The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Physics program is designed to provide students with advanced graduate training in physics, which will prepare them for scientific careers in academe, as well as industry. The strength of the department lies in solid state physics, semiconductor physics, materials science, theoretical physics, laser remote sensing, computational physics, and instrumentation.

A student with a Bachelor’s Degree may qualify for a straight Ph.D. program which carries 48 units of coursework, 3 units of seminar, and 12 units of dissertation. A student with a degree of M.S. Physics may qualify for the regular Ph.D. program by research requiring 30 units of inquiry-based courses to be programmed by the Physics Department Graduate Committee based on courses taken during the M.S. Physics, 3 units of seminar, and 12 units of dissertation.