To remain in good academic standing, a graduate student must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 in all courses taken for graduate credit after admission to a graduate degree program at the University of New Mexico.
The Course Requirements below show the minimum requirements to remain in good academic standing in the program. If at any time you have not met them, you will be ineligible to hold an Assistantship, except with special exemption from the Graduate Committee. In order to request an exemption, you must work with your academic advisor to submit a petition to the committee.
A grade of B- or above is required in each core course. In addition, a PhD student must demonstrate good performance in at least three of the five core courses by obtaining a B grade or above. A PhD student must maintain progress through the five mandatory core courses (466, 505, 511, 521, and 522) at the following minimal rate:
End of Semester 1 | 1 core course completed |
End of Semester 2 | 2 core courses completed |
End of Semester 3 | 3 core courses completed |
End of Semester 4 | 4 core courses completed At least 3 courses completed with a B grade or above. |
End of Semester 5 | no requirement |
End of Semester 6 | all 5 core courses completed |
Four advanced graduate courses. All regular (three-hour) 300 or 400-level courses that are available for graduate credit* for P&A students and all regular (three-hour) 500-level courses are eligible as electives, except 406, 491/492, and courses taken to satisfy the core-course requirements for the Physics PhD**. Different courses taken as Advanced Topics in Optics (569) or Advanced Topics in Physics and Astronomy (581) count as different electives. The four advanced graduate courses must be listed as a standard grade mode and NOT on a credit/no credit basis. Additional electives taken to fulfill credit hours may be on a credit/no credit basis.
* To receive graduate credit for eligible 300 or 400 level courses, the course must have an asterisk (one) beside the course number as depicted in the UNM Catalog at link: http://catalog.unm.edu/catalogs/2017-2018/colleges/arts-sciences/physics-astronomy/index.html Double check your transcript after the semester to be sure graduate credit was received, it should be automatically assigned as GR not UG.
NOTE: a double asterisk is available for graduate credit except for graduate majors in the department
** Science, Engineering, and Mathematics courses that are available for graduate credit may be taken as electives, with permission of the Academic Advisor.
After completing the core courses, electives, and research requirements, a PhD student's next task is to find a potential dissertation supervisor and to begin exploratory research with that faculty member. After about a year of initial exploratory research, the student is generally prepared to advance to doctoral candidacy by taking and passing the Candidacy Exam. The faculty member who has supervised the student's initial research is the Chair of the Candidacy Exam Committee and becomes the student's dissertation supervisor upon successful completion of the exam. Please note that the student's Academic Advisor continues to advise the student on all academic matters until the student has passed the Candidacy Exam and submitted the Application for Candidacy paperwork for PhD.
After passing the candidacy exam, submit the Application for Candidacy (AC) to Graduate Studies for their approval and processing in order to advance to candidacy. The AC must be submitted no later than the semester prior to graduation, but ideally soon after passing the exam. You need 48 hours of coursework (400 & 500 level graduate classes, 500 & 581seminars, 650 Research, 551-552 Problems) on the AC. If you plan to or already have received a MS Plan II "on way to PhD", you need a total of 50 hours of coursework (including the 32 for MS Plan II). In addition to the required coursework hours, you also need a minimum of 18 hours of 699 Dissertation. If not all required hours have been taken, the AC provides a field for “future courses to be used to fulfill degree” in which any remaining coursework hours and the required dissertation may be entered one semester at a time up until the semester you expect to graduate.
Announcement of Exam is due a minimum of 2 weeks prior to exam date. See Academic Programs Coordinator for further details.
The Candidacy Exam is an oral examination with a 10 to 15 page written component to ensure a student's readiness to enter into research and to demonstrate his/her proficiency in graduate-level physics in his/her subdiscipline.
Once you prepare the written component in consultation with your research advisor, send it directly to your candidacy exam committee at least 14 days prior to the exam.
Overall Schedule and Deadlines for Physics PhD Students:
Core Courses |
Research |
Candidacy Exam |
Dissertation Defense |
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End of Semester 1 |
1 core course completed |
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End of Semester 2 |
2 core courses completed |
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End of Semester 3 |
3 core courses completed |
PHYS 650 (3rd or 4th) |
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End of Semester 4 |
4 core courses completed |
PHYS 650 enrollment |
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By the Start of |
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Give seminar on Research |
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End of Semester 6 |
5 core courses completed |
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End of Semester 7 |
Candidacy Exam-attempt |
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End of Semester 8 |
Candidacy Exam-passed |
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End of Semester 10-12 |
Suggested dissertation defense date |
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Candidacy + 5 years |
GS deadline for dissertation defense |
Graduate students wishing to take a leave of absence of a duration longer than 1 month during the academic term are required to notify the department's Academic Programs Coordinator in advance to request approval from the Graduate Committee. Failure to obtain advance written approval from the department may result in dismissal from the degree program. Approval of a leave of absence does not necessarily grant a postponement in the mandatory schedule for completion of core courses and the candidacy exam. Students holding assistantships prior to beginning leaves of absence are not guaranteed assistantships upon their return to the academic program without prior approval from the Graduate Committee.