International Applicants

Graduate Admission Requirements

To be eligible for graduate study at the University of New Mexico, graduate applicants must satisfy the following requirements:

Have earned a degree that is equivalent to the American bachelor's degree. For example: some bachelor's degrees from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are based on three-year programs and are not considered equivalent to the U.S. bachelor's degree. Also, a Bachillerato in Mexico marks completion of upper secondary or high school education and is not equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree.

Have earned a minimum of a 3.0 GPA  (on a U.S. 4.0 scale) or comparable grade point average in upper-division (junior and senior level) work and in any graduate work already completed.

Have submitted scores no older than 2 years on both the General GRE and the Physics Subject GRE tests.

Demonstrate proficiency in English. If English is not your first language or if English is not the official language spoken in your country, you must submit results of either the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the University of Cambridge Examinations Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE), or Certificate of Advanced English (CAE). The minimum acceptable score for the IELTS is 6.5; and for the TOEFL is 550 on the paper test, 213 on the computerized test, or 79-80 on the internet-based test. For the CPE or CAE the minimum score is a C. International students whose native language is not English and are seeking graduate teaching assistantships, may also be required to submit an acceptable score on the Test of Spoken English (TSE). Applicants who have received a bachelor's or graduate degree from an accredited institution in the United States, English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, or New Zealand are exempt from submitting IELTS, TOEFL, CPE, or CAE scores.

Have completed adequate subject preparation for your proposed graduate major:

M.S./Ph.D. in Physics (with concentrations in astrophysics, atomic physics, cosmic radiation, general relativity, infrared astronomy, high and intermediate energy physics, laser physics, medical physics, molecular physics, nonlinear optics, nuclear physics, particle physics, quantum optics, radio astronomy, scattering theory, solar energy physics, and space physics):

Assumed Undergraduate Preparation (and typical textbooks used) is as follows:
1 semester course in Thermo/Stat Mech (Reif; Stowe) 
2 semester courses in: Mechanics (Symon; Marion/Thornton)
                                           E & M (Reitz/Milford/Christy; Lorrain/Corson/Lorrain; Griffiths)
                                           Quantum Mech. (Liboff; Gasiorowicz; Goswami; Park)