Physics & Astronomy

All incoming students, PhD and MS alike, are required to take a written qualifying exam in their first week of graduate school. This exam is to test their knowledge of fundamental undergraduate physics. To accommodate different emphases, the qualifying examination consists of 2/3 general physics, 1/6 acoustics, and 1/6 astronomy. Students are expected to answer 2/3 of the questions, as they choose.

Masters students must take the exam but are not required to pass it. For them it is used as a diagnostic to guide the student and committee in putting together an appropriate study list. PhD students, though, are required to pass the exam at a level of approximately 70%. Those who do not pass it at first, and most probably will not, will have two more opportunities to pass within the next 20 months. Therefore all will have three opportunities to pass. The examination will be given near the beginning of Fall and Winter semesters. Any PhD student not passing this exam within 20 months of enrolling will be dismissed from the graduate program.

In structuring this examination this way we hope to give ample opportunity to strengthen students early in their graduate studies.

At the end of two years each PhD student must have passed the qualifying examination and have finished the 5 non-repeatable committee-required courses on their study list. Their GPA over these 5 courses must be 3.0, or better, and the minimum grade in each of these courses must be B-. A student with a Masters degree from another institution may use transfer credit for only two of these five courses.

At the end of two years a research candidacy examination will be scheduled for the student. A student may initiate the examination earlier if they have satisfied the above requirements. The examining committee will consist of 3 members of his or her PhD committee plus 2 other members of the graduate faculty appointed by the graduate committee. The student’s advisor will be present but will not vote.

Two weeks prior to this examination the student will give the committee a written report of research the student has done at BYU to that point. The document could be in any of the following formats: an article suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal, a comprehensive review of their field (similar to the introductory chapter of a dissertation) together with a description of research progress, or a Masters thesis.

The purpose of the examination is to determine the student’s research competency and productivity, based on the written report and on an oral presentation by the student of the material in the report. If the committee votes to fail the student on this examination the student will have one more chance to pass it, to be scheduled no later than 6 months after the first examination. If the student fails this examination again he or she will be dismissed from the graduate program.

Students who come to one of the PhD programs with an MS from another university will be allowed to use their MS thesis as their written report, if so approved by the department graduate committee at the time of admission.