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PhD in Applied Physics

The Applied Physics PhD has been approved by the State Board at their September 2009 meeting.

The program is as follows:
Physics Core Course requirement (Total of 10 required classes)
PH 617,618, 619 Quantum mechanics (12cr)
PH 631, 632, 633 Electromagnetic fields and interactions (12cr)
PH 664 Statistical Mechanics (4cr)
PH 624 Classical Mechanics (4cr)
PH 585, 586 Experimental Methods in Applied Physics (8cr)

Physics seminar (minimum six terms), 607 (6cr)
Dissertation research, 601(27cr)
At minimum, three courses in one (and only one) of the following strands: (12cr)
Nanoscience and Materials Physics
PH 513 Introduction to Solid State Physics
PH 540, 541 Physics of Solid State Devices
PH 545, 546, 547 Microelectronic Device Fabrication
PH 551 Scanning Electron Microscopy
PH 552 Transmission Electron Microscopy
PH 581 Introduction to Nano(materials)-science and -engineering
PH 564 Applied Optics
CH 634 Polymer Chemistry
CH 661 Photochemistry
ECE 515 Fundamentals of Semiconductor Devices
Atmospheric Physics
PH 571 Climate Change and Atmospheric Physics (required)
PH 577 Air Pollution
PH 578 Applied Air Pollution Modeling
PH 679 Advanced Atmospheric Physics and Climate Change
CH546, 537 Spectrometric Analysis and Laboratory
CH670 Atmospheric Chemistry
CH661 Photochemistry
ESR 666 Applied Environmental Statistics
GEOG 511 Climate Analysis
GEOG 588, 592 GIS Systems
CE 672, 676 Environmental Fluid Mechanics I, II
Biophysics
PH590 Cellular and Molecular Biophysics (required)
CH590, 591, 592 Biochemistry
CH 610 Biochemical Catalysis
CH 610N NMR Spectroscopy
CH610B Biological NMR
CH610T Topics in Mass Spectroscopy
CH510M Molecular Modeling
BI 524 Molecular Genetics
BI 562 Neurophysiology
BI 563 Sensory Physiology

Students may substitute advisor-approved electives from this list (from the local institution OHSU/OGI).
BCMB 617 Topics in Advanced Biophysical Chemistry (OHSU)
BCMB 618 Protein Design (OHSU)
BCMB 620 Biochemical and Biophysical Properties of membranes (OHSU)
BCMB 621 Biophysical Chemistry of Macromolecules (OHSU)
BMB532 Bioenergetics and Membrane transport (OGI)
BMB537 Metals in Biochemistry (OGI)

ESR PhD program is not longer operational
The doctoral program is designed to allow students interested in studies of environmental sciences and resources to engage in relevant research while acquiring advanced academic training in physics. Additional information can be found at the Environmental Sciences and Resources website.

Degree Requirements

In addition to the general university regulations governing master's degree programs, the Department of Physics has requirements designed to assure both the faculty and the student that s/he possesses the ability and experience expected of a PhD candidate by the scientific community.

It is expected that a student with a baccalaureate degree in physics will be able to complete the degree in five years. This assumes that s/he is a full-time student and holds a graduate teaching assistantship during the entire five years. The graduate student should be aware that continuation as a teaching assistant at any point in the program is not guaranteed. Such assistantship can be continued for up to a maximum of five years, based on the student's demonstrated progress in the program, among other factors. The minimum requirement (regular admission status) for a teaching assistantship is to maintain a GPA of 3.00 each term and cumulatively while taking at least nine graduate credits.

The program requirements and regulations are as follows:

Courses

ESR Courses

  • ESR 620, 621, 622 Environmental Science.
  • ESR course requirements must be completed by the end of the fourth year of study.
  • Two years of ESR 607 Seminar.

Physics Courses

  • Competence at the graduate level in the core areas of physics: quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, electrodynamics, and statistical mechanics. Students are required to pass at least three (with grades B- or higher) out of the following four sequences of graduate physics courses:
    • PH 511, 618, 619
    • PH 624, 625, 626
    • PH 631, 632, 633
    • PH 664, 665, 666
  • Three more regularly scheduled lecture/lab quarter courses offered by the Physics Department starting from PH510 and above, excluding PH 515, 525, 526, 531, 532 and 564.
  • Physics course requirements must be completed by the end of the third year of study.
  • PH 607 Seminar (Current Literature) -- minimum three terms, TAs are required to participate the entire length of the assistantship.

Additional Courses

  • Competence in the mathematical techniques used by physicists including statistics and computer programming as indicated in the Environmental Sciences and Resources Ph.D. Requirements (see ESR office).
  • The student may fulfill this requirement either by having completed the approved courses or by passing special examinations in these courses. This requirement should be completed by the third year of study.

Courses Outside of the Department

If the student opts to take courses outside the department, no more than one course per term can be taken without prior approval from the department chair.

Comprehensive Examination

The Comprehensive Examination will be composed of the following three sections:

  • Modern Physics: (covering Quantum and Thermodynamics (Stat. Mech.)
  • Classical Mechanics
  • Electricity and Magnetism

The annual exam which lasts for two days will be offered around the weekend at the end of spring break.  The student will be given two chances to pass all sections of the exam.  A third time can only be granted with faculty approval after a case has been made by the student's graduate advisor.  If the student fails to pass all sections by the third attempt, the student will no longer be allowed to continue in the Applied Physics Ph.D. program.

Advising

The student must have a faculty advisor. By the end of the first term, the student must have completed the advisor selection process by filling out the Selection of Advisor Form available from the department office. The advisor must be selected and approved by the end of the second term.

Changing Advisors

The student must have a faculty advisor. The student can petition for a change in faculty advisor to the department's Graduate Affairs Committee and the Department Chair.

Annual Progress Report

By the end of the sixth week of the Spring term, the student must submit an Annual Progress Report (available from the department office) to their advisor. The original will be filed in the student's permanent file.

Master's Degree

Master's work must be completed within the first two years that the student is in residence at PSU. Students with a master's from a different university are expected to do a master's at PSU as well. Per University rules, graduate course work completed for a previous degree at a different institution cannot count towards a degree at PSU.

Prospectus and Candidacy

In addition to passing the Comprehensive Examination, the student must submit a prospectus outlining a proposed research project suitable for the doctoral dissertation in Environmental Sciences and Resources/Physics. The prospectus must be approved by the student's Supervisory Committee consisting of the research advisor plus at least two additional members from physics, at least one member to be chosen from one of the following six departments: Chemistry, Biology, Civil Engineering Geology, Geography, and Economics and one representative from the Office of Graduate Studies (any department but physics). Two recommendations for representative in priority order must be listed on the GO-16D. The graduate office representative is selected by the Graduate Office and all members are notified by the Office of Graduate Studies. These members should be mutually agreed upon by the student and her/his research advisor. A copy of the approved prospectus must subsequently be approved by the Environmental Sciences Coordinating Committee. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to preclude early preliminary research on a problem of interest. A student who has successfully completed the requirements for Courses and Comprehensive Examination and whose dissertation prospectus has been approved is advanced to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

The student should be advanced to candidacy no later than by the fourth year of study.

There is both a minimum and a maximum time after advancement before the dissertation defense. The minimum time is four moths from the date the Office of Graduate Studies determines as the effective date of candidacy. The maximum time allotted for the program to candidacy is four years. Termination from the program will occur at the end of the fourth year after advancement. The only exception is for a leave of absence that is preapproved by the advisor and department chair.

The student is advised to also consult the University Bulletin for additional information. The summary is presented here as a guideline for the student. All applicable University rules will prevail, except where the department's rules are stricter than the University's

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination

The candidate's Dissertation Committee including the representative of the Office of Graduate Studies shall conduct a final oral examination based primarily on the subject area of the dissertation. He or she should also give a ESR or Physics seminar, open to the public, prior to the final defense of the Ph.D. thesis. The completed dissertation, in an acceptable form, must be in the hands of the committee members a minimum of two weeks in advance of the final oral examination. The student is required to provide four copies of the final version of the dissertation to the Office of Graduate Studies. Two copies will end up in the Library, one copy is for the ESR program and one copy is for the department.

Seminar Participation

Candidates are expected to attend and participate in Physics Department and Environmental Sciences and Resources seminars or colloquia on a regular basis during their tenure in the Department of Physics. The student is required to present one Environmental Sciences and Resources seminar before he/she graduates. Participation in Physics Seminar is required for all teaching assistants. Non-teaching assistants must participate for a minimum of three terms.

Termination from the Program

Continued admission in the program depends on the satisfactory progress in the studies. Failure to abide by the department's and university's rules will result in termination from the program.

Doctoral Residence Requirements

A minimum of three academic years of satisfactory graduate study beyond the baccalaureate is required. A minimum of three consecutive terms (counting Summer term or not) must be spent in full-time residence, with registration for nine or more graduate credits each term, after admission to the doctoral program at Portland State University.


All applicable University rules will prevail, except where the department's rules are stricter than the University's.

Phasing in of the requirements: Students already enrolled will have to abide by the above time lines but will have one extra year to complete the relevant requirements. They will need to file the Annual Progress Report by May 9, 2002. Failure to do so will result in termination from the program.