SMU Physics is dedicated to excellence in graduate education for small numbers of students with an emphasis on high-energy particle physics. Please see our Graduate Program Brochure for more detailed information about our program.
Students in the Ph.D. program benefit from small classes, accessible faculty and research
staff, and a wide range of opportunities for research in experimental and theoretical high-energy
research programs. Many students begin research projects during their
first year. All students in good standing receive teaching or research stipends
during the academic year, along with tuition waivers. Summer support is also available. Excellent
students are also eligible for the Lightner-Sams Graduate Fellowship.
Students typically receive support for work as teaching assistants during their first two
years, and, after successful completion of the Ph.D. qualifying exam, research support
until completion of their thesis and degree.
Graduate courses, taken mainly during the first two
years, include Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, Introduction
to Elementary Particles, Introduction to Experimental Methods, Field Theory, Mathematical Methods of
Physics, and others. Courses in other departments are also available.
Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must complete satisfactorily 8 specified courses, 4
elective graduate courses in physics, 12 credit hours of research, and a dissertation
(with a minimum of 12 credit hours). Students also must pass the Ph.D. qualifying examinations,
generally taken at the beginning of the second year, in Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, Electrodynamics
and Statistical Mechanics, for admission to candidacy.
The emphasis of our graduate program is on the Ph.D. degree, and we generally only accept students for that program. However, students may earn an M.S. degree, either in the course of their Ph.D. program or to pursue other options. For a M.S. degree, students must complete either 33 semester hours of approved graduate course work and pass the qualifying exams, or 30 semester hours of courses and a research thesis. Courses must include at least 18 semester hours of graduate-level work in physics, including a prescribed sequence of three courses.
SMU graduate students have the opportunity to work in a wide range of programs at the forefront of research in experimental and theoretical high-energy particle physics.
Admission applications must include GRE general and subject (physics) exam scores. We also require TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores, when applicable. Information and application material are available from:
Research & Graduate Studies
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX 75275 (USA)
SMU Office of Research and Graduate
Studies
Research and Graduate Studies
Application for Admission