The following constitutes introductory information regarding the graduate degree program. For a complete outline of degree requirements, see Program Requirements for UCLA Graduate Degrees available in the program office and accessible from the Graduate Division homepage at http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu.
The department offers the Master of Science degree, the Master of Arts in Teaching, and the Ph.D. degree in Astronomy; however, the department is not admitting students to the Master of Arts in Teaching program at this time.
The basic requirement for admission to the Master of Science program in Astronomy is a bachelor's degree in physics or astronomy. Applicants in closely related fields (such as mathematics or chemistry) may be admitted at the discretion of the department. Applicants should submit at least three letters of recommendation and scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test and Subject Test in Physics.
Entering students or those who have not been admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. should consult with the chair of graduate admissions at the beginning of the Fall Quarter to determine a program for the year.
Contact the department.
Eleven courses are required for the master's degree, of which at least 10 must be at the graduate level in physics and astronomy. At least one of the courses must consist of a quarter of work on the second-year research project. Courses taken in the 300 or 500 series may not apply toward the total course requirements or the graduate course requirement.
The comprehensive examination consists of satisfactory completion of the second-year research project, culminating in a written report of the methods used and results obtained, and the oral portion of the comprehensive examination at the master's level. The oral portion is described in more detail under the description of the written and oral qualifying examinations for the doctorate.
None.
The department is not admitting students to the program at this time.
It is not required to designate an area of specialization for the M.A.T. degree
Nine courses are required for the academic portion of the M.A.T. program. They must include at least five graduate courses in astronomy (excluding Astronomy 200), mathematics, or physics, or 100- or 200-series courses in education required for the instructional credential. The B segments of the graduate multiple-term courses (Astronomy 204B, 208B, 217B, 219B, 227B, 230B) count as 1.5 courses each for the purpose of receiving degree credit. Although it does not count for degree credit, Physics 370 is also required. Courses taken in the 300 or 500 series may not be applied toward the total course requirement or the graduate course requirement.
In order to obtain a secondary credential with the M.A.T. in Astronomy, additional courses in education, including supervised teaching, should be taken.
The comprehensive examination plan is the same as for the M.S. degree.
None.
The basic requirement for admission to the Ph.D. program in Astronomy is a bachelor's degree in physics or astronomy. Students in closely related fields (such as mathematics or chemistry) may be admitted at the discretion of the department. Applicants should submit at least three letters of recommendation and scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test and Subject Test in Physics.
Entering students or those who have not been admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. should consult with the chair of graduate admissions at the beginning of the Fall Quarter to determine a program for the year.
Consult the department.
The required courses for the Ph.D. degree are Astronomy 270 through 276, Physics 210A, 210B, 221A. During the Fall and Winter Quarters of the second year, students must enroll in Astronomy 277A-277B. In addition, Astronomy 278 must be taken at least once per year for the first two years. Students must take the nine core courses in astronomy and physics offered during the first five quarters of residence and achieve a grade-point average of at least B, averaged over all astronomy and physics graduate courses taken during this time. Exceptions or substitutions can be made by petition only and must be arranged in advance or, for students transferring from another institution, during or before the first quarter of residence.
Research Project. Students must satisfactorily complete the two-quarter second-year research project, culminating in a written report of the methods and the results of the research performed. Before undertaking the second-year research project, students must identify a faculty adviser who is willing to oversee their work on the project.
Inasmuch as the primary goal of the graduate program in astronomy is to train students to do research at the Ph.D. level, the purpose of the master's comprehensive/doctoral qualifying examination is (1) to assess students' general knowledge of astronomy and physics at the graduate level and (2) to assess students' capacity to perform fundamental research, and thus to become successful research scientists. The structure of the comprehensive examination is designed accordingly.
The master's comprehensive/doctoral qualifying examination and the requirements leading up to it are administered by a graduate evaluation committee, appointed by the vice chair, and consisting of three members. The graduate evaluation committee evaluates all second-year students every Spring Quarter.
All second-year students are assessed by the graduate evaluation committee for their performance on the qualifying examination on the basis of the following:
(1) A collective assessment of the written report on the second-year research project, which constitutes the written qualifying examination.
(2) Performance on the oral portion of the comprehensive examination, administered by the comprehensive examination committee at the beginning of the Spring Quarter of the student's second year. During this oral portion of the comprehensive examination, students present the results of their second-year research project and are expected to be able to respond to questions and to solve basic problems from all core areas of astrophysics in which they have had the opportunity to take the course following the normal schedule of classes.
The graduate evaluation committee notifies students of their assessment of their performance on the examination by June 30. The examination is based primarily on the combination of the oral examination plus the written report on the second-year research project. In addition, the committee reviews the instructors' written narratives and the file of the student's final examinations in all graduate courses taken in order to place the student's performance on the oral examination into a maximally broad context. The potential outcomes of the assessment are
(1) Pass -- with immediate eligibility to proceed to the University Oral Qualifying Examination.
(2) No pass -- with the possibility of reassessment in the following year on the basis of a specific written list of requirements supplied by the graduate evaluation committee. (This option is meant to be used sparingly for students with a single, identifiable and presumably correctable weakness, but who are otherwise above the passing threshold.) The no-pass option can only be used once for any particular student.
(3) Terminal master's pass -- allowing the student only to finish any outstanding course requirements for the master's degree, if any.
(4) Fail -- resulting in immediate termination of the student's affiliation with the department.
After the scope of the Ph.D. dissertation research has been clearly defined and in consultation with the student's dissertation adviser, a doctoral committee is nominated, approved by the department chair, and finally appointed by the dean of the Graduate Division. This committee, generally consisting of three members from the Physics and Astronomy Department and one member from another department, conducts the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The main purpose of this examination is to discuss and evaluate the student's proposed dissertation problem, but at the discretion of the committee, questions may be asked with regard to other material in the student's field of specialization and related matters. The committee members guide, read, approve, and certify the dissertation. At least two members from the Physics and Astronomy Department and at least one outside member must serve as certifying members for the dissertation. At the end of this examination, the committee decides whether a final oral examination is required. The oral qualifying examination is taken no later than the tenth quarter in residence.
The department offers the Master of Science, the Master of Arts in Teaching, and the Ph.D. degrees in Physics.
Applicants to the Master of Science program in Physics must have an excellent undergraduate record in addition to meeting the University minimum requirements. Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation and scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Subject Test in Physics. International applicants applying for financial support (fellowships, teaching and research assistantships) should have a letter of recommendation (included as one of the three required letters of recommendation) which comments on their verbal ability in English. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a University entrance requirement.
It is not required to designate an area of specialization for a terminal master's degree.
The University requires a total of nine courses for the M.S. degree. To satisfy the minimum requirement of six graduate courses in physics specified by the department, it is recommended that five of the minimum requirement of six be the five fundamental core courses: Physics 210A, 210B, 215A, 221A, 221B, since the comprehensive examination is based on the content of these courses. Students must also take, and pass with a letter grade of B or better, one of the following breadth courses: Physics 220, 221C, 231A. The remaining three courses of the minimum nine courses required for the M.S. degree may be satisfied through upper division or graduate courses in physics or a related field, which are acceptable to the Physics and Astronomy Department for credit toward the M.S. degree, with the restriction that no more than two may be chosen from Physics 596 and/or seminar courses. Physics 597 and 598 may not be applied.
A passing grade on the written comprehensive examination is required. If students fail to pass the examination at the master's level, they may take it a second time the next quarter it is given. For more detailed information, see Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations in the following Doctoral Degree section.
Although the department operates under the comprehensive examination plan rather than the thesis plan, arrangements can usually be made for students to write a master's thesis, provided they have a particularly interesting subject and provided a professor is willing to undertake the guidance of their project. In this case, students must petition the committee of graduate advisers for permission to pursue the thesis plan. If the petition is approved, the comprehensive examination is waived.
For information about the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) program, direct inquiries to the Director of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 3-164 Knudsen Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1547.
It is not required to designate an area of specialization for the M.A.T. degree.
This degree leads to qualification for instructional credentials at the secondary school or junior college level. The University requires a total of 12.5 courses for the M.A.T. degree. The program consists of at least five graduate physics courses, four of which are chosen from Physics 210A, 210B, 215A, 221A, 221B, and five professional (300 series) courses.
Courses required are (1) the five graduate physics courses and (2) the courses necessary for completion of the preliminary State of California Single Subject Instructional Credential, K-12 (Education 100A-100B, 112, 312, 315A-315B, 330B, 330C, Community Health Sciences 187, and Physics 370, which is a special physics teaching laboratory).
Courses in the 500 series are not applicable toward the M.A.T. degree. Students are required to see the adviser at the beginning of each quarter through the completion of the degree.
A passing grade on the written comprehensive examination is required. Students who fail to qualify at the master's level of achievement may repeat the examination a second time.
None.
Applicants must have an excellent undergraduate record in addition to meeting the University minimum requirements. Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation and scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Subject Test in Physics. International applicants applying for financial support (fellowships, teaching and research assistantships) should have a letter of recommendation (included as one of the three required letters of recommendation) which comments on their verbal ability in English. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a University entrance requirement.
Doctoral degrees are based on original work, generally in one of the following fields of specialization: accelerator physics; elementary particles; intermediate energy and nuclear physics; low-temperature/acoustics; plasma and astrophysics; condensed matter, including solid-state; and spectroscopy.
Arrangements can also be made for a Ph.D. in Physics while doing research in interdisciplinary fields such as biophysics, astrophysics, and geophysics. The details of each program should be established in consultation with the graduate affairs officer.
By the end of the first year of graduate study students are expected to acquire a mastery of the core graduate physics material represented by Physics 210A and 210B (electromagnetic theory), 215A (statistical physics), and 221A and 221B (quantum mechanics). Detailed syllabi for these courses are available in the graduate counselor's office. Since the material in these core courses represents the body of knowledge tested on the written comprehensive examination, usually all or most of these five courses are the student's main course load in the first year of graduate study.
No later than the fourth quarter of residence, students are expected, in consultation with their adviser, to have begun taking a series of courses, seminars, and tutorials to prepare them for original research in a given area of specialization. Information produced by various area committees on preferred course sequences and programs is available to students and to their advisers. No later than the sixth quarter of residence, students are expected to begin taking a sequence of Physics 596 (Directed Individual Studies) courses with a faculty member in their chosen field of specialization. The purpose of these 596 courses is to prepare the student for original Ph.D. dissertation research and to enable the student to obtain a Ph.D. research sponsor. It is the responsibility of the faculty member with whom the 596 courses are taken to provide the student with a frank, on-going evaluation of progress toward these goals. By the second quarter of this 596 sequence, students are expected to make a substantive oral presentation describing the results of a problem in the 596 program before an audience which includes the faculty member(s) with whom they are taking 596 and three other faculty members. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to specify the content of the presentation. The function of the three additional faculty members is to serve as a departmental resource in the event that difficulties arise during the presentation. This presentation is intended both to allow the faculty member to assess the student's ability to carry out research and to provide a forum to discuss the student's research goals.
No later than the end of the eighth quarter of residence, students are expected to make a formal arrangement with a faculty member who agrees to serve as the Ph.D. research sponsor. This agreement, which includes a general statement on the direction of the Ph.D. dissertation research, is communicated to the graduate affairs officer. If by the end of the eighth quarter of residence the student has not obtained a Ph.D. research sponsor, this situation is referred by the graduate affairs officer to the Committee of Graduate Advisers. The committee then makes a decision on whether the student should continue in the graduate program based on discussions with the student, the student's 596 advisers, and other concerned parties.
All students must fulfill a breadth requirement by passing one of the following with a B or better: Physics 220, 221C, or 231A. In addition, students who have not taken Physics 132 or its equivalent in undergraduate status must do so at the beginning of the graduate program. These core and breadth requirements should be completed by the fifth quarter in residence.
A written comprehensive examination is required of all graduate students. This examination is administered by a departmental comprehensive examination committee and is graded as follows: (1) pass at the Ph.D. level of achievement; (2) pass at the master's level of achievement; (3) fail.
This written comprehensive examination consists of two three-hour sections given on consecutive days, and its scope is defined by the graduate physics material in the five core courses (Physics 210A, 210B, 215A, 221A, and 221B).
This written comprehensive examination is offered twice a year, in the week before the beginning of classes in the Fall Quarter and in the period between the Winter and Spring Quarters.
Students entering the graduate program in the Fall Quarter are expected to take the written comprehensive examination before their fourth quarter of residence.
Students who fail this examination at the desired level and want to repeat it must take it the next time it is offered.
After the scope of the Ph.D. dissertation research has been clearly defined and in consultation with the student's dissertation adviser, a doctoral committee is nominated, approved by the department chair, and finally appointed by the dean of the Graduate Division. This committee, generally consisting of three members from the Physics and Astronomy Department and one member from another department, conducts the University Oral Qualifying Examination. The main purpose of this examination is to discuss and evaluate the student's proposed dissertation problem, but at the discretion of the committee, questions may be asked in regard to other material in the student's field of specialization and related matters. The committee members guide, read, approve, and certify the dissertation. At least two members from the Physics and Astronomy Department and at least one outside member must serve as certifying members for the dissertation. At the end of this examination, the committee decides whether a final oral examination is required. The oral qualifying examination is taken no later than the tenth quarter in residence.