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Department of Physics and Materials Science

Home Department of Physics and Materials Science Graduate Programs Prospective PhD Students

Prospective PhD Students

Prospective graduate students in the Applied Physics PhD program must have undergraduate degrees in physics or a closely related discipline. Applications are accepted no later than March 1 for the fall semester and no later than October 1 for the spring semester. Admission decisions for the fall semester will be made by mid-March.

Please follow the instructions in the Graduate School website to submit your application.

Only completed applications will be considered for review. A complete application must include the following documents:

For Domestic Students

  1. Copies of all undergraduate (and graduate, if any) transcripts
  2. GRE General Score (recommended, waived for UofM physics undergrads)
  3. At least three letters of recommendations
  4. Personal statement
  5. CV (showing previous research experience, if any)

For International Students

  1. Copies of all undergraduate (and graduate, if any) transcripts
  2. Word Education Services (WES) transcript evaluation report or equivalent (report from WES iGPA calculator is acceptable)
  3. GRE General Score (recommended)
  4. TOEFL or IELTS or Duolingo scores 
  5. At least three letters of recommendations
  6. Personal statement
  7. CV (showing previous research experience, if any)

Application Deadlines

March 1 for Application for Fall Semesters,
October 1 for Application for Spring Semesters.

Admissions Criteria

To be admitted to the PhD program in Applied Physics, the applicant must have a Bachelor of Science (BS) in physics or a closely related discipline with coursework satisfying undergraduate core physics requirements (calculus, differential equations, modern physics, mechanics, electricity and Magnetism, optics, thermodynamics, and quantum mechanics). Students from non-English speaking countries are required to demonstrate proficiency in English via the TOEFL or the IELTS test scores.

Admission is based on merit. The following criteria are used in the application evaluation:

  1. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0 and a minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0 in undergraduate physics courses is required.
  2. GRE General, minimum 145 in Verbal, 150 in Quantitative, and 3.0 for Writing.
  3. Minimum TOEFL score of 80 or IELTS score of 7.5 or Duolingo score of 100.
  4. A minimum of three letters of recommendation
  5. Previous research experience, if any
  6. Personal Statement

Assistantship

The Department of Physics and Materials Science offers graduate assistantships to students in Applied Physics PhD program. The assistantship includes stipend, tuition, and university service fees for the academic years.