2009-2010 University Catalog
Physical Sciences, PhD
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Banner Code: SC-PHD-PSCI
This interdisciplinary doctoral program is offered by the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The degree focuses on preparing scientists in the separate disciplines listed above or as members of interdisciplinary science teams, primarily involving astronomy, biochemistry and biophysics, chemistry, and physics. The main emphasis is on theoretical, experimental, or laboratory research. The program is not intended to produce graduates who are scientific generalists; however, the areas of specialization often cut across traditional disciplines, as in the research fields mentioned above.
The degree is built on a foundation of several interdisciplinary courses that expose students to fundamental research problems in modern science and provide them with an introduction to each of the general areas that compose the degree (physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics, and astronomy). The program curriculum, however, has been designed to provide enough flexibility to accommodate students seeking a fully interdisciplinary program, as well as those with interests more closely aligned with one of the traditional physical science disciplines. Students who seek a program with a heavy emphasis on computational methods may alternatively consider the doctoral program in computational sciences. This program includes concentrations in computational physics and space sciences and computational astrophysics. See the Department of Computational and Data Sciences section for degree and admission requirements.
Admission Requirements
The physical sciences PhD program is intended for students who (1) have completed an undergraduate program of study in one of the physical sciences, (2) have taken math to the level of differential equations, and (3) are computer literate.
Applicants are expected to have a BS degree with minimum GPA of 3.00 and acceptable GRE and TOEFL scores. The undergraduate degree should be in a scientific field, such as physics, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, or engineering. Applicants with insufficient undergraduate records may be accepted provisionally and required to successfully complete selected remedial courses, some of which may not be applicable to the 48-credit total for the PhD course work requirement.
Interested students should submit a completed Mason graduate application, three letters of recommendation, official reports of GRE and TOEFL scores, and a goals statement reflecting their general research interests and career plans. Mason’s Educational Testing Service code is 5827. |
Degree Requirements
Students must satisfy all requirements for doctoral degrees expressed in the Academic Policies section of this catalog.
The Physical Sciences, PhD program requires 72 credits beyond the baccalaureate degree. All students in the physical sciences PhD program are required to take 48 credits of course work and 24 credits of dissertation research. For students entering the doctoral program with previous graduate work, the 48 credits of course work may be reduced by a maximum of 30 credits. Of the 48 credits of course work, 9 credits will consist of core courses to be taken by all students in the program, and at least 15 hours will be selected as part of a student’s contract with a three-member faculty committee (explained below). At least five of the contract core courses will be selected from the list presented below. Thus, the program consists of:
- a minimum of 15 credits of course work chosen as part of a contract
- up to 24 credits of electives (approved by committee)
- 24 credits of dissertation research
Additional Information
A three-member predissertation faculty committee will be formed by the student as soon as possible after admission but not later than after completion of the 9-credit core. The composition of the student’s committee must be approved by the program director. At this point, the student is expected to have selected a rather broad area of future research interest; typically, the area may not yet be specific enough to define an actual dissertation project.
Because students entering the program will have diverse backgrounds and goals and the program is explicitly designed to accommodate students preparing for a range of fields of research, it is not possible to have a completely standardized set of degree requirements. Instead, the student and his or her committee will decide on a set of at least five courses (15 credits) that will best meet the student’s goals and future research direction. This portion of the program will be set up in the form of a contract between the student and the committee. The contract will include courses that the student should take and books and articles that should be read. Fifteen of the contract credits must be chosen from the following list; however, no more than three classes can be taken in any one area, unless the student obtains special permission from the program director. Furthermore, no more than two classes at the 500 level can be selected. Biochemistry and biophysics courses:
Interdisciplinary courses:
Electives
Students can choose their elective classes more widely, but these courses need to be approved by the faculty committee in order to be applied toward satisfaction of the degree requirements. As an example, a student planning to pursue interdisciplinary research in the general area of bioinorganic chemistry would form a committee headed by a bioinorganic scientist and would have a contract that probably required taking at least these five courses: Additional Information
The contract is an interactive document agreed to between the student and the committee. It can be revised, but any revisions must be approved by the program director. For purposes of the written preliminary exam, the scope of the contract will be narrowed to cover particular courses, books, and such as the committee sees fit. The final contract must be signed by the student and by all committee members.
Students are encouraged to undertake research under close faculty supervision in a number of potential areas, including the following examples:
- Analysis of complex dynamical systems
- Studies of the role of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere
- Modeling astrochemical processes in star-forming regions
- Searches for extrasolar planets
- Modeling the production of high-energy gamma rays from cosmic sources
- Analysis and prediction of space weather
- Quantum computation: theory and applications
- Solid state physics, including applications to materials science
- Interaction of organic molecules with solid surfaces
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