Graduate Advising
P. Fraundorf
Dept. of Physics & Astronomy
University of Missouri - St Louis
This year I will serve as the Graduate Coordinator for the
Department, advising students on course selection and graduation requirements for the completion of the PhD and MS programs. I am available to students seeking advice in my Center for Nano Science office (M202) on T/Th between 8 and 9am.
Please make an appointment by email
(pfraundorf@umsl.edu) to make sure I will be available. Students who cannot reach me and need immediate assistance may contact the Department Chair, Prof. Bruce Wilking, in Benton Hall 503H.
It is a Graduate School regulation that "students with a cumulative GPA below 3.0 in a minimum of nine credit hours are placed on probation".
The MS in Physics requires 30 credit hours in graduate physics courses. At least 15 of these credit hours must be at the 5000 or 6000 level. Students who enroll in P6490 (research) can count no more than 3 of those hours toward the minimum hours of 5000 or 6000 level courses, but students who choose to write a thesis can count up to 6 of those hours toward the minimum. A comprehensive oral examination must be passed, which includes the defense of a thesis if the student has chosen to write one. At least 2/3 of the required graduate credit must be taken in residence. It is a Graduate School regulation that the degree requirements be fulfilled within 6 years after enrollment in the
first course.
The PhD in Physics requires a minimum of 78 credit hours. The following physics graduate courses (18 credit hours) are required:
- P6409 Theoretical Mechanics
- P6411 Electrodynamics I
- P6423 Electrodynamics II
- P6461 Quantum Mechanics I
- P6463 Quantum Mechanics II
- P6413 Statistical Mechanics
An additional 6 hours of Physics or Mathematics lecture courses at the 5000-6000 level are required beyond these. The remaining hours can be filled with a combination of physics courses, dissertation research units (minimum of 24 credit hours), and courses in related fields that are recommended by the student's advisor. The requirements must be fulfilled within 8 years after enrollment in the first course in the program, and
within 6 years of enrollment in the first course beyond the MS degree. A step-by-step guide to the PhD program can be found here.