Ph.D. Preliminary Examination in Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Exams of Optics

Download Ph.D. Preliminary Examination in Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and more Exams Optics in PDF only on Docsity! Updated on 7/9/2018 Physics Department University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ph.D. Preliminary Examination in Physics I. Purpose and Timing of the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination A Ph.D. Preliminary Examination is required by the Graduate College. Because the Ph.D. is a research degree the general objective of the Preliminary Exam is to determine the competence of the candidate to conduct research in a selected area. By action of the Physics Faculty, physics graduate students are required to attempt the Preliminary Examination on or before their fourth term with their research advisor. This firm deadline (see Consequences and Exceptions below) is designed to speed the time to a Ph.D. degree. It means that a graduate student and advisor must be mindful of the rate of progress and research direction even in the first year of research. The Preliminary Examination is not a certification of a guaranteed successful research project. By its nature, research often takes an unpredictable path. Rather, the preliminary examination should be thought of as a proposal for research, and the intention of the exam is to determine if the candidate is capable of identifying a significant research problem and is ready to conduct research in a specialized area of Physics. It is not necessary to have obtained research results or data prior to the exam, although the student is expected to have developed some of the essential tools and background needed to conduct research. The examination committee usually consists of four faculty members, including the student's re-search advisor and another professor in his or her area of research. A copy of the Graduate College Examination Policies and Procedures is appended at the end of this document. II. Choosing a Prelim Committee and Scheduling the Examination To the Ph.D. Candidate: If you have worked with a research advisor for a semester and agreed to collaborate towards a thesis topic, make an appointment with the Associate Head for Graduate Programs (227 Loomis). Together you will decide on appropriate committee members for your Preliminary Examination. The Preliminary Examination involves your official proposal of thesis research and must be taken before the end of the fourth semester of consistent research Updated on 7/9/2018 (usually associated with a Physics 597 Individual Study course) with a particular research advisor. Once a committee has been chosen, it is your responsibility to inform the Associate Head if any substitutions for examiners are required. In scheduling the preliminary examination, it is your responsibility to contact each one of the committee members and to arrange a firm date and time for the examination. Once you have settled on a date and time for the exam, give the schedule to the secretary in the Physics Graduate Office (227 Loomis) at least three weeks before the exam. (The Graduate College requires this lead time in order to prepare the prelim documents and inform the committee members officially.) Do not put off the scheduling of the examination until the end of a semester because faculty schedules get crowded. Do not expect, without considerable prior planning, to take the examination during periods when classes are not in session or during the summer. It is your responsibility to resolve time conflicts that may arise after the exam is initially scheduled. You must prepare a written research proposal in accordance with the rules described in Section IV of this document. At least two weeks before the exam you must give one copy of the written research proposal to each committee member. The secretary in the Physics Grad Office will reserve a room and notify you and the committee members of the official time and location of the exam. The secretary will send a reminder a day or two before the exam and prepare the exam packet for the committee chair. III. Course Requirements The Physics Department has few formal course requirements for the Ph.D. degree. You are required to pass any two of the following "breadth" courses—or appropriate substitutes agreed upon in advance by the Associate Head—before taking the prelim exam: 1. Physics 540 Astrophysics 2. Physics 550 Biomolecular Physics 3. Physics 570 Subatomic Physics 4. One of the following: Physics 560 Condensed Matter Physics Physics 569 Emergent States of Matter 5. One of the following: Physics 513 Quantum Optics & Information Physics 514 Modern Atomic Physics Updated on 7/9/2018 There is normally only one prelim allowed. In unusual circumstances, a student may petition the Associate Head to be allowed to continue with a new advisor. The petition must spell out the unusual circumstances, making the case for a second chance. After passing the preliminary examination students are expected to register for Physics 599, Thesis Research, and should no longer register for Physics 597, Individual Study, without permission of the Associate Head for Graduate Programs. VI. Consequences and exceptions for exceeding the 4-semester time limit If a graduate student does not take a Prelim exam by the end of the fourth semester with his or her research advisor, the Department may not renew the student’s RA or TA appointment in the following semester. In those cases, the appointment will be restarted (without back pay) after the tardy exam has been taken (pass or fail). Graduate student status is not affected by this action. If the student fails the prelim, or the committee defers its decision, an appointment can be continued until the student’s status is resolved, usually within a semester. Exceptions to these rules are as follows: (i) Students signed up for independent research (Physics 597) in their first year in the Department will not be required to take the Prelim within 4 semesters, but they must do so before the end of their 3rd year of graduate study (subject to other exceptions stated below). (ii) If a student’s advisor strongly feels that there is a valid reason for delay of a prelim beyond the 4th semester of research, then the advisor should notify the Associate Head for Graduate Programs of the reason for the delay. (iii) Medical issues and other extenuating circumstances are valid reasons to delay the preliminary examination beyond the 4th semester of research with an advisor, but the Associate Head for Graduate Programs should be notified of these situations as soon as possible. (iv) The Department continues to support flexibility in choosing an advisor. If a student switches advisors, the “Prelim clock” will begin again in that semester, with the approval of the Associate Head for Graduate Programs. (v) In cases where the Examination Committee finds a deficiency during a Prelim exam, the Department will, with the advisor’s approval, continue the student’s appointment while the issues are being resolved, usually within a semester. Updated on 7/9/2018 (vi) If an unavoidable scheduling conflict exists with the prelim committee, the Physics Graduate Office must be notified early in the fourth semester of research, and the Prelim must be held at the earliest available date. In this case, the prelim paper must still be submitted to the committee by the end of the fourth semester of research. Updated on 7/9/2018 Appendix GRADUATE COLLEGE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION PROCEDURES Examination Format:  Preliminary examinations may be oral or written or both, depending on the unit's policy, and generally evaluate the student's overall and specific knowledge in the field.  Preliminary examinations also usually include an oral presentation to review the feasibility and appropriateness of a student's dissertation research proposal.  The doctoral degree program prescribes the scope, format and procedures associated with the examination, including the composition of the committee. The program must clearly communicate information about the format and rules (e.g., closed-book) to all students in advance. The student must be promptly notified of the examination result.  The student, committee chair, and at least one additional voting member of the committee must be physically present for all oral components of the examination (i.e., presence by video or teleconference is not acceptable). If the committee has more than one chair, all chairs must be physically present; in these cases, no additional voting member is required to be physically present.  All voting members of the committee must participate in the oral examination, the deliberation and determination of the results of the oral examination.  Remote participation of the student or committee member(s) is permitted under the following conditions:  Technology must allow all participants to communicate throughout the examination and to access all materials presented. Video technology is encouraged for remote committee members and required for a student participating remotely.  The chair (or co-chair) and at least one additional voting member must be physically present in the examination room on campus. The chair is responsible for coordinating the use of any technology and for recessing the examination if technical problems prevent full participation and making arrangements to resume the examination promptly.  In extraordinary circumstances, the student can petition to participate remotely. Approval must be received from all members of the committee. The Graduate College strongly encourages the student to participate in person. Registration Requirement: Students must be enrolled for the entire academic term in which the preliminary exam occurs. Committee Membership Requirements:  The preliminary examination committee must include at least four voting members, at least three of whom must be members of the Graduate Faculty, and at least two of whom must also be tenured at the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois.