes the Exam Results form and sends it to the Associate Chair for Student Success.
     2. Pass With Action Items – the student is Admitted to Candidacy with recommended actions to help reach their potential.
        • This is appropriate when the TPC identifies areas of improvement in the student's background or skills. However, the student remains on-track to graduate on time.
        • The TPC must clearly inform the student of their recommended actions to address the areas needing improvement (e.g., specific courses, lab technqiues, or articles/books).
        • All members of the TPC complete the assessment forms
        • The Chair of the TPC completes the Exam Results form and sends it to the Associate Chair for Student Success. The summary section must explicitly state the action items communicated to the student, and this information should be emailed to the student if not communicated during the Exam.
        • The advisor and all members of the TPC will electronically sign the Admission to Candidacy form.
     3. Provisional Fail (failed 1^st attempt)
        • This is the outcome if the TPC identifies serious deficiencies in the student's background and skills that places successful completion of a Ph.D. in doubt.
        • The reasons will vary from student to student, and may be connected to the written Thesis Proposal or the answers to the oral questioning. In any case, the TPC must communicate clearly to the student at the meeting the reason for the failure, and what steps the student should take to pass the exam in the future.
        • All members of the TPC complete the assessment forms
        • The Chair of the TPC completes the Exam Results form and sends it to the Associate Chair for Student Success. The summary section must explicitly state the reasons for the Provisional Fail, and the recommended steps the student must take in order to be successful in a future exam. This information should be emailed to the student.
        • To continue in the Ph.D. program, the student must re-attempt and pass the Proposal Exam.
          • This re-attempt must occur no later than the end of the student’s second full term (Fall, Spring, or Summer) in residence following the failed attempt. As before, the Academic Office will schedule the retake with the TPC and inform the student of the day and time at least 3 months before the 2^nd exam.
     4. Fail (failed 2^nd attempt)
        • As above, but the student will not be permitted to continue in the Ph.D. program. The School will assist in ensuring the student receives a MS in Physics, if not yet awarded.
  5. The student returns to the exam room and the TPC informs the student of the outcome of the Exam.
  6. The Proposal Exam ends with a short meeting between the TPC and the student without the research advisor present.

Checklist for Students

Here is a checklist for Ph.D. students indicating their key responsibilities in organizing the Exam:

Task

• In consultation with the advisor, determine the TPC and send names to Academic Office
• Write Thesis Proposal and prepare a 30-min presentation
• Send Proposal to the TPC at least 1 week before Proposal Exam
• Send title of Proposal to Academic Office at least 1 week before Proposal Exam
• Send Assessment Forms to the TPC (before Exam)
  • Ph.D. Assessment Forms or https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_da0S1E6nPxpeNlY 
  • Proposal Exam Form or https://forms.office.com/r/t3Yea98fG5  
• Complete the Docusign Admission to Candidacy Form (following a successful Exam)
  • This form requires the signature of the Associate Char of Student Success and not The Chair of the department. 

Notes

• It is understood that the normal course of research may lead students to work on problems that deviate from the Proposed Work written in their Thesis Proposal. There is no need for students to re-write their proposal or re-exam in such cases, and the new research projects will be discussed as part of the Annual Reviews (see below). However, a student who changes their major research area after completing a Thesis Proposal in the first area may be asked to complete a second Thesis Proposal in their new area.
• A student who receives a Provisional Fail in the Proposal Exam may consider switching research areas or advisors at that time. Before exploring any changes, the student must discuss this possibility with the Associate Chair of Student Success to determine if this is the best course of action. If a student does switch research advisors after a Provisional Fail, then they must write a new Thesis Proposal and pass a Proposal Exam no later than the end of the student’s third full term (Fall, Spring, or Summer) in residence following the failed attempt. If the student does not pass this new exam, no further exams will be permitted and the student will be unable to continue in the Ph.D. program.
• Students and advisors may view the Assessment Forms completed by the TPC at any time by inquiring at the Academic Office. The feedback the student receives during the Proposal Exam should be reflected on the Assessment Forms.

5. Post Thesis Proposal Annual Review

After completing their Thesis Proposal and Proposal Exam, students are required to meet with their TPC and their advisor for a short check-in discussion at least once a year until graduation. Students are expected to take the lead in scheduling the meetings, in collaboration with their advisors. In-person, virtual, or hybrid meetings are all allowed. While the goal should be one meeting with the entire TPC, individual meetings with one or two TPC members are permitted if scheduling a single meeting is not possible. The student should contact the Associate Chair for Student Success if they need help with organizing these meetings.

These annual review discussions should be low-key meetings between the student and the TPC, and should nominally consist of

• No written document.
• A 15 minute presentation describing the student’s progress over their last year and their proposed timeline for the following year, including experiments, paper/thesis writing, and job searches
• The discussion should focus on identifying any research-related problems or roadblocks, including possible solutions, and confirming the presented timeline. It will also be appropriate for the TPC and the student to talk about job searches and career development during these meetings.
• Time should be set aside during these meetings for a short discussion between the TPC and the student without the advisor present.

Deviations from this format are allowed if they are agreed upon by the student and TPC prior to two weeks before the scheduled meeting. If the TPC, or the student, determines it is necessary, more frequent meetings are also allowed.

After the meeting, the student will send a short, 1-paragraph email to the Associate Chair for Student Success summarizing the outcome of the meeting. The dates of the meetings will be recorded in the student’s record and the email archived.

Nominal Schedule

6. 7th-Year Review

If a student reaches the 7th year in the Ph.D. program without a major break in their studies or a late change in research advisor, and graduation is not imminent, then the TPC is charged to take an active oversight role to ensure the student can successfully complete their thesis in a timely fashion. In these cases, the TPC may request for more frequent meetings (e.g., on a bi-monthly basis) between the TPC and the student and research advisor, or ask for a written timeline from the student and advisor outlining the steps required to complete the thesis. However, the specific nature of the additional oversight will be determined by each TPC depending on the precise circumstances of the student.

7. Ph.D. Thesis

This requirement is met when a student has (i) written a dissertation which summarizes their original research and (ii) presented a public, oral defense of the student's dissertation to the Thesis Exam Committee (TEC).

A student's TEC must contain at least 5 people and would normally consist of the student's research advisor, the TPC, and one other individual. At least one of the 5 TEC members must not be affiliated with the School of Physics.

Georgia Tech has provided an excellent manual on the policies and procedures for producing and submitting your thesis as well as the rules for the TEC (please download and read the manual here). Students should also be aware of the submission deadlines that must be met in order to meet their desired graduation date.

The Thesis Defense is used to assess students' final performance in research, writing and oral presentation skills. It is the culmination of a student's time at Georgia Tech, and a chance to show the TEC everything the student has accomplished. The dissertation should therefore be a high-quality publication-worthy document at the time of the defense. It should also be given to the TEC with enough time for each TEC member to read it completely and carefully (a minimum of 2 weeks before the defense date). TEC members have the right to reject poorly-prepared dissertations, or to ask for delays in the defense date if they are not given enough time to carefully read the thesis.

Finishing Ph.D. students must also supply each member of the TEC with these three assessment forms which are available from the Academic Office or here:

These assessments are used to provide constructive feedback to the Ph.D. student and to help evaluate the effectiveness of the Ph.D. program.

After the defense, the Ph.D. student must initiate the DocuSign process for the Thesis Approval Form (available here under the Doctoral Students header). Note that when completing the DocuSign form, the thesis advisor’s name is separate from the names of the committee members. The thesis is not approved until the completed form is accepted by the Office of Student Success.