Doctoral Guidelines

updated 09/01/2009

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Introduction
The Physics Graduate Program
Types of Financial Support
Satisfactory Progress
Academic Issues
General Doctoral Examination
Specialty Subject Requirements
Breadth Subject Requirements
Research
Thesis
Career Counseling

Introduction

This document describes the doctoral program in the Physics Department.  It supplements the Graduate Students Office Policies and Procedures which outline the general Institute requirements and are available on the web at http://web.mit.edu/gso/gpp/index.html.

The primary goals of the graduate program in physics at MIT are to solidify and broaden your knowledge of physics, to teach you how to do research, how to identify important problems and how to communicate scientific information effectively.  In short: how to become a professional physicist and a productive member of the scientific community.

The steps involved in accomplishing this are described here. Please forgive the somewhat bureaucratic tone of the material, but experience has shown that it is helpful to have every aspect of the graduate program spelled out clearly in one document.

The Physics Graduate Program

The physics graduate program is under the direction of the Physics Education Committee, which includes members with the following graduate responsibilities:

• Professor Thomas Greytak, Graduate Student Coordinator, Graduate Officer
• Professor David Litster, Graduate Career Counselor
• Professor John Negele, General Examination and Requirements Coordinator
• Professor Christoph Paus, Graduate Appointments Coordinator
• Professor Krishna Rajagopal, Associate Department Head for Education
• Dr. Sean Robinson, Academic Administrator
• Professor Vladan Vuletic, Graduate Admissions Officer

The staff in Academic Programs, Room 4-315, can direct you to committee members most appropriate to your specific questions or concerns.  All graduate students and faculty are assigned to one the Department’s four research divisions. Each division is headed by a faculty member with responsibilities in aspects of the graduate program relevant to the division’s students. The current Division Heads are:

• Professor Deepto Chakrabarty, Astrophysics
• Professor Patrick Lee, Atomic, Bio-, Condensed Matter, and Plasma Physics
• Professor Edward Farhi, Theoretical Nuclear and Particle Physics
• Professor Peter Fisher, Experimental Nuclear and Particle Physics

All of the forms referenced in this document are available in 4-315 or on the Physics web page at http://web.mit.edu/physics/graduate/current/curdocguide.html.  Professor Krishna Rajagopal serves as the advisor for student concerns about scientific misconduct issues including interactions with research supervisors, data integrity, and authorship.  In addition, Physics REFS can provide mediation services between student peers and/or faculty members and Dr. Sean Robinson, Academic Administrator, can be helpful in dealing with sensitive issues.

Upon entering the Department, every student is assigned an academic advisor. Under most circumstances this faculty member will continue to advise the student until graduation. Later, when the student joins a research group, another faculty member will become his or her research supervisor. Thus, for most of their time in the Department, students have two separate faculty members to whom they can turn for help and advice.  Throughout this document, “advisor” refers to the academic advisor. The term “supervisor” is associated with the research or thesis supervisor, even though this person is often colloquially known as the “thesis advisor”.

Types of Financial Support

Students with a Research Assistantship (RA) or Teaching Assistantship (TA) are expected to spend full time on education and assigned duties and may not engage in any other activity for compensation without the specific approval of the Department Head.  Graduate assistants are required to register for an academic load of 36-48 units (which may include Special Problems, Thesis Research or Physics Teaching) during any term (including summer) in which they have any form of MIT or Departmental support.  In addition to course work, students doing research should always register for Special Problems (8.391 in the fall and 8.392 in the spring or summer) or, after turning in a thesis proposal, Thesis Research (8.THG). The number of units will vary between 12 and 48 according to the approximate number of hours per week spent on research.  This gives students academic credit for their research work.  Teaching assistants may register for 12-48 units of Physics Teaching (8.399).   In this way, TAs also receive credit for teaching.  Under most circumstances, the normal course load for graduate students with a full-time RA or TA is two academic subjects.

The current stipend rates for RAs and TAs are available in Academic Programs.  For both RAs and TAs, full tuition and health insurance is paid over and above the stipend.  If a student loses RA support due to termination of a research contract, the Department will provide support for one additional term (in the form of a TA) and will make every effort to provide an alternative form of continuing support.

The periods for RA appointments are as follows: Fall: September 1 to January 15; Spring: January 16 to May 31;  Summer: June 1 to August 31.

RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP
These appointments are generally for the academic year, plus the summer.  The amount of time a student spends on RA duties depends on the amount of course work he or she needs and on the requirements of the group in which he or she works.  For new graduate students taking classes and preparing for the general examination, research duties normally require 20 hours per week or less.  After two to three years, research usually becomes full-time.

TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIP
Some TA appointments are available during the fall and spring terms.  These appointments involve teaching sections in a course or lab, tutoring, or grading homework and exams.  This work requires up to about 20 hours per week in addition to any research or class work the student is doing.

Some first year graduate students are supported by a nine-month (fall and spring) TA appointment. Although the Department cannot guarantee employment during the subsequent summer for these students, in the past virtually all have been able to find summer RA appointments in a Physics Department research group or obtain a summer externship in industry or in a national laboratory.  Students who have a TA in their first year normally join a research group and are supported by an RA in subsequent years.

TA appointments are typically made after the first year. These appointments are used to encourage students who wish to hone their teaching skills, to help alleviate funding pressures on the faculty, to facilitate a student’s transition to a different research group, or to support departmental teaching needs.  Each of the four divisions in the department has been assigned a guaranteed number of TA positions.  In the Spring, each division compiles a list of students to be funded by TA appointments in the subsequent academic year.  This list is submitted to the department for approval.  Thus, students who desire TA support after the first year must inform their research supervisor, who will forward this information to the Division Head.  If, after the divisions have submitted their TA lists to the Department, additional TAs are needed, the Department will solicit applications from the physics graduate student population as a whole.

FELLOWSHIPS
Fellowships are full time positions, unless specifically exempted by the Department Head. A student entering the Department with a fellowship has a great deal of flexibility in planning his or her graduate program and in seeking out a research group. However, fellowship recipient is responsible for finding a research group that will provide funding upon expiration of the fellowship support. Some information on fellowships for graduate students in physics is available in Academic Programs, 4-315 and the Graduate Students Office, Room 3-134.

SWITCHING GROUPS
Many students continue through from their first RA to a thesis in the same group. Others, however, elect to change research groups.  An RA who does not wish to continue research in his or her group, or who simply wishes to investigate other possibilities, should not hesitate to talk to other professors about different opportunities.  However, students are responsible for notifying their current supervisor of their intention to leave a group.  Students are expected to work in the research group as long as it is providing funding.  In order to facilitate the transition from one research group to another, each student is guaranteed one semester of transitional funding in the form of a TA.  Once the decision has been made and approved to switch groups, the student should complete a Research Supervision Form or Research Co-Supervision Form and submit it to Academic Programs, 4-315, as soon as possible.

Satisfactory Progress

Satisfactory academic progress involves passing the three parts of the General Exam on time (see the timetable on Page 5), completing the subject requirements in the specialty area, and satisfying the breadth requirement.  The Dean for Graduate Students, in conjunction with the Department, may issue academic warnings to graduate students who maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or lower or whose unit load for any given term is below 36 units.

Satisfactory progress in research is more difficult to define since Ph.D. research does not follow a rigid time schedule and each professor has his or her own approach.  Certainly satisfactory progress includes completing assigned RA or TA duties competently and on time. More importantly, a student is expected to take responsibility for a specific project, both solving the day-to-day problems and mustering the vision, ingenuity and skills necessary to bring the project to completion. By meeting regularly, the student and research supervisor can agree on the scope of the thesis project and establish a reasonable schedule for milestones along the way. Students should maintain close contact with their research supervisor and make known as early as possible any dissatisfaction with their projects, or any desire to leave the group.  Students having difficulty communicating with their research advisor or having concerns about their position should meet with their academic advisor or Dr. Sean Robinson, Academic Administrator, to discuss the situation.

Many of our graduate students continue through to a Ph.D. in the group they first enter. Others change to another group that is a better match to their interests and abilities before completing their thesis. Only a very few students have difficulty finding the correct match. Several policies have been established to protect the interests of these students, and to help them make appropriate career decisions.

A student’s first period of work with any given faculty member is considered to be a “trial period” with no obligation by either party to continue the arrangement for a subsequent term. Of course the student may decide to change groups, or request a transitional TA, at the end of any term. If so, he or she must give four weeks notice to the group leader and Division Head. Before deciding to discontinue funding after a trial period the faculty member must discuss any issues of concern with the student. The faculty member must notify the student of his or her intention to discontinue funding at least six weeks before the term ends. In special cases where a research area has made a prior written commitment to provide a full academic year of research support for an incoming student, the area will offer an alternative second semester RA to a student whose first semester RA has been terminated.

If, in any term beyond the first with a given group, a faculty member believes a student’s performance as an RA is unsatisfactory, he or she must write a warning letter to the student explaining clearly why the performance has been unsatisfactory and stating the conditions that must be met to avoid termination of support at the end of the term. The letter should be approved in advance by the Division Head and sent to both the student and the academic advisor. In order to give the student time to make the changes justifying continued support the following dates will apply.

In the event that a student whose funding has been terminated is not able to secure another research position prior to the start of the next semester, the Department will guarantee one term of support as a transitional TA.  If the termination of an RA occurs at the end of the spring semester and the student is unable to find other support for the summer, the Department will make an effort to find some form of summer support for the student. The one semester transitional TA would then be available in the fall, if needed. Students have a responsibility to continue working in their research group as instructed by their research advisor as long as they are being supported.  Questions about this process should be directed to Dr. Sean Robinson, Academic Administrator.

If differences arise between the research supervisor and the student concerning the interpretation of “unsatisfactory performance”, the problem should be brought to the attention of the student's academic advisor, Division Head, or the Graduate Committee. Committee members are willing to discuss, in private, problems encountered by either the student or the research supervisor before formal action takes place. Additional resources are listed on the front page of this document.

Academic Issues

DEGREE PROGRAMS
The normal degree program in the Department leads to a Ph.D. in Physics. Only in special cases (e.g., US military officers) are students admitted to pursue a Masters degree in Physics. Sometimes a student admitted for a Ph.D. may desire a non-terminal Masters degree en route to the Ph.D., or decide not to follow the Ph.D. program through to completion, or may fail the General Exam.  In these cases the student may be able to satisfy the requirements for the Masters degree.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTERS DEGREE
Masters candidates must complete 66 units, 42 of which must be “H” level subjects.  A thesis is required; however, an oral thesis defense is not required.  The thesis will be assigned a grade by the research supervisor in consultation with the thesis committee. 

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PH.D.
The specific requirements for the Ph.D. are:

• Passing the General Doctoral Examination
• Specialty Requirements
• Breadth Requirements
• Written Thesis and Oral Defense

ADVISING AND REGISTRATION
Each fall and spring term students must meet with their academic advisor to complete their registration.  Summer registration is processed by the Academic Administrator.  To make a subject change after registration day, students should use the Institute Add/Drop Form, available in the Student Services Center (11-120) or in Academic Programs (4-315).  The subject’s instructor must sign the form if a subject is being added and, in all cases, the form requires an academic advisor’s signature.  To avoid late charges and the need to petition a change through the Dean of Graduate Students, students should be sure to change their registration before the Registrar’s deadlines.  The Add date is about five weeks into the term and the Drop date is about three weeks before the last day of classes.  Pre-registration for all terms is done on-line via WebSIS.

CHOOSING FIRST YEAR SUBJECTS
The Department does not require students to take any subjects other than those needed to satisfy the specialty and breadth requirements described below. However, many students begin by taking some combination of graduate Quantum Mechanics (8.321 and 8.322), graduate Electricity and Magnetism (8.311), and graduate Statistical Mechanics (8.333).  These subjects are proven to give students a broad view of basic physics as well as a foundation for preparing for Part II of the General Exam.  First-year students concerned with the level of their undergraduate preparation (in this regard Part I of the General Exam is a useful diagnostic tool) are encouraged to take senior level undergraduate subjects such as Electricity and Magnetism (8.07), Statistical Mechanics (8.08) and Classical Mechanics (8.09).  Some first-year students may wish to sample basic graduate subjects in specialty areas: Atomic and Optical Physics (8.421 or 8.422), Solid State Physics (8.511), Systems Biology (8.591J), Plasma Physics (8.613J), Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics (8.701), and Astrophysics (8.901 or 8.902). These subjects may later be counted towards one’s specialty or breadth requirements. While planning their first year program, students should keep in mind that the normal load for those with full time RAs and TAs is two academic subjects, or about 24 units.

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