Program Requirements
After meeting the general degree requirements for admission to The Graduate School, students selecting Physics as a major will be assigned to the Department Graduate Committee, which must approve and direct their course of study.
Core requirements (9 credit hours):
Must take three of the four courses listed below:
PHYS 7100 - Classical Mechanics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 7200 - Quantum Mechanics I Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 7300 - Electrodynamics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 7520 - Statistical Mechanics Credit Hours: (3)
Satisfactory completion of an oral comprehensive exam typically given during the final thesis oral presentation.
General Physics Concentration, thesis option (30 credit hours)
(Physics Program core requirement: 9 credit hours, Concentration requirement: 6 credit hours, Thesis: 6 credit hours, Additional courses: 9 credit hours)
General Physics Concentration requirement:
Must take two courses from the following list:
PHYS 6021 - Applied Radiation Physics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 6040 - Medical Physics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 6050 - Astrophysics I Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 6051 - Astrophysics II Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 6110 - Nuclear and Particle Physics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 6222 - Environmental Physics Credit Hours: (3)
PHYS 6230 - Electronics Credit Hours: (4)
Sufficient additional courses
Sufficient additional courses, including 6 semester hours in PHYS 7996, Thesis, to satisfy a minimum of 30 semester hours (9 semester hours may be in a collateral field of study with course numbers 6000 or above). These courses must be approved by the graduate advisor. 21 semester hours must be taken in courses numbered 7000 or above.
PHYS 7996 - Thesis Credit Hours: (1-6)
The student must present
The student must present a research proposal to the graduate thesis committee at the end of the first semester of his/her study for the thesis approval.
The student must complete
The student must complete a research project, submit a written thesis describing the research, orally present and defend the thesis before a faculty committee. Students should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before beginning to write.
*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please
September 2025
College of Arts and Sciences
107 Scates Hall,
MEMPHIS,
Tennessee,
38152, United States
Baccalaureate Degree: The applicant must provide an official transcript showing that a bachelor鈥檚 degree was awarded by an accredited college or university. If you are a UofM undergraduate student applying to Graduate School at UofM, you do not need to request that an official transcript be sent to Graduate Admissions. This office has access to your transcript. In addition, transcripts from any other college or university attended may be requested. Only transcripts received directly from an issuing institution are considered official. Personal copies are not acceptable as official documents.
GPA: The applicant must have earned an acceptable grade point average, typically a minimum of 2.5 on a scale of 4.0, but departments may make exceptions for students whose overall GPA does not adequately reflect their ability to succeed in their chosen field.
English proficiency test scores accepted by the University:
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.
A degree from the University of Memphis is much more than a qualification. It is a community and an experience which prepares students for success.
