A graduate degree in Physics from the University of North Texas provides you with high-quality instruction, individual attention and access to an array of resources to support your studies and research.
The Department of Physics offers coursework leading to a Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy degree in Physics. A valuable research experience is emphasized, starting at the master’s level. You’ll work with accomplished and respected faculty members in state-of-the-art research facilities. Among the faculty are four Fellows of the American Physical Society and editorial board members of several international journals.
During your studies, you may perform research in a variety of areas that include:
More than 50 full-time graduate students pursue research under the supervision of 19 faculty members, making our physics program one of Texas’ largest. A friendly and supportive team spirit characterizes the physics research laboratories and classrooms.
We also offer a variety of other valuable opportunities to prepare you for success. Our students routinely author and co-author refereed publications in professional literature. Students also regularly participate in national and international professional meetings, where they present their research results, begin establishing their reputations as scientists and develop important networks of contacts.
Our curriculum offers experience in solving important problems ranging from the fundamental to the applied. Doors will be opened to a variety of exciting fields and future career opportunities in education and academia, industry and the private sector, and at national laboratories and other government agencies.
Students have the opportunity to participate in faculty-directed research that is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force, the Army Research Office, NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy and industrial partners. There are numerous collaborative research opportunities involving interaction with scientists from prominent national institutions and Australia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Spain and Mexico.
Students have access to world-class research facilities within the department such as the:
In addition, students have access to campus research facilities such as:
Master’s program
You must meet the admission requirements of the Toulouse Graduate School® and the department. Successful applicants usually have a minimum 3.0 GPA and a minimum GRE score of 152 on the quantitative portion and a score of 3.5 or higher on the analytical section. For more details, contact the Department of Physics or visit our website.
Doctoral program
Admission requirements to the doctoral program are similar to those for the master’s program. Admission to candidacy requires a satisfactory performance on the doctoral qualifying examination after completing the basic graduate physics curriculum, usually at the end of the second year of graduate study. More information about program admission is available on our website.
M.S. degree
The M.S. degree may be earned by completing 36 semester hours using one of three options: write a thesis, complete a Research Problems in Lieu of Thesis with written report or pass the master’s terminal examination.
Ph.D. degree
The Ph.D. degree represents the attainment of a high level of scholarship and achievement in independent research. It requires a minimum of 60 semester hours beyond the master’s degree or 90 semester hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. After the qualifying examination, you’ll write and present a proposal for research, which must be approved by your graduate advisory committee. The research culminates with your written dissertation and oral defense, which must be approved by your advisory committee.
Most full-time students are supported with an assistantship or fellowship. Our department offers graduate teaching assistantships at three different levels ranging from $1,680 to $2,280 per month for nine months and summer employment possibilities. Research assistantships also are frequently available for returning students. This aid is accompanied by an out-of-state tuition waiver and the possibility for competitive tuition remission grants.
You should apply at the earliest opportunity. New physics graduate students may be considered for other graduate-level fellowships. You must be nominated for the fellowships by the department.
Get more information about other financial assistance programs.
Marco Buongiorno Nardelli, Professor, APS Fellow; Ph.D., International School for Advanced Studies (Italy). Electronic structure theory; computational materials; solid state theory.
Vladimir P. Drachev, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Institute for Semiconductor Physics and Institute of Automation and Electrometry, Russian Academy of Sciences. Optical physics; nonlinear optics; photonics.
Gary A. Glass, Professor; Ph.D., University of Tennessee. Accelerator physics; high energy focused ion beams.
Paolo Grigolini, Professor; Ph.D., University of Pisa (Italy). Nonlinear dynamics; statistical physics.
Arkadii Krokhin, Professor; Ph.D., Kiev State University (Ukraine). Condensed matter physics; theoretical physics.
Yuankun Lin, Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of British Columbia. Experimental optics; photonics; optical engineering.
Christopher L. Littler, Professor; Ph.D., University of North Texas. Condensed matter physics; laser spectroscopy.
Floyd Del McDaniel, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., University of Georgia. Accelerator physics; AMS; ion-solid interactions.
Arup Neogi, Professor; Ph.D., Vikram University (India); Ph.D., Yamagata University (Japan). Nanoscience; ultrafast optical spectroscopy.
Carlos Ordonez, Professor; Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin. Theoretical plasma physics.
Jose Perez, Professor; Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley. Condensed matter physics; scanning tunneling microscopy.
Usha Philipose, Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Toronto. Growth and characterization of semiconductor nanowires.
Sandra Quintanilla, Professor; Ph.D., University of London. Theoretical atomic physics; positron scattering studies.
James A. Roberts, Professor; Ph.D., University of Oklahoma. Experimental microwave spectroscopy; radio astronomy.
Yuri Rostovtsev, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Russian Academy of Sciences. Matter-field interactions involving quantum coherence and interference.
Bibhu Rout, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Institute of Physics/Utkal University (India). Ion microbeam analysis of materials.
David R. Schultz, Professor, APS Fellow; Ph.D., University of Missouri. Theoretical atomic, molecular and optical physics; astrophysics; plasma physics.
Ohad Shemmer, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Tel Aviv University (Israel). Astronomy; exoplanets.
David C. Shiner, Professor, APS Fellow; Ph.D., University of Michigan. Atomic physics; precision laser spectroscopy.
Duncan L. Weathers, Associate Professor; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology. Accelerator physics; ion-solid interactions; sputtering.
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