Graduate Program

Why Michigan?

The Physics Department includes approximately 60 faculty members who teach and mentor about 140 graduate students. Nearly 50 Department staff members provide essential support to teaching, research, and advising. The Department holds a number of social gatherings including a daily cookie/coffee hour, weekly colloquia, potluck gatherings, and Halloween and Holiday parties. Each fall, the Chair delivers a "State of the Department" address, and at the conclusion of the winter semester, an awards ceremony is held at which undergraduate and graduate students are presented awards.

The Department offers a large variety of general and field-specific seminars, some of which are ideally suited to expand the scientific background of graduate students. Important to the vitality of the Department are the weekly Departmental Colloquia where nationally and internationally renowned scientists present lectures for a scientifically literate audience. The colloquia are ideal for graduate students to learn about exciting developments in physics. Graduate students will also benefit from attending weekly field-specific seminars or research group meetings (e.g. Condensed Matter/Atomic Molecular Optical, High Energy Astrophysics, High Energy Particle Theory, and High Energy Theory).

Basic Steps

The average time to complete the Ph.D. degree in our graduate program is 5.5-6.5 years.

First Year:

  • Fall/Winter:
    • Must enroll for Physics 501 Fall/Winter First Year Mini Colloquium
    • Support: .25 Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) & .25 Department Fellowship
  • Spring/Summer
    • Identify Faculty member to work with for full time research
    • Support: .25 GSRA (Graduate Student Research Assistant) & .25 Department Fellowship

Second Year:

  • Fall/Winter:
    • Finish required course work
    • Support Options: .25 GSRA & .25 GSI or .50 GSI or .50 GSRA
    • Research with  Faculty Advisor
  • Winter/Spring:
    • Assemble Candidacy Committee
    • Prepare and Pass Preliminary Exam
  • Spring/Summer:
    • Full time research

Third Year:

  • Be sure to Pass Preliminary Exam by Winter term at the latest
  • Continue full time research
  • Support Options: GSRA, GSI or combination of both

Fourth/Fifth Year:

  • Form Dissertation Committee
  • Continue full time research
  • Support Options: GSRA, GSI or combination of both

Progress Reports

We review the progress of all our graduate students annually. Students must meet with their Advisor to discuss their progress and turn in the forms below:

Pre-Candidacy Report

Candidacy Report

Why Pursue a Ph.D. at U-M?

Michigan Ph.D. graduates obtain Postdoctoral Research Fellowships at the world's top universities and laboratories. They also make significant contributions to industry and the medical field. Below are just a few examples of where our former graduate students are now:

1. Los Alamos National Laboratory 10. Argonne National Laboratory
2. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 11. Fermilab National Laboratory
3. Stanford Linear Accelerator Center 12. Harvard University
4. Princeton University 13. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5. Duke University 14. Ohio State University
6. John Hopkins 15. California Institute of Technology
7. University of Michigan Hospital 16. National Institutes of Health
8. Ford Motor Company 17. Motorola
9. Lockheed-Martin 18. Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies