Academic Program

The Physics Department at UM-Rolla offers graduate students a challenging and personalized environment in which to pursue their education and training to be a scientist. The department has a relatively small, but highly professional graduate program in harmony with the university which offers a high tech, but small school atmosphere.

The department's extensive and well-funded research programs provide numerous opportunities for graduate students to work with internationally recognized faculty on projects at the forefront of science. The atmosphere is casual, but scholarly, with an emphasis on individual attention and instruction. The department strives to give students the theoretical and/or experimental skills appropriate to their professional goals. As part of our program, all of our students gain expertise in creatively using modern computer systems to study and solve their problems.

Our educational mixture has proven successful. As a result of their experience at UM-Rolla, our graduates have obtained quality positions in industry, government, business, and academia at high salaries.

The Physics Department offers programs leading to two graduate degrees: Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.).

The M.S. degree is available with either a thesis or with a nonthesis option. Each option has the same set of core courses, but differ slightly in some requirements. It usually takes four semesters for a graduate student to obtain a master's degree.

The doctoral program in physics is designed to prepare the doctoral candidate to engage in independent research at the forefront of science. Beginning doctoral students prepare for research by taking courses appropriate for a Ph.D. degree; most obtain a master's degree as a first step. Each student has two chances to pass the Qualifying Examination. Of course, the ultimate goal is to successfully conduct an original research project with the help of a faculty adviser. This research is then comprehensively written up as a thesis and defended in a final oral examination.

• MS with thesis
• MS without thesis
• MS for Teachers
• Ph.D.
• Ph.D. Qualifying Exam

Research Opportunities

The department's extensive and well-funded research programs provide numerous opportunities for graduate students to work with internationally recognized faculty on projects at the forefront of science. The atmosphere is casual, but scholarly, with an emphasis on individual attention and instruction.

Experimental facilities available to faculty and students in the department include a fully equipped laser laboratory, a unique accelerator-decelerator system for studying ion-atom collision processes including a Cold Target Recoil Ion and Electron Momentum Spectrometer (COLTRIEMS) for performing kinetically complete atomic collision experiments, a flowing after-glow apparatus, electron impact, positron impact, and photo-ionization facilities.

Materials characterization capabilities include facilities for electric and magnetic susceptibility studies, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), Auger spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, thermal desorption spectroscopy, angle-resolved photoemission, and spin-polarized photoemission. In addition, facilities are available for performing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction, scanning ESCA, UV-VIS and FTIR spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Sample preparation facilities include furnaces for the preparation and heat treatment of samples, and thin film deposition facilities using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.

Several types of cloud chambers are available for the study of a variety of atmospheric processes. A substantial aerosol laboratory has been created to support cloud simulation activities and to perform independent aerosol experiments. Facilities exist to generate assorted aerosols including cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), ice nuclei, combustion aerosols, and others. Nebulizer, furnace, flame, exploding wire, and mechanical techniques are available to departmental researchers. Additional facilities are available to characterize basic aerosol properties such as deliquescence, critical supersaturation, size distribution, morphology, and concentration. A mobile aerosol sampling facility, available for field programs, has been used for campaigns at numerous sites within the U.S. and Europe. The department also maintains several well-equipped and capably-staffed machine and electronics shops.

Extensive computational facilities are also available for supporting computational and theoretical research activities. A department wide high-speed, optical fiber computer network provides access to the Internet and to numerically intensive computers in the Physics Computer Learning Center. The physics learning center, which is open to physics students 24/7, contains more than 20 UNIX workstations and more than 50 PC's which are routinely upgraded to the latest state-of-the-art technology. The physics building is also equipped with a wireless network, which allows students to access the Internet from classrooms or any laboratory. All computers are connected to the campus network, allowing for distributed processing and complete access to software and data on campus wide file servers, other computers on campus, and the Internet. All graduate students are provided an office, desk, and PC for personal use.

Outstanding Facilities

Career Opportunities

Two-thirds of Missouri S&T physics undergraduates go on to attend graduate school, many at the most prestigious first-tier schools in the country. Those who finish with a bachelor's degree have been very successful in finding exciting employment opportunities in today's high-tech industries. Missouri S&T physics graduates have gone on to lead and manage major research efforts at leading industrial companies, to be professors and chairmen at leading academic universities, and to work in areas ranging from law and medicine to ecophysics and astrophysics.

Financial Assistance

Professional Societies

Society of Physics Students

Sigma Pi Sigma (Physics Honor Society)

Admissions Requirements

Details of graduate degree requirements and current stipends may be obtained by writing the Physics Department, by calling us at (573) 341-4702, or by inquiring by email at physics@mst.edu

Regulations & Procedures