Overview

Rice University offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Physics. A joint effort of both the Natural Sciences and the Engineering divisions at Rice, the Applied Physics program is overseen by a committee composed of members from among the Departments of Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics and Astronomy. The objective is to provide an interdisciplinary graduate education in the basic science that underlies important technology. The faculty believes that the experience obtained by performing research at the intellectually stimulating interface of physical science and engineering is particularly effective in producing graduates who succeed in careers based on new and emerging technologies.

Each person accepted into Applied Physics affiliates with a particular department upon arrival at Rice and is paid a stipend according to the guidelines of that department. For the year 2009, these were in the range of $24,000 (competitive with other major U.S. academic institutions). The first 9 months of stipend are paid by RQI student fellowships. The student chooses an advisor during the first school year according to the deadline set by the department, and the advisor pays the stipend in the 10th month and thereafter. Teaching responsibilities are also determined by department. Should an Applied Physics student decide after arrival to work with an advisor from a different department, they may request a change of affiliation.

Research Facilities

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the program, the student can access virtually any of the research facilities in either the natural sciences or engineering schools of Rice University. The Applied Physics Committee urges prospective students to contact individual departments or RQI for detailed descriptions of research facilities and ongoing research projects. Within RQI alone, there are over 100 separate projects, and there are numerous other research opportunities.

Requirements for Graduate Degrees in Applied Physics

(For Full Requirements, See APPRequirements.pdf 

For Committee Choices, see CommitteeChoice.pdf)

The Applied Physics program offers Master's and Ph.D. Degrees. For each degree, the student must fulfill the University requirements set forth in the catalog under which he/she entered. The semester hour requirements may be fulfilled both by classroom hours and research hours. A total of nine one-semester graduate level courses is required for the Master's Degree in Applied Physics; a "core" of four courses is required of all students. The Applied Physics Committee may waive some course requirements for students who demonstrate a thorough knowledge of material in one or more core/elective course(s). The student will normally be expected to complete the course requirements in three semesters and maintain a minimum grade of 3.0 in core courses as well as a 3.0 average in all courses taken. The current list of courses is shown below, and is updated regularly upon approval of the Applied Physics Committee and the participating departments. Effective Fall, 2002, any student who receives a grade of "C+" or lower in any course is required to repeat the class. 

Each student's curriculum, research, and thesis topics receive individual consideration by the Applied Physics Committee and must be approved. Most APP students defend for a Master's degree and continue on to become candidates for the Ph.D.

It is assumed that the student has an adequate background in Classical Mechanics, Electrostatistics, and Statistical and Thermal Physics. This background is determined from interviews or exams given to entering students by the APC or the host department.

No courses may be used for both core and elective courses. Due to overlap of curricula, only one from each of the pairs PHYS 521/CHEM 530, PHYS 522/CHEM 531 and PHYS 526/CHEM 520 may be used for the nine required courses.

By the end of the third year in the program, all APP students should have completed the University requirements for a Master's Degree, fulfilled the course requirements of the APP and defended a Master's thesis in a public oral examination by a committee approved by the APC. The examination covers the work reported in the thesis as well as the entire field in which the student intends to work toward to Ph.D. The examining committee votes separately on awarding the Master's Degree and on admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. Fulfillment of all University degree requirements and successful defense of a Ph.D. thesis in a public examination by an APC approved committee is necessary for the Ph.D. Degree.

Application

The application deadline is February 1 and can only be submitted online. The application fee must be paid by credit card only via the online process. The code to report the official GRE scores is 0808; the code for TOEFL is 76. Make sure you're applying to Applied Physics and not Physics and Astronomy. Otherwise, your online form will route to the incorrect area. In addition, four letters of recommendation & the online reference forms are required; The letters must be mailed in a sealed envelope by the writers to: