PhD Program in Applied Physics

Not currently accepting applicants for 2024-2025 academic year

Overview of the Ph.D. in Applied Physics

For the Applied Physics Ph.D. program in the Department of Physics you will not only have to show mastery of subject-matter, you are also expected to make a scholarly contribution to the knowledge through your own original research as attested to by the submission of peer-reviewed publications in the appropriate literature.

The Applied Physics Ph.D. degree involves the successful completion of the following requirements:

• Course program
• Adherence to the regulatory and safety rules
• Comprehensive exam
• Research prospectus exam
• Dissertation research and preparation
• Final dissertation defense

General Requirements for the Ph.D. in Applied Physics

All doctoral students must earn a minimum of 81 credits beyond the bachelor's degree. Candidates for the Ph.D. in Applied Physics must satisfy requirements related to coursework, seminar, and a dissertation. Candidates for the Ph.D. in Applied Physics are required to pass the comprehensive examination, a prospectus examination, write a dissertation, and orally defend the dissertation. Coursework requirements include a minimum of 81 credits as follows:

Coursework

A total of 81 credit hours at the graduate level are required for a Ph.D. in Applied Physics. Included in these 81 credits must be the following 69 credit hours:

A minimum of 27 credits of PH 603 Dissertation are required for the doctoral degree. The remaining credits will be made up of either: graduate level courses, research (PH 601) and/or dissertation (PH 603) credits. After the term for advancement to candidacy, the student has a minimum of four months and a maximum of five years to complete all requirements for graduation, including defense of the dissertation. Candidates must be continuously enrolled during that period.

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the departmental research programs, courses from outside the Physics department can be part of a student’s curriculum. Approved electives in the three specialty areas of Nanoscience and Materials Physics, Atmospheric Physics, and Biophysics are listed below. It is to be noted that other courses might be substituted on approval of the adviser and the GAC. It is in the adviser’s and the student’s best interest to identify the courses that will be most beneficial for the student’s research. Although we list only three major tracks, work in other fields in applied physics is possible as well, provided faculty in the department are able and willing to mentor the student in this field and expect that it will successfully lead to a completed degree. Electives for non-standard tracks will need to be approved by the student’s committee.

When: Typically by the end of the 2nd year in residence.

Specialty Core

Courses taken in a specialty core area should be planned with the student's advisory committee. Students are required to take at least THREE courses (12 credits) from ONE of the Specialty Elective Lists below:

Atmospheric Sciences

• PH 571: Physical and Human Dimensions of Climate Change
• PH 573: Alternative Energies
• PH 679: Advanced Atmospheric Physics
• PH 619: Quantum Mechanics
• PH 633: Electromagnetic Fields & Interactions
• PH 664, 665: Statistical Mechanics
• ME 541/641: Advanced Fluid Mechanics
• ME 548: Applied Computational Fluid Dynamics
• CE 589: Introduction to Advanced Environmental Fluid Mechanics
• CE 586: Environmental Chemistry
• CE 588/ESM 560: Air Quality
• G 524: Geographical Information Systems for the Natural Sciences
• GEOG 512: Global Climate Change Science and Socio-environmental Impact Assessment
• GEOG 588: Geographic Information Systems I: Introduction
• GEOG 596: Introduction to Spatial Quantitative Analysis
• STAT 543: Survey of Statistical Methods

Biophysics

• PH 590 Cellular and Molecular Biophysics
• PH 619: Quantum Mechanics
• PH 633: Electromagnetic Fields & Interactions
• PH 664, 665: Statistical Mechanics
• CH 590, 591, 592: Biochemistry
• BI 524: Molecular Genetics
• BI 563: Sensory Physiology
• Students may substitute advisor-approved electives from Oregon Health & Science University

Nano and Materials Science

• PH 540, 541: Solid State Devices
• PH 545, 546, 547: Micro-Electronic Device Fabrication
• PH 595: Materials Physics
• PH 581: Intro to Nano-materials
• PH 534: Methods of Mathematical Physics
• PH 619: Quantum Mechanics
• PH 633: Electromagnetic Fields & Interactions
• PH 664, 665: Statistical Mechanics
• ME 528: Scanning Electron Microscopy
• ME 529: Transmission Electron Microscopy
• ECE 515: Fundamentals of Semiconductor Devices
• CH 511, 512: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I & II
• CH 540, 541, 542: Physical Chemistry
• CH 543: Numerical Data Analysis and Modeling in Chemistry

Availability of elective classes

Please be aware that not all elective classes are offered on a regular schedule but are based upon student demand and instructor availability. Please check for suitability of any course with your advisor and for the schedule with the listed instructor or the appropriate department.

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 Graduate Program Director and the Department Chair.

When: Typically by the end of the 2nd year in residence.

Departmental Seminar

Students are highly encouraged to attend the Physics Departmental seminar, even if not registered, at 3:15 PM on Monday afternoons (times may vary slightly). Participation in the departmental seminar is an important part of a student’s development as a research scientist.

When: Routine attendance at the departmental seminar is expected as is a presentation to be given about the student’s research no later than the 4th year in full-time residence in the departmental seminar.

Comprehensive Examination

The exam covers the major fields of physics up to 500 level at PSU. 

These major fields include Classical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Statistical and Thermal Physics, and other topics found in Modern Physics. 

The best way to prepare for the exam is to work problems from previous years.
Please e-mail physics@pdx.edu to request copies of these exams.

Recommended references:

Classical Mechanics
"Classical Mechanics" (up to Chapter 11)
Author: John R. Taylor

Thermodynamics/Statistical Mechanics
"Thermal Physics" (Chapters 1-7)
Author: Daniel Schroeder
Pearson, 1999

Electricity & Magnetism
"Introduction to Electrodynamics" (up to end of Chapter 7)
Author: David J. Griffiths

Modern Physics
"Modern Physics" (including - Special Relativity, Particle Physics, or Nuclear Physics)
Author: Raymond A. Serway, et. al. 

Quantum Mechanics
"Introduction to Quantum Mechanics" (Chapters 1-4)
Author: David J. Griffiths and Darrel F. Schroeter
"Feyman Lectures" Volume III (chapters 1-3)
Author: Richard Feyman

Notes:

• The student must successfully pass all sections of the exam in the first 3 years of entering the program.
• The student may take the exam the first year if the student so desires. 
   

Prospectus Examination

In addition to passing the Comprehensive Examination, the student must submit a prospectus outlining a proposed research project suitable for the doctoral dissertation in Applied Physics. The prospectus must be approved by the student's DC. This committee is appointed on form GO-16D.

The dissertation committee must consist of four to six PSU faculty members: the dissertation chair and a minimum of three and a maximum of five members. The chair of the dissertation committee must be regular, full-time PSU instructional faculty, tenured or tenure-track, assistant professor or higher in rank; the other three to five committee members may include adjunct or fixed-term faculty and/or members of the OHSU faculty.

If it is necessary to go off-campus for one committee member with specific expertise not available among PSU faculty, a curriculum vitae (CV) for that proposed member must be presented with the GO-16D form. This off-campus member may substitute for one of the three to five regular committee members. All committee members must have doctoral degrees. These members should be mutually agreed upon by the student and her/his research advisor.

Nothing in this section 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, will be advanced to candidacy for the PhD. A copy of the approved prospectus must submitted to the Department along with form G0-23.

When: Preferred by the end of the 3rd year, typically 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 University enforces the following time limits. The minimum time is four months from the date the Graduate School determines as the effective date of candidacy. The maximum time allotted after advancement to candidacy is five years. A leave of absence does not stop any University time limit. The Department has stricter rules, see section IV F in the Physics Graduate Student Handbook.

Dissertation

The candidate's Dissertation Committee including the representative of the Graduate School shall conduct a final oral examination based primarily on the subject area of the dissertation. The candidate’s dissertation presentation shall be open to the public. The completed dissertation should 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 a copy of the final version of the dissertation to the Graduate School. The dissertation must be prepared according to the ETD Formatting Requirements.

During the first part of the defense, the student gives a public 45-60 minutes presentation on their dissertation research. This will be followed by a private oral examination attended by members of the examination committee covering the subject area of the dissertation. A dissertation defense has two possible outcomes: pass or fail. In the event that a student fails the defense, the student may (at the discretion of the Dissertation Committee – DC) be afforded a second opportunity to defend their dissertation no less than three months after the initial defense exam. For more details see the Portland State University Bulletin under:

Graduate Programs → Degree Requirements → Doctoral Degree → Dissertation Defense

Students are typically asked to make revisions to their dissertation by the DC even after passing their dissertation defense. Successful completion of the oral examination and the revisions to the dissertation requested by the dissertation committee will be required for completion of the degree.

The post-defense revisions to the dissertation have to be made to the satisfaction of the entire committee. The DC will provide the student with a clear list of dissertation revisions that should be completed prior to submission of their final dissertation and a time-line for the completion of these revisions. Students should present revisions in such a way that they can be easily tracked by the committee member. Students should also provide each DC member with sufficient time to review and approve dissertation corrections.

When: It is expected that the dissertation will be submitted no later than 5 years after passing the comprehensive exam. Applications for graduation must be submitted by the 1st Friday of the term in which graduation is requested. The deadline for holding a dissertation defense is 5 weeks prior to the Friday of finals week of a term. The deadline for submitting a final dissertation is 3 weeks prior to the Friday of finals week of a term. Students should be aware that the summer term is calculated based on the 8 week term schedule The deadline for submission of the form GO-17D for early (i.e., next) term graduation is the Tuesday after finals week of the term prior. The detailed rules are given on the Graduate Candidate Deadlines page.

Forms:

• Graduate School Forms

Please note: students may not handle the GO-17D once DC members have signed the form

Time Limits

Full-time students (9 credits per term excluding summer)
For full-time students entering the Applied Physics Ph.D. program with a master’s degree, a maximum of two years will be allowed from admission to completion of all required comprehensive examinations. For students entering with a bachelor’s degree, a maximum of two additional years will be added to this limit, for a maximum of four years from admission to completion of all comprehensive examinations. Students have a maximum of three years after passing their comprehensive examinations to be advanced to candidacy, but in no case will the time in the program to be advanced to candidacy be more than five years. After advancement to candidacy, students have three years to pass their dissertation defense and have their dissertation approved, but the total time in the program, from admission to dissertation approval should be less than seven years.

Part-time students (less than 9 credits per term excluding summer)
For part-time students entering the Applied Physics Ph.D. program with a master’s degree, a maximum of two years will be allowed from admission to completion of all required comprehensive examinations. For students entering with a bachelor’s degree, a maximum of two additional years will be added to this limit, for a maximum of four years from admission to completion of all comprehensive examinations. Students have a maximum of three years after passing their comprehensive examinations to be advanced to candidacy. After advancement to candidacy, students have five years to pass their dissertation defense and have their dissertation approved.

Students who switch from part-time to full-time, will use the full-time rules from the point at which they switched and students who switch from full-time to part-time, will use the part-time rules from the point at which they switched.

Additional Information:

• Physics Department Graduate Student Handbook