For Space Science students, these courses must include Plasma Physics ( PHYS 951 ) , Magnetohydrodyamics of the Heliosphere ( PHYS 953 ) , and one of Magnetospheres ( PHYS 987 ) , Heliospheric Physics ( PHYS 954 ) .
Students are required to
Degree candidates are required to
Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:
Application fee : $65
Campus : Durham
New England Regional : VT
Accelerated Masters Eligible : No
Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence Form . This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission, or you will not be able to register for classes.
If you attended UNH or Granite State College (GSC) after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, UNH Non-Degree work and GSC.
If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must upload a copy (PDF) of your transcript in the application form. International transcripts must be translated into English.
If admitted , you must then request an official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:
Transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions must be submitted and applicants must disclose any previous academic or disciplinary sanctions that resulted in their temporary or permanent separation from a previous post-secondary institution. If it is found that previous academic or disciplinary separations were not disclosed, applicants may face denial and admitted students may face dismissal from their academic program.
Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.
The GRE scores are optional, if you wish to provide scores please email the scores directly to the department once you have submitted your application online.
Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:
All applicants are encouraged to contact programs directly to discuss program-specific application questions.
Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.
Faculty directory.
Physics & astronomy.
The MIT Department of Physics has a graduate population of between 260 and 290 students, with approximately 45 students starting and graduating each year. Almost all students are pursuing a PhD degree in Physics, typically studying for 5 to 7 years and with the following degree structure:
This is a roadmap for the path through our doctoral program. Each category is an element needed to complete your degree. Further information is available by clicking the accordion and links.. Read our Doctoral Guidelines PDF for more complete information.
Students demonstrate knowledge in 4 four areas. Each of the Core Requirements can be satisfied either by:
A B+ grade or above in the related subject satisfies the requirement in:
See the Written Examination section of the General Doctoral Examination page for more information and schedule for the upcoming written examination .
In addition to the demonstrated proficiency in the 4 subject in the Written Exams, graduate students must take 4-5 additional subject classes in Physics Specialty and Breadth areas .
Student defends Thesis Research to Committee Members
Note: For more detailed information regarding the cost of attendance, including specific costs for tuition and fees, books and supplies, housing and food as well as transportation, please visit the SFS website .
The application deadline for Fall 2025 admission to the Berkeley Physics Ph.D. program is:
Your application should be complete — meaning that all of your letters and supplemental materials should be uploaded — by this deadline. Application review commences immediately after the deadline; as such, we cannot guarantee that materials received after the deadline (including letters of recommendation) will be fully reviewed.
Apply for graduate admission online (click here to go to online application)
At this time, no determination has been made if the GRE and/or Physics GRE scores will be required application materials for graduate admission in fall 2026 and beyond.
Our graduate admissions committee conducts a holistic evaluation of all applications, which takes into consideration recommendation letters, academic achievements, research experience, a record of leadership and outreach activities, efforts to promote diversity, personal history, and more.
We require a minimum of three letters of recommendation. You will invite your recommenders to submit their letters through the online application. All letters should be uploaded by the application deadline.
Please do NOT send updated transcripts, publications, etc. after the application deadline. Applications will not be updated after the December 11th deadline with transcripts showing fall grades. Letter writers are still able to upload letters of recommendation via the Slate submission links, but we cannot guarantee that the committee will have them available for review since the application deadline has passed.
Please read the application instructions thoroughly. All supporting materials, including your transcript(s), should be uploaded to your application. Your application will be reviewed with your unofficial transcripts. If you ultimately are admitted and enroll at Berkeley, you will submit official transcripts prior to matriculating.
You must submit a course and textbook list of all the third- and fourth-year physics, astrophysics, and mathematics courses that you have completed. Download our "Course and Textbook List" form here ( alternate link 1 / alternate link 2 ). You may complete our form directly, or you may use our form as a template to create your own document; please save the completed document as a PDF and upload it to the Physics Program page in the online application.
We typically begin making offers of admission in mid-February. Our final offers of admission will be made no later than mid-March.
Please check our frequently asked questions (FAQ) , compiled from inquiries by prospective graduate students.
To contact our staff regarding graduate admissions, please email [email protected] .
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June 23, 2021 | 15 min read
By Andy Greenspon
The ideal research program you envision is not what it appears to be
Editor's Note: When Andy Greenspon wrote this article, he was a first-year student in Applied Physics at Harvard. Now he has completed his PhD. — Alison Bert, June 23, 2021
If you are planning to apply for a PhD program, you're probably getting advice from dozens of students, professors, administrators your parents and the Internet. Sometimes it's hard to know which advice to focus on and what will make the biggest difference in the long-run. So before you go back to daydreaming about the day you accept that Nobel Prize, here are nine things you should give serious thought to. One or more of these tips may save you from anguish and help you make better decisions as you embark on that path to a PhD.
Depending on your undergraduate institution, there may be more or less support to guide you in selecting a PhD program – but there is generally much less than when you applied to college.
On the website of my physics department, I found a page written by one of my professors, which listed graduate school options in physics and engineering along with resources to consult. As far as I know, my career center did not send out much information about PhD programs. Only after applying to programs did I find out that my undergraduate website had a link providing general information applicable to most PhD programs. This is the kind of information that is available all over the Internet.
So don't wait for your career center or department to lay out a plan for you. Actively seek it out from your career center counselors, your professors, the Internet — and especially from alumni from your department who are in or graduated from your desired PhD program. First-hand experiences will almost always trump the knowledge you get second-hand.
Many students don't internalize this idea until they have jumped head-first into a PhD program. The goal is not to complete an assigned set of courses as in an undergraduate program, but to develop significant and original research in your area of expertise. You will have required courses to take, especially if you do not have a master's degree yet, but these are designed merely to compliment your research and provide a broad and deep knowledge base to support you in your research endeavors.
At the end of your PhD program, you will be judged on your research, not on how well you did in your courses. Grades are not critical as long as you maintain the minimum GPA requirement, and you should not spend too much time on courses at the expense of research projects. Graduate courses tend to be designed to allow you to take away what you will find useful to your research more than to drill a rigid set of facts and techniques into your brain.
You are beginning your senior year of college, and your classmates are asking you if you are applying to graduate school. You think to yourself, "Well, I like studying this topic and the associated research, and I am going to need a PhD if I want to be a professor or do independent research, so I might as well get it done as soon as possible." But are you certain about the type of research you want to do? Do you know where you want to live for the next five years? Are you prepared to stay in an academic environment for nine years straight?
Many people burn out or end up trudging through their PhD program without a thought about what lies outside of or beyond it. A break of a year or two or even more may be necessary to gain perspective. If all you know is an academic environment, how can you compare it to anything else? Many people take a job for five or more years before going back to get their PhD. It is true though that the longer you stay out of school, the harder it is to go back to an academic environment with lower pay and a lack of set work hours. A one-year break will give you six months or so after graduation before PhD applications are due. A two-year gap might be ideal to provide time to identify your priorities in life and explore different areas of research without having school work or a thesis competing for your attention.
Getting research experience outside of a degree program can help focus your interests and give you a leg up on the competition when you finally decide to apply. It can also help you determine whether you will enjoy full-time research or if you might prefer an alternative career path that still incorporates science, for example, in policy, consulting or business — or a hybrid research job that combines scientific and non-scientific skills.
I will be forever grateful that I chose to do research in a non-academic environment for a year between my undergraduate and PhD programs. It gave me the chance to get a feel for doing nothing but research for a full year. Working at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in the Space Division, I was the manager of an optics lab, performing spectroscopic experiments on rocks and minerals placed in a vacuum chamber. While my boss determined the overall experimental design, I was able to make my own suggestions for experiments and use my own discretion in how to perform them. I presented this research at two national conferences as well — a first for me. I was also able to learn about other research being performed there, determine which projects excited me the most, and thus narrow down my criteria for a PhD program.
You might be studying the function and regulation of membrane proteins or doing a computational analysis of the conductivity of different battery designs, but that doesn't mean your PhD project must revolve around similar projects. The transition between college or another research job to a PhD program is one of the main transitions in your life when it is perfectly acceptable to completely change research areas.
If you are doing computation, you may want to switch to lab-based work or vice versa. If you are working in biology but have always had an interest in photonics research, now is the time to try it out. You may find that you love the alternative research and devote your PhD to it, you might hate it and fall back on your previous area of study — or you may even discover a unique topic that incorporates both subjects.
One of the best aspects of the PhD program is that you can make the research your own. Remember, the answer to the question "Why are you doing this research?" should not be "Well, because it's what I've been working on for the past few years already."While my undergraduate research was in atomic physics, I easily transitioned into applied physics and materials science for my PhD program and was able to apply much of what I learned as an undergraduate to my current research. If you are moving from the sciences to a non-STEM field such as social sciences or humanities, this advice can still apply, though the transition is a bit more difficult and more of a permanent commitment.
Even if you believe you are committed to one research area, you may find that five years of such work is not quite what you expected. As such, you should find a PhD program where the professors are not all working in the same narrowly focused research area. Make sure there are at least three professors working on an array of topics you could imagine yourself working on.
In many graduate programs, you are supposed to pick a research advisor before even starting. But such arrangements often do not work out, and you may be seeking a new advisor before you know it. That's why many programs give students one or two semesters to explore different research areas before choosing a permanent research advisor.
In your first year, you should explore the research of a diverse set of groups. After touring their labs, talking to the students, or sitting in on group meetings, you may find that this group is the right one for you.
In addition, consider the importance of who your research advisor will be. This will be the person you interact with regularly for five straight years and who will have a crucial influence on your research. Do you like their advising style? Does their personality mesh with yours? Can you get along? Of course, the research your advisor works on is critical, but if you have large disagreements at every meeting or do not get helpful advice on how to proceed with your research, you may not be able to succeed. At the very least, you must be able to handle your advisor's management of the lab and advising style if you are going to be productive in your work. The Harvard program I enrolled in has professors working on research spanning from nanophotonics to energy materials and biophysics, covering my wide range of interests. By spending time in labs and offices informally chatting with graduate students, I found an advisor whose personality and research interests meshed very well with me. Their genuine enthusiasm for this advisor and their excitement when talking about their research was the best input I could have received.
The first consideration in choosing a PhD program should be, "Is there research at this university that I am passionate about?" After all, you will have to study this topic in detail for four or more years. But when considering the location of a university, your first thought should not be, "I'm going to be in the lab all the time, so what does it matter if I'm by the beach, in a city, or in the middle of nowhere." Contrary to popular belief, you will have a life outside of the lab, and you will have to be able to live with it for four or more years. Unlike when you were an undergraduate, your social and extracurricular life will revolve less around the university community, so the environment of the surrounding area is important. Do you need a city atmosphere to be productive? Or is your ideal location surrounded by forests and mountains or by a beach? Is being close to your family important? Imagine what it will be like living in the area during the times you are not doing research; consider what activities will you do and how often will you want to visit family.
While many of the PhD programs that accepted me had research that truly excited me, the only place I could envision living for five or more years was Boston, as the city I grew up near and whose environment and culture I love, and to be close to my family.
While location is more important than you think, the reputation and prestige of the university is not. In graduate school, the reputation of the individual department you are joining — and sometimes even the specific research group you work in — are more important. There, you will develop research collaborations and professional connections that will be crucial during your program and beyond. When searching for a job after graduation, other scientists will look at your specific department, the people you have worked with and the research you have done.
At the Asgard Irish Pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Andy Greenspon talks with fellow graduate students from Harvard and MIT at an Ask for Evidence workshop organized by Sense About Science. He grew up near Boston and chose to go to graduate school there.
After surviving college, you may think you have mastered the ability to squeeze in your coursework, extracurricular activities and even some sleep. In a PhD program, time management reaches a whole new level. You will not only have lectures to attend and homework to do. You will have to make time for your research, which will include spending extended periods of time in the lab, analyzing data, and scheduling time with other students to collaborate on research.
Also, you will most likely have to teach for a number of semesters, and you will want to attend any seminar that may be related to your research or that just peaks your interest. To top it all off, you will still want to do many of those extracurricular activities you did as an undergraduate. While in the abstract, it may seem simple enough to put this all into your calendar and stay organized, you will find quickly enough that the one hour you scheduled for a task might take two or three hours, putting you behind on everything else for the rest of the day or forcing you to cut other planned events. Be prepared for schedules to go awry, and be willing to sacrifice certain activities. For some, this might be sleep; for others, it might be an extracurricular activity or a few seminars they were hoping to attend. In short, don't panic when things don't go according to plan; anticipate possible delays and be ready to adapt.
This may be the first time you will have to write fellowship or grant proposals, write scientific papers, attend conferences, present your research to others, or even peer-review scientific manuscripts. From my experience, very few college students or even PhD students receive formal training on how to perform any of these tasks. Usually people follow by example. But this is not always easy and can be quite aggravating sometimes. So seek out talks or interactive programs offered by your department or career center. The effort will be well worth it when you realize you've become quite adept at quickly and clearly explaining your research to others and at outlining scientific papers and grant proposals. Alternatively, ask a more experienced graduate student or your advisor for advice on these topics. In addition, be prepared for a learning curve when learning all the procedures and processes of the group you end up working in. There may be many new protocols to master, whether they involve synthesizing chemicals, growing bacterial cells, or aligning mirrors on an optical table. In addition, the group may use programming languages or data analysis software you are unfamiliar with. Don't get discouraged but plan to spend extra effort getting used to these procedures and systems. After working with them regularly, they will soon become second nature. When I first started my job at Johns Hopkins, I felt overwhelmed by all the intricacies of the experiment and definitely made a few mistakes, including breaking a number of optical elements. But by the end of my year there, I had written an updated protocol manual for the modifications I had made to the experimental procedures and was the "master" passing on my knowledge to the next person taking the job.
In a stereotypical "9-to-5" job, when the workday is over or the weekend arrives, you can generally forget about your work. And a vacation provides an even longer respite. But in a PhD program, your schedule becomes "whenever you find time to get your work done." You might be in the lab during regular work hours or you might be working until 10 p.m. or later to finish an experiment. And the only time you might have available to analyze data might be at 1 a.m. Expect to work during part of the weekend, too. Graduate students do go on vacations but might still have to do some data analysis or a literature search while away.
As a PhD student, it might be hard to stop thinking about the next step in an experiment or that data sitting on your computer or that paper you were meaning to start. While I imagine some students can bifurcate their mind between graduate school life and everything else, that's quite hard for many of us to do. No matter what, my research lies somewhere in the back of my head. In short, your schedule is much more flexible as a PhD student, but as a result, you never truly take a break from your work.
While this may seem like a downer, remember that you should have passion for the research you work on (most of the time), so you should be excited to think up new experiments or different ways to consider that data you have collected. Even when I'm lying in bed about to fall asleep, I am sometimes ruminating about aspects of my experiment I could modify or what information I could do a literature search on to gain new insights. A PhD program is quite the commitment and rarely lives up to expectations – but it is well worth the time and effort you will spend for something that truly excites you.
Andy greenspon.
Graduate work leading to the PhD degree is offered in the Department of Physics. Students may petition for an MA degree on their way to a PhD. Please note that the department will not consider applications from students who intend to work toward the MA degree only. In certain cases, students may petition for a terminal MA degree. Research is a major part of the PhD program, and research opportunities exist across the full spectrum of theoretical and experimental physics, including astrophysics and cosmology; atomic, molecular and optical physics; biophysics; condensed matter; elementary particles and fields; fusion and plasma; low-temperature physics; mathematical physics; nuclear physics; quantum information; space physics; and statistical mechanics.
At the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, extensive opportunities exist for research in astrophysics, elementary particle and nuclear physics, condensed matter physics and materials science, and plasma and nuclear physics. Space physics, interplanetary studies, solar plasma research, physics of the upper atmosphere, and cosmological problems are pursued both in the Physics Department and at the Space Sciences Laboratory.
Contact Info
[email protected]
366 Physics North #7300
Berkeley, CA 94720
At a Glance
Department(s)
Admit Term(s)
Application Deadline
December 13, 2024
Degree Type(s)
Doctoral / PhD
Degree Awarded
GRE Requirements
GRE not required; GRE Physics subject test optional
An advanced degree in physics at Caltech is contingent upon an extensive research achievement. Students in the program are expected to join a research group, carry out independent research, and write publications for peer-reviewed journals as well as a thesis. The thesis work proposed to a Caltech candidacy committee then presented and evaluated by a Caltech thesis committee in a public defense. Initially, students are required to consolidate their knowledge by taking advanced courses in at least three subfields of physics. Students must also pass a written candidacy exam in both classical physics and quantum mechanics in order to progress into the research phase of the degree.
Graduates of our program are expected to have extensive experience with modern research methods, a broad knowledge of contemporary physics, and the ability to perform as independent researchers at the highest intellectual and technical levels.
The PhD requirements are below and are also available in the Caltech Catalog, Section 4: Information for Graduate Students .
Submit for approval by Graduate Option Rep | By end of first term |
Complete 2 terms of Phys 242 Course | Fall & Winter Term of first year |
Complete Basic Physics Requirement by passing the | By end of second year |
Complete the | By end of second year |
Complete the Complete the | By end of third year By end of third year |
Hold Annual meetings | 6 months to 1 year after the oral candidacy exam and every year thereafter |
Final | By the end of fifth or sixth year |
The plan of study is the set of courses that a student will take to complete the Advance Physics Requirement and any courses needed as preparation to pass the Written Candidacy Exams (see below). Any additional courses the student plans to take as part of their graduate curriculum may be included in the plan of study but are not required. Students should consult with their Academic Advisor on their Plan of Study and discuss any exception or special considerations with the Option Representative.
Log in to REGIS and navigate to the Ph. D. Candidacy Tab of your Graduate Degree Progress page. Add you courses into the Plan of Study section. When complete, click the "Submit Plan of Study to Option Rep" button. This will generate a notice to the Option Rep to approve your plan of study. Once you complete the courses in the Plan of Study, the Advanced Physics Requirement is completed.
Physics students must demonstrate proficiency in all areas of basic physics, including classical mechanics (including continuum mechanics), electricity and magnetism, quantum mechanics, statistical physics, optics, basic mathematical methods of physics, and the physical origin of everyday phenomena. A solid understanding of these fundamental areas of physics is considered essential, so proficiency will be tested by written candidacy examinations.
No specific course work is required for the basic physics requirement, but some students may benefit from taking several of the basic graduate courses, such as Ph 106 and Ph 125. In addition, the class Ph 201 will provide additional problem solving training that matches the basic physics requirement.
Exam I: Classical Mechanics and Electromagnetism Topics include: TBA
Exam 2: Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics Topics include: TBA
Both exams are offered twice each year (July and October) Email [email protected] to sign up
Nothing additional. Sign up for the exam by emailing Mika Walton. The Student Programs Office will update your REGIS record once you pass the exams.
Students must establish a broad understanding of modern physics through study in six graduate courses. The courses must be spread over at least three of the following four areas of advanced physics. Many courses in physics and related areas may be allowed to count toward the Advanced Physics requirements. Below are some popular examples. Contact the Physics Option Representative to find out if any particular course not listed here can be used for this requirement.
Physics of elementary particles and fields (Nuclear Physics, High Energy Physics, String Theory)
Ph 139 Intro to Particle Physics Ph 205abc Relativistic Quantum Field Theory Ph 217 Intro to the Standard Model Ph 230 Elementary Particle Theory (offered every two years) Ph 250 Intro to String Theory (offered every two years)
Quantum Information and Matter (Atomic/Molecular/Optical Physics, Condensed-Matter Physics, Quantum Information)
Ph 127ab Statistical Physics Ph 135a Intro to Condensed Matter Physics Ph 136a Applications of Classical Physics (Stat Mech, Optics) (offered every two years) Ph 137abc Atoms and Photons Ph 219abc Quantum Computation Ph 223ab Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
Physics of the Universe (Gravitational Physics, Astrophysics, Cosmology)
Ph 136b Applications of Classical Physics (Elasticity, Fluid Dynamics) (offered every two years) Ph 136c Applications of Classical Physics (Plasma, GR) (offered every two years) Ph 236ab Relativity Ph 237 Gravitational Waves (offered every two years) Ay 121 Radiative Processes
Interdisciplinary Physics (e.g. Biophysics, Applied Physics, Chemical Physics, Mathematical Physics, Experimental Physics)
Ph 77 Advanced Physics Lab Ph 101 Order of magnitude (offered every two years) Ph 118 Physics of measurement Ph 129 Mathematical Methods of Physics Ph 136a Applications of Classical Physics (Stat Mech, Optics) (offered every two years) Ph 136b Applications of Classical Physics (Elasticity, Fluid Dynamics) (offered every two years) Ph 229 Advanced Mathematical Methods of Physics
Nothing additional. Once you complete the courses in your approved Plan of Study, the Advanced Physics Requirement is complete.
The Oral Candidacy Exam is primarily a test of the candidate's suitability for research in his or her chosen field. Students should consult with the executive officer to assemble their oral candidacy committee. The chair of the committee should be someone other than the research adviser.
The candidacy committee will examine the student's knowledge of his or her chosen field and will consider the appropriateness and scope of the proposed thesis research during the oral candidacy exam. This exam represents the formal commitment of both student and adviser to a research program.
See also the Physics Candidacy FAQs
After the exam, your committee members will enter their result and any comments they may have. Non-Caltech committee members are instructed to send their results and comments to the physics graduate office who will enter the information on their behalf. Once all "pass" results have been entered, the Option Rep will be prompted to recommend you for admission to candidacy. The recommendation goes to the Dean of Graduate Studies who has the final approval to formally admit you to candidacy.
Thesis advisory committee (tac).
After the oral candidacy exam, students will hold annual meetings with their Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). The TAC will review the research progress and provide feedback and guidance towards completion of the degree. Students should consult with the executive officer to assemble their oral candidacy committee and TAC by the end of their third year. The TAC is normally constituted from the candidacy examiners, but students may propose variations or changes at any time to the option representative. The TAC chair should be someone other than the research Adviser. The TAC chair will typically also serve as the thesis defense chair, but changes may be made in consultation with the Executive Officer and the Option Rep.
What to do in REGIS?
Login to Regis, navigate to the Ph. D. Examination Tab of your Graduate Degree Progress page, and scroll down to the Examination Committee section. Enter the names of your Thesis Advisory Committee members. Click the "Submit Examination Committee for Approval" button and this will automatically generate notifications for the Option Rep and the Dean of Graduate Studies to approve your committee. Enter the date, time and location of your TAC meeting and click "Submit Details." Your committee members will automatically be sent email reminders with the meeting details.
The final thesis examination will cover the thesis topic and its relation to the general body of knowledge of physics. The candidate should send the thesis document to the defense committee and graduate office at least two weeks prior to the defense date. The defense must take place at least three weeks before the degree is to be conferred. Please refer to the Graduate Office and Library webpages for thesis guidelines, procedures, and deadlines.
Physics is arguably the most fundamental scientific discipline and underpins much of our understanding of the universe. Physics is based on experiments and mathematical analysis which aims to investigate the physical laws which make up life as we know it.
Due to the large scope of physics, a PhD project may focus on any of the following subject areas:
Compared to an undergraduate degree, PhD courses involve original research which, creates new knowledge in a chosen research area. Through this you will develop a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research, become an expert in your research field, and contribute to extending the boundaries of knowledge.
During your postgraduate study you will be required to produce a dissertation which summarises your novel findings and explains their significance. Postgraduate research students also undertake an oral exam, known as the Viva, where you must defend your thesis to examiners.
Decoherence due to flux noise in superconducting qubits at microkelvin temperatures, in-situ disposal of cementitious wastes at uk nuclear sites, coventry university postgraduate research studentships, discovery of solid state electrolytes using deep learning, observing the black hole mergers in the early universe with next-generation gravitational wave observatories, hear from phd students and doctorates:.
To get a better perspective of what life is really like doing a Physics PhD, read the interview profiles below, from those that have been there before, and are there now:
The typical full-time programme has a course length of 3 to 4 years . Most universities also offer part-time study . The typical part-time programme has a course length of 5 to 7 years.
The typical Physics PhD programme sees PhD students study on a probationary basis during their first year. Admission to the second year of study and enrolment onto the PhD programme is subject to a successful first year review. The format of this review varies across organisations but commonly involves a written report of progress made on your research project and an oral examination.
Most Physics PhD programme have no formal requirement for students to attend core courses. There are, however, typically several research seminars, technical lectures, journal clubs and other courses held within the Physics department that students are expected to attend.
Research seminars are commonly arranged throughout your programme to support you with different aspects of your study, for example networking with other postgraduates, guidelines on working with your supervisor, how to avoid bias in independent research, tips for thesis writing, and time management skills.
Doctoral training and development workshops are commonly organised both within and outside of the department and aim to develop students’ transferrable skills (for example communication and team working). Information on opportunities for development that exist within the University and explored and your post doctorate career plans will be discussed.
Lectures run by department staff and visiting scholars on particular subject matters relevant to your research topic are sometimes held, and your supervisor (or supervisory committee) is likely to encourage you to attend.
A UK Physics PhD programme normally requires a minimum upper second-class (2:1) honours undergraduate or postgraduate degree (or overseas equivalent) in physics, or a closely related subject. Closely related subjects vary depending on projects, but mathematics and material sciences are common. Graduate students with relevant work experience may also be considered.
Funded PhD programmes (for examples those sponsored by Doctoral Training Partnerships or by the university school) are more competitive, and hence entry requirements tend to be more demanding.
Universities typically expect international students to provide evidence of their English Language ability as part of their applications. This is usually benchmarked by an IELTS exam score of 6.5 (with a minimum score of 6 in each component), a TOEFL (iBT) exam score 92, a CAE and CPE exam score of 176 or another equivalent. The exact score requirements for the different English Language Qualifications may differ across different universities.
If you are applying to a Physics PhD, you should have a thorough grasp of the fundamentals of physics, and also appreciate the concepts within the focus of your chosen research topic. Whilst you should be able to demonstrate this through either your Bachelors or Master’s degree, it is also beneficial to also be able to show this through extra-curricular engagement, for example attending seminars or conferences. This will also get across your passion for Physics – a valuable addition to your application as supervisors are looking for committed students.
It is advisable to make informal contact with the project supervisors for any positions you are interested in prior to applying formally. This is a good chance for you to understand more about the Physics department and project itself. Contacting the supervisor also allows you to build a rapport, demonstrate your interest, and see if the project and potential supervisor are a good fit for you. Some universities require you to provide additional evidence to support your application. These can include:
Annual tuition fees for a PhD in Physics in the UK are approximately £4,000 to £5,000 per year for home (UK) students and are around £22,000 per year for overseas students. This, alongside the standard range in tuition fees that you can expect, is summarised below:
UK Full-Time | £4,400 | £4,000 – £5,000 |
UK Part-Time | £2,200 | £2,000 – £2,500 |
International Full-Time | £22,000 | £17,000 – £25,000 |
International Part-Time | £11,500 | £8,500 – £12,500 |
Note: The EU students are considered International from the start of the 2021/22 academic year.
Due to the experimental nature of Physics programmes, research students not funded by UK research councils may also be required to pay a bench fee . Bench fees are additional fees to your tuition, which covers the cost of travel, laboratory materials, computing equipment or resources associated with your research. For physics research students in particular this is likely to involve training in specialist software, laboratory administration, material and sample ordering, and computing upkeep.
As a PhD applicant, you may be eligible for a loan of up to £25,700. You can apply for a PhD loan if you’re ordinarily resident in the UK or EU, aged 60 or under when the course starts and are not in receipt of Research Council funding.
Research Councils provide funding for research in the UK through competitive schemes. These funding opportunities cover doctoral students’ tuition fees and sometimes include an additional annual maintenance grant. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a government agency that funds scientific research in the UK. Applications for EPSRC funding should be made directly to the EPSRC, but some Universities also advertise EPSRC funded PhD studentships on their website. The main funding body for Physics PhD studentships is EPSRC’s group on postgraduate support and careers, which has responsibility for postgraduate student support.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) funds a large range of projects in Physics and Astronomy. To apply for funding students must locate the relevant project, contact the host institution for details of the postdoctoral researcher they wish to approach and then apply directly to them.
You can use DiscoverPhD’s database to search for a PhD studentship in Physics now.
PhD doctorates possess highly marketable skills which make them strong candidates for analytical and strategic roles. The following skills in particular make them attractive prospects to employers in research, finance and consulting:
Aside from this, postgraduate students will also get transferable skills that can be applied to a much wider range of careers. These include:
The wide range of specialties within Physics courses alone provides a number of job opportunities, from becoming a meteorologist to a material scientist. However, one of the advantages Physics doctorates have over other doctorates is their studies often provide a strong numerical and analytical foundation. This opens a number of career options outside of traditional research roles. Examples of common career paths Physics PostDocs take are listed below:
Academia – A PhD in Physics is a prerequisite for higher education teaching roles in Physics (e.g. University lecturer). Many doctorates opt to teach and supervise students to continue their contribution to research. This is popular among those who favour the scientific nature of their field and wish to pursue theoretical concepts.
PostDoc Researcher – Other postdoctoral researchers enter careers in research, either academic capacity i.e. researching with their University, or in industry i.e. with an independent organisation. Again, this is suited to those who wish to continue learning, enjoy collaboration and working in an interdisciplinary research group, and also offers travel opportunities for international conferences.
Astronomy – Astronomers study the universe and often work with mathematical formulas, computer modelling and theoretical concepts to predict behaviours. A PhD student in this field may work as astrobiologists, planetary geologists or government advisors.
Finance – As mentioned previously, analytical and numerical skills are the backbone of the scientific approach, and the typical postgraduate research programme in Physics is heavily reliant on numeracy. As such, many PostDocs are found to have financial careers. Financial roles typically offer lucrative salaries.
Consulting – Consulting firms often consider a doctoral student with a background in Physics for employment as ideal for consultancy, based on their critical thinking and strategic planning skills.
Data from the HESA is presented below which presents the salary band of UK domiciled leaver (2012/13) in full-time paid UK employment with postgraduate qualifications in Physical Studies:
Less than £15,000 | 1.10% |
£15,000 – £17,499 | 1.40% |
£17,500 – £19,999 | 3.00% |
£20,000 – £22,499 | 7.90% |
£22,500 – £24,999 | 5.50% |
£25,000 – £27,499 | 8.10% |
£27,500 – £29,999 | 6.70% |
£30,000 – £32,499 | 20.20% |
£32,500 – £34,999 | 8.20% |
£35,000 – £39,999 | |
£40,000 – £44,999 | 9.30% |
£45,000 – £49,999 | 4.20% |
£50,000+ | 7.80% |
With a doctoral physics degree, your earning potential will mostly depend on your chosen career path. Due to the wide range of options, it’s impossible to provide an arbitrary value for the typical salary you can expect. However, if you pursue one of the below paths or enter their respective industry, you can roughly expect to earn:
Academic Lecturer
Actuary or Finance
Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering
Data Analyst
Geophysicist
Medical Physicist
Meteorologist
Again, we stress that the above are indicative values only. Actual salaries will depend on the specific organisation and position and responsibilities of the individual.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency has an abundance of useful statistics and data on higher education in the UK. We have looked at the data from the Destination of Leavers 2016/17 survey to provide information specific for Physics Doctorates:
The graph below shows the destination of 2016/17 leavers with research based postgraduate qualifications in physical sciences. This portrays a very promising picture for Physics doctorates, with 92% of leavers are in work or further study.
The table below presents the destination (sorted by standard industrial classification) of 1015 students entering employment in the UK with doctorates in Physical Studies, from 2012/13 to 2016/17. It can be seen that PhD postdocs have a wide range of career paths, though jobs in education, professional, scientific and technical activities, and manufacturing are common.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 0 |
Mining and quarrying | 5 |
Manufacturing | 120 |
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 5 |
Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 5 |
Construction | 5 |
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 20 |
Transport and storage | 5 |
Accommodation and food service activities | 5 |
Information and communication | 85 |
Financial and insurance activities | 25 |
Real estate activities | 0 |
Professional, scientific and technical activities | 180 |
Administrative and support service activities | 5 |
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 35 |
Education | 465 |
Human health and social work activities | 20 |
Arts, entertainment and recreation | 10 |
Other service activities | 15 |
Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies | 0 |
Unknown | 5 |
| It should come as no surprise that one of the most influential physicist in history had a PhD in physics. Specifically, Hawking had a PhD in in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specialising in general relativity and cosmology. His thesis was titled: “Properties of Expanding Universes”. He was awarded the PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1966. Hawking is best known for his contribution to our understanding of general relativity and black holes. In particular he was influential in the work around predicting radiation from black holes, so much so that the term Hawking radiation was coined after his name. In addition to the ground-breaking papers he authored, Hawking served as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge for 30 years, supervised 39 successful PhD students, created and featured in numerous documentaries, published the bestselling book ‘A Brief History of Time’, and had a number of biographical films made about him. |
| Sally Ride was the first American woman to go to space, and to this day remains the youngest American astronaut to go to space. Before joining NASA, Ride obtained her PhD in physics (specifically astrophysics and free electron lasers) from Stanford University. Her thesis focused on interactions of x rays with the interstellar medium. |
| Angel Merkel is a well-known German politician, who has served as Chancellor of Germany since 2005, and is often dubbed by some as ‘the leader of the free world’. After studying graduating with a degree in Physics from Karl Marx University in Leipzig in 1978, Merkel worked in East Berlin, before being awarded her doctorate for her work on quantum chemistry in 1986. Even in her role as chancellor, her background as a scientific researcher has come in handy. Her logical and rational explanation of the scientific approach behind Germany’s COVID-19 lockdown strategy was well received by critics. |
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About the university, research at cambridge.
Postgraduate Study
The PhD in Physics is a full-time period of research which introduces or builds upon, research skills and specialist knowledge. Students are assigned a research supervisor, a specialist in part or all of the student's chosen research field, and join a research group which might vary in size between a handful to many tens of individuals.
Although the supervisor is responsible for the progress of a student's research programme, the extent to which a postgraduate student is assisted by the supervisor or by other members of the group depends almost entirely on the structure and character of the group concerned. The research field is normally determined at entry, after consideration of the student's interests and the facilities available. The student, however, may work within a given field for a period of time before their personal topic is determined.
There is no requirement made by the University for postgraduate students to attend formal courses or lectures for the PhD. Postgraduate work is largely a matter of independent research and successful postgraduates require a high degree of self-motivation. Nevertheless, lectures and classes may be arranged, and students are expected to attend both seminars (delivered regularly by members of the University and by visiting scholars and industrialists) and external conferences. Postgraduate students are also expected to participate in the undergraduate teaching programme at some time whilst they are based at the Cavendish, in order to develop their teaching, demonstrating, outreach, organisational and person-management skills.
It is expected that postgraduate students will also take advantage of the multiple opportunities available for transferable skills training within the University during their period of research.
By the end of the research programme, students will have demonstrated:
The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the Postgraduate Open Day page for more details.
See further the Postgraduate Admissions Events pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.
3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, department of physics, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, lent 2024 (closed).
Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.
Michaelmas 2024 (closed), easter 2025, funding deadlines.
These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.
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Program description.
The PhD in Physics degree program at UT Dallas offers students the opportunity to be involved in forefront research in physics. Our graduates go on to work in industry, academia and government positions.
Our graduate program develops individual creativity and expertise in physics and is strongly focused on research. Students are encouraged to participate in ongoing research activities from the beginning of their graduate studies. The research experience culminates with the doctoral dissertation, the essential element of the PhD program that prepares the student for careers in academia, government laboratories or industry.
Graduates of the program seek positions such as: researcher, physicist, professor and various positions in academia, government and industry.
The NSM Career Success Center is an important resource for students pursuing STEM and healthcare careers. Career professionals are available to provide strategies for mastering job interviews, writing professional cover letters and resumes and connecting with campus recruiters, among other services.
Review the marketable skills for this academic program.
Degree requirements: The Graduate Physics Program seeks students who have a BS degree in Physics or closely related subjects from a university or college, and who have superior skills in quantitative and deductive analysis.
Test score required: Yes
A score from the GRE General Test (verbal and quantitative) is required. The GRE Subject Test in Physics is optional. Decisions on admission are made on an individual basis. However, as a guide, a combined score on the verbal and quantitative parts of the GRE General Test of 308, with at least 155 on the quantitative part, is advisable based on experience with student success in the program.
Deadlines: University deadlines apply.
Department of Physics Email: [email protected]
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About the university, research at cambridge.
The majority of postgraduate students (about 110 are accepted each year) carry out research at the Cavendish Laboratory towards a PhD degree.
For admission to the PhD, the Postgraduate Admissions Office normally requires applicants to have achieved the equivalent of a UK Masters (Pass) . Applicants should obtain the equivalent of:
All applicants are assessed individually on the basis of their academic records.
Full-time students must spend at least three terms of residence in Cambridge and nine terms of research. If you are undertaking a placement or internship away from Cambridge for more than two weeks you need to apply for leave to work away.
Final examination involves the submission of a thesis of not more than 60,000 words followed by an oral examination (or viva) of the thesis and the general field of physics into which it falls.
Successful applicants are assigned to a research supervisor, a specialist in part or all of the student's chosen research field, and joins a research group which might vary in size between 4 and 80 individuals. Although the supervisor is responsible for the progress of a student's research programme, the extent to which a postgraduate student is assisted by the supervisor or by other members of the group depends almost entirely on the structure and character of the group concerned. The research field is normally determined at entry, after consideration of the student's interests and facilities available.
A list of current research projects is published and available on the research pages of our website, and more detailed information about specific research areas can be obtained from the relevant academic staff. The student, however, may work within a given field for a period of time before his or her personal topic is determined.
There is no requirement by the University of attendance at formal courses of lectures for the PhD. Postgraduate work is largely a matter of independent research and successful postgraduates require a high degree of self-motivation. Nevertheless, lectures and classes may be arranged, and students are expected to attend both seminars (delivered regularly by members of the University and by visiting scholars and industrialists) and external conferences. In addition, postgraduate students carry out first- and second-year physics undergraduate supervision and assist with practical work and theoretical examples classes in the Department.
Lectures within all the faculties of the University are open to any member of the University, and a physics postgraduate student has the opportunity of attending lectures not only within the undergraduate Physics and Theoretical Physics course, but also in any other subject area or faculty.
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Phd in physics (2021 entry).
Pursue cutting-edge research on PhD in Physics alongside field experts at the University of Warwick. Warwick's Physics Department will provide you with a hands-on approach at the forefront of modern physics.
Our Physics department offers guidance and information on the PhD in Physics and further information on the available research themes .
Physics Staff Directory
Areas for phd supervision.
Condensed Matter Physics including: Surface and Interface Science; Thin Films; Semiconductors; Analytical Science; Microscopy; Nanoscience; Two Dimensional Materials; Medical Physics; Bio-Physics; Superconductivity and Magnetism; Ultrafast & Terahertz Photonics, Ferroelectrics and Crystallography; Multi-Ferroics; Ultrasonics; Magnetic X-Ray Scattering; Magnetic Resonance; Solid State NMR; EPR; Diamond; Quantum Phenomena.
Theoretical Physics including: Quantum Information Theory; Disordered Quantum Systems; Electronic Structure Theory; Molecular Simulation; High-performance Computing; Complexity Science; Soft Matter.
Elementary Particle Physics including: ATLAS; Detector Development; LHCb and other B Physics; Neutrino Physics; T2K.
Astronomy and Astrophysics including: Binary Star Evolution; Extra-Solar Planets; Gamma- Ray Bursts; High-speed Astrophysics; 3D radiation-hydrodynamical simulations.
Fusion, Space and Astrophysics including: Magnetic and Inertial Fusion Power; Space Physics; Solar Physics; Magnetohydrodynamic Wave Dynamics.
The PhD course has a taught component consisting of graduate level training and transferable skills .
Entry requirements 2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in Physics or a related subject
English language requirements Band A IELTS overall score of 6.5, minimum component scores not below 6.0
International Students We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications. For more information please visit the international entry requirements page .
For up-to-date information concerning fees, funding and scholarships for Home, EU and Overseas students please visit Warwick's Fees and Funding webpage .
MSc (by research) in Physics
The UW–Madison Physics Department awarded its first PhD in 1899. Since then our students have earned degrees in virtually every area of physics , and our faculty have played key roles in myriad important research efforts. We are training over 170 PhD students as the next generation of physics researchers who are already earning recognition and making significant accomplishments in their field. Each year, our instructional teams teach introductory physics to nearly 2,000 undergrads from majors across campus. International students are a significant component of our graduate degree student cohort.
Participants in the VISP thematic track in Physics are invited to interface with faculty undertaking cutting-edge research at a leading US university, with our first-rate undergraduate and graduate students, and with our many remarkable and helpful staff, to participate in weekly Physics and Astronomy colloquia (with refreshments!) and daily seminars in research areas such as machine learning in physics, AMO and quantum computing, plasma physics, high energy physics, astrophysics, and fundamental theory, to enjoy the undergraduate Physics Club, annual Department Picnic, and other departmental events, and to exploit opportunities for supervised independent study as well as explore our comprehensive curriculum.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison physics department consists of members with varied national origin, ethnic background, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, gender, age, physical ability, and religion. As a community, we are committed to being positive and inclusive in all regards.
The UW-Madison overview , our undergraduate handbook , and our majors general information webpages provide an introduction to our program.
From the time you apply to the end of your stay, the VISP staff will be there to assist you. As a VISP participant you have full access to all academic and student support services, such as libraries, computer labs, clubs, and sports facilities; the opportunity to participate in VISP sponsored social and cultural events; and upon completion you will receive an official UW–Madison transcript.
Participants in this thematic track may contact the department for information about courses and programs not otherwise available through the VISP program office and online sources.
Participants must meet the VISP eligibility criteria for admission into this program. This Thematic Track admits students at the Undergraduate, Graduate, or Dissertator level .
Physics courses beyond the introductory level do not necessarily have explicit prerequisites in mathematics but are mathematical and quantitative in nature. VISP students interested in taking intermediate and advanced physics courses as part of this VISP thematic track program should have completed or are in the process of completing intermediate math classes.
Fall and Spring semesters and during the Summer Term. Most Physics courses are offered during both the fall and spring semesters. Summer Term courses are available at the introductory level.
The study of physics begins with understanding familiar phenomena at the macroscopic scale and advances to exploring and understanding the submicroscopic quantum universe and the universe at stellar, galactic, and cosmological scales. Physics courses beyond the introductory level do not have explicit prerequisites in mathematics but are mathematical and quantitative.
Students in our VISP Physics thematic track may select from many interesting and challenging classes at the introductory to the graduate level. Course descriptions and prerequisites are available through the UW-Madison public course search and at the Physics Department website .
For in-depth advising regarding Physics course choices–especially for upper-level classes, please contact a physics advisor . Students may register for any course, regardless of requisites with the consent of the course instructor .
For enrollment, course access, and wait list questions, please contact [email protected] .
Estimated cost of attendance information is available on the VISP website.
Submit your VISP application and in your essay please include: “I am applying for the Physics VISP track.”
Questions? Please contact the VISP coordinators .
Fill out this form to learn more about our non-degree programs.
Welcome to our incoming graduate students.
August 14, 2024
Welcome to our incoming graduate students! August 14, 2024
Catch up with the latest research from UNM Physics and Astronomy alumnus Will Crockett July 17, 2024
EDA awards $41M to Colorado- and New Mexico-based Elevate Quantum Tech Hub July 3, 2024
Tara Drake receives NSF CAREER Award to study optical frequency combs June 11, 2024
Dave Dunlap Retires May 29, 2024
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A new milestone has been set for levitated optomechanics as prof. tongcang li’s group observed the berry phase of electron spins in nano-sized diamonds levitated in vacuum.
Physicists at Purdue are throwing the world’s smallest disco party. The disco ball itself is a fluorescent nanodiamond, which they have levitated and spun at incredibly high speeds. The fluorescent diamond emits and scatters multicolor lights in different directions as it rotates. The party continues as they study the effects of fast rotation on the spin qubits within their system and are able to observe the Berry phase. The team, led by Tongcang Li , professor of Physics and Astronomy and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, published their results in Nature Communications . Reviewers of the publication described this work as “arguably a groundbreaking moment for the study of rotating quantum systems and levitodynamics” and “a new milestone for the levitated optomechanics community.”
“Imagine tiny diamonds floating in an empty space or vacuum. Inside these diamonds, there are spin qubits that scientists can use to make precise measurements and explore the mysterious relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity,” explains Li, who is also a member of the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute . “In the past, experiments with these floating diamonds had trouble in preventing their loss in vacuum and reading out the spin qubits. However, in our work, we successfully levitated a diamond in a high vacuum using a special ion trap. For the first time, we could observe and control the behavior of the spin qubits inside the levitated diamond in high vacuum.”
The team made the diamonds rotate incredibly fast—up to 1.2 billion times per minute! By doing this, they were able to observe how the rotation affected the spin qubits in a unique way known as the Berry phase.
“This breakthrough helps us better understand and study the fascinating world of quantum physics,” he says.
The fluorescent nanodiamonds, with an average diameter of about 750 nm, were produced through high-pressure, high-temperature synthesis. These diamonds were irradiated with high-energy electrons to create nitrogen-vacancy color centers, which host electron spin qubits. When illuminated by a green laser, they emitted red light, which was used to read out their electron spin states. An additional infrared laser was shone at the levitated nanodiamond to monitor its rotation. Like a disco ball, as the nanodiamond rotated, the direction of the scattered infrared light changed, carrying the rotation information of the nanodiamond.
The authors of this paper were mostly from Purdue University and are members of Li’s research group: Yuanbin Jin (postdoc), Kunhong Shen (PhD student), Xingyu Gao (PhD student) and Peng Ju (recent PhD graduate). Li, Jin, Shen, and Ju conceived and designed the project and Jin and Shen built the setup. Jin subsequently performed measurements and calculations and the team collectively discussed the results. Two non-Purdue authors are Alejandro Grine, principal member of technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, and Chong Zu, assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Li’s team discussed the experiment results with Grine and Zu who provided suggestions for improvement of the experiment and manuscript.
“For the design of our integrated surface ion trap,” explains Jin, “we used a commercial software, COMSOL Multiphysics, to perform 3D simulations. We calculate the trapping position and the microwave transmittance using different parameters to optimize the design. We added extra electrodes to conveniently control the motion of a levitated diamond. And for fabrication, the surface ion trap is fabricated on a sapphire wafer using photolithography. A 300-nm-thick gold layer is deposited on the sapphire wafer to create the electrodes of the surface ion trap.”
So which way are the diamonds spinning and can they be speed or direction manipulated? Shen says yes, they can adjust the spin direction and levitation.
“We can adjust the driving voltage to change the spinning direction,” he explains. “The levitated diamond can rotate around the z-axis (which is perpendicular to the surface of the ion trap), shown in the schematic, either clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on our driving signal. If we don’t apply the driving signal, the diamond will spin omnidirectionally, like a ball of yarn.”
Levitated nanodiamonds with embedded spin qubits have been proposed for precision measurements and creating large quantum superpositions to test the limit of quantum mechanics and the quantum nature of gravity.
“General relativity and quantum mechanics are two of the most important scientific breakthroughs in the 20 th century. However, we still do not know how gravity might be quantized,” says Li. “Achieving the ability to study quantum gravity experimentally would be a tremendous breakthrough. In addition, rotating diamonds with embedded spin qubits provide a platform to study the coupling between mechanical motion and quantum spins.”
This discovery could have a ripple effect in industrial applications. Li says that levitated micro and nano-scale particles in vacuum can serve as excellent accelerometers and electric field sensors. For example, the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are using optically-levitated nanoparticles to develop solutions for critical problems in navigation and communication .
“At Purdue University, we have state-of-the-art facilities for our research in levitated optomechanics,” says Li. “We have two specialized, home-built systems dedicated to this area of study. Additionally, we have access to the shared facilities at the Birck Nanotechnology Center, which enables us to fabricate and characterize the integrated surface ion trap on campus. We are also fortunate to have talented students and postdocs capable of conducting cutting-edge research. Furthermore, my group has been working in this field for ten years, and our extensive experience has allowed us to make rapid progress.”
Quantum research is one of four key pillars of the Purdue Computes initiative, which emphasizes the university’s extensive technological and computational environment.
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant number PHY-2110591), the Office of Naval Research (grant number N00014-18-1-2371), and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (grant DOI 10.37807/gbmf12259). The project is also partially supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Sandia National Laboratories.
Related News:
About the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University
Purdue’s Department of Physics and Astronomy has a rich and long history dating back to 1904. Our faculty and students are exploring nature at all length scales, from the subatomic to the macroscopic and everything in between. With an excellent and diverse community of faculty, postdocs and students who are pushing new scientific frontiers, we offer a dynamic learning environment, an inclusive research community and an engaging network of scholars.
Physics and Astronomy is one of the seven departments within the Purdue University College of Science. World-class research is performed in astrophysics, atomic and molecular optics, accelerator mass spectrometry, biophysics, condensed matter physics, quantum information science, and particle and nuclear physics. Our state-of-the-art facilities are in the Physics Building, but our researchers also engage in interdisciplinary work at Discovery Park District at Purdue, particularly the Birck Nanotechnology Center and the Bindley Bioscience Center. We also participate in global research including at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, many national laboratories (such as Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermilab, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Stanford Linear Accelerator, etc.), the James Webb Space Telescope, and several observatories around the world.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives .
Contributors:
Tongcang Li , Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue
Tongcang Li Research Group | Purdue University (google.com)
Writer: Cheryl Pierce , Purdue College of Science
Department of Physics and Astronomy, 525 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2036 • Phone: (765) 494-3000 • Fax: (765) 494-0706
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The Yale Department of Physics welcomes applications to our matriculating graduate class of 2024 beginning around August 15th, 2024. The General GRE and Physics GRE scores are Optional for applications received by the December 15, 2023, submission deadline.. We recognize the continuing disruption caused by COVID-19 and that the hardship of taking GREs falls unequally on individual students.
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A PhD is a research degree you can complete after your Bachelor's or Master's degree. The PhD bit actually stands for Doctor of Philosophy, and it's also sometimes called a doctorate. You usually spend three or four years reading up about a topic, conducting original research under the guidance of a supervisor (or supervisors) and ...
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To contact our staff regarding graduate admissions, please email [email protected] . Applying to UC Berkeley's Physics Graduate Program The application deadline for Fall 2025 admission to the Berkeley Physics Ph.D. program is: December 13 2024, at 8:59 PM (Pacific Standard Time)/11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time) Your application ...
9. There are no real breaks. In a stereotypical "9-to-5" job, when the workday is over or the weekend arrives, you can generally forget about your work. And a vacation provides an even longer respite. But in a PhD program, your schedule becomes "whenever you find time to get your work done."
The Graduate Division serves more than 13,000 students in over 100 graduate degree programs. We are here to help you from the time you are admitted until you complete your graduate program. ... Graduate work leading to the PhD degree is offered in the Department of Physics. Students may petition for an MA degree on their way to a PhD.
TIMEFRAME. Submit Plan of Study for approval by Graduate Option Rep. By end of first term. Complete 2 terms of Phys 242 Course. Fall & Winter Term of first year. Complete Basic Physics Requirement by passing the. Written Candidacy Exams. By end of second year. Complete the Advanced Physics Requirement.
A UK Physics PhD programme normally requires a minimum upper second-class (2:1) honours undergraduate or postgraduate degree (or overseas equivalent) in physics, or a closely related subject. Closely related subjects vary depending on projects, but mathematics and material sciences are common. Graduate students with relevant work experience may ...
The PhD in Physics is a full-time period of research which introduces or builds upon, research skills and specialist knowledge. Students are assigned a research supervisor, a specialist in part or all of the student's chosen research field, and join a research group which might vary in size between a handful to many tens of individuals.
Physics Graduate Program II. Organizational Chart: Department of Physics Dr. Eduardo Mucciolo 407/823-1882 [email protected] Dr. Joshua Colwell 407/823-2012 [email protected] Dr. Enrique Del Barco 407/823-0755 [email protected] Dr. Sergey Stolbov 407/823-1543 [email protected]
The PhD in Physics degree program at UT Dallas offers students the opportunity to be involved in forefront research in physics. Our graduates go on to work in industry, academia and government positions. Our graduate program develops individual creativity and expertise in physics and is strongly focused on research. Students are encouraged to ...
PhD in Physics (3+ years) The majority of postgraduate students (about 110 are accepted each year) carry out research at the Cavendish Laboratory towards a PhD degree. For admission to the PhD, the Postgraduate Admissions Office normally requires applicants to have achieved the equivalent of a UK Masters (Pass). Applicants should obtain the ...
Entry requirements 2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in Physics or a related subject. English language requirements Band A IELTS overall score of 6.5, minimum component scores not below 6.0. International Students We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.
The UW-Madison Physics Department awarded its first PhD in 1899. Since then our students have earned degrees in virtually every area of physics, and our faculty have played key roles in myriad important research efforts. We are training over 170 PhD students as the next generation of physics researchers who are already earning recognition and making significant…
For example, they can opt for the Coterminal MS program and graduate with an MS degree in addition to the BS in Physics or Applied Physics. Exceptional students may be invited to Rensselaer's Accelerated PhD program, which leads to a fast track toward BS and PhD degrees. Physics Template 2023 . Applied Physics Template 2023
She also obtained a master of philosophy in physics at the University of Cambridge, and won a Fulbright Science and Technology scholarship to study towards her PhD at MIT, where she investigated the nitrogen-vacancy centre defect in diamond, the spin of which works as a "quantum bit".
Welcome to our incoming graduate students! August 14, 2024. Catch up with the latest research from UNM Physics and Astronomy alumnus Will Crockett July 17, 2024. EDA awards $41M to Colorado- and New Mexico-based Elevate Quantum Tech Hub July 3, 2024. Tara Drake receives NSF CAREER Award to study optical frequency combs June 11, 2024
Biomechanics applies principles of physics to study the forces acting on the body and the effects of those forces. It involves analyzing movement patterns to improve performance and reduce the risk of injury. ... With a PhD in Kinesiology, you can take on leadership positions that influence the direction of research, education, and practice in ...
The authors of this paper were mostly from Purdue University and are members of Li's research group: Yuanbin Jin (postdoc), Kunhong Shen (PhD student), Xingyu Gao (PhD student) and Peng Ju (recent PhD graduate). Li, Jin, Shen, and Ju conceived and designed the project and Jin and Shen built the setup.