phd degree quantum physics

Princeton Quantum Initiative

Quantum Science and Engineering PhD Program

PQI launched a new PhD program in Quantum Science and Engineering, with the first cohort starting in fall 2024.

Find full information about the program structure and requirements  from Princeton Graduate School. The application for the program can be found through the Graduate School portal .

The PhD program in Quantum Science and Engineering provides graduate training in a new discipline at the intersection of quantum physics and information theory. Just as the 20th century witnessed a technological and scientific revolution ushered in by our newfound understanding of quantum mechanics, the 21st century now offers the promise of a new class of technologies and lines of scientific inquiry that take full advantage of the more fragile and intricate consequences of quantum mechanics: coherent superposition, projective measurement, and entanglement. This field has broad implications ranging from many-body physics and the creation of new forms of matter to our understanding of the emergence of the classical world and our basic understanding of space and time.  It enables fundamentally new technological applications, including new types of computers that can solve currently intractable problems, communication channels whose security is guaranteed by the laws of physics, and sensors that offer unprecedented sensitivity and spatial resolution.

The Princeton Quantum Science and Engineering community is unique in its interdisciplinary breadth combined with foundational research in quantum information and quantum matter. Research at Princeton comprises every layer of the quantum technology stack, bringing together many body physics, materials, devices, new quantum hardware platforms, quantum information theory, metrology, algorithms, complexity theory, and computer architecture. This vibrant environment allows for rapid progress at the frontiers of quantum science and technology, with cross pollination among quantum platforms and approaches. The research community strongly values interdisciplinarity, collaboration, depth, and fostering a close-knit community that enables fundamental and impactful advances.

Our curriculum places students in an excellent position to build new quantum systems, discover new technological innovations, become leaders in the emergent quantum industry, and make deep, lasting contributions to quantum information science. The QSE graduate program aims to provide a strong foundation of fundamentals through a three-course core, as well as opportunities to explore the frontiers of current research through electives. First year students are also required to take a seminar course that is associated with the Princeton Quantum Colloquium, in which they closely read the associated literature and discuss the papers. Our curriculum has a unique emphasis on learning how to read and understand current literature over a large range of topics. The curriculum is complemented by many opportunities at PQI for scientific interaction and professional development. A major goal of the program is to help form a tight-knit graduate student cohort that spans disciplines and research topics, united by a common language. 

Most students enter the program with an undergraduate degree in physics, electrical engineering, computer science, chemistry, materials science, or a related discipline. When you apply, you should indicate what broad research areas you are interested in: Quantum Systems Experiment, Quantum Systems Theory, Quantum Materials Science, or Quantum Computer Science.

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Launch of pioneering ph.d. program bolsters harvard’s leadership in quantum science and engineering.

Field expected to usher in era of super-fast computing and innovation across a range of fields

Leah Burrows

SEAS Communications

Researchers used atomic-size defects in diamonds to detect and measure magnetic fields generated by spin waves.

Images courtesy of Second Bay Studios/Harvard SEAS

In the middle of the 20th century, mathematicians, physicists, and engineers at Harvard began work that would lay the foundations for a new field of study, the applications of which would change the world in ways unimaginable at the time. These pioneering computer scientists helped develop the theory and technology that would usher in the digital age.

Harvard is once again taking a leading role in a scientific and technological revolution — this time in the field of quantum science and engineering. Today, the University launched one of the world’s first Ph.D. programs in the subject, providing the foundational education for the next generation of innovators and leaders who will transform quantum science and engineering into next-level systems, devices, and applications.

The new degree is the latest step in the University’s commitment to moving forward as both a leader in research and an innovator in teaching in the field of quantum science and engineering. Harvard launched the Harvard Quantum Initiative in 2018 to foster and grow this new scientific community. And additional future plans call for the creation of a quantum hub on campus to help further integrate efforts and encourage collaboration.

“This is a pivotal time for quantum science and engineering at Harvard,” said President Larry Bacow. “With institutional collaborators including MIT and industry partners, and the support of generous donors, we are making extraordinary progress in discovery and innovation. Our faculty and students are driving progress that will reshape our world through quantum computing, networking, cryptography, materials, and sensing, as well as emerging areas of promise that will yield advances none of us can yet imagine.”

“This cross disciplinary Ph.D. program will prepare our students to become the leaders and innovators in the emerging field of quantum science and engineering,” said Emma Dench, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. “Harvard’s interdisciplinary strength and intellectual resources make it the perfect place for them to develop their ideas, grow as scholars, and make discoveries that will change the world.”

At the nexus of physics, chemistry, computer science, and electrical engineering, quantum science and technology promises to profoundly change the way we acquire, process, and communicate information. Imagine a computer that could sequence a person’s genome in a matter of seconds or an un-hackable communications system that could make data breaches a thing of the past. Quantum technology will usher in game-changing innovations in health care, infrastructure, security, drug development, climate-change prediction, machine learning, financial services, and more.

Researchers excited and detected spin waves in a quantum Hall ferromagnet, spending them through the insulating material like waves in a pond.

The University is building partnerships with government agencies and national laboratories to advance quantum technologies and educate the next generation of quantum scientists. Harvard researchers will play a major role in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Quantum Information Science (QIS) Research Centers, aimed at bolstering the nation’s global competitiveness and security. As part of the centers, Harvard researchers will:

• develop and study the next generation of quantum materials that are resilient, controllable, and scalable;
• use quantum-sensing techniques to explore the exotic properties of quantum materials for applications in numerous quantum technologies;
• construct a quantum simulator out of ultra-cold molecules to attack important problems in materials development and test the performance of new types of quantum computation;
• develop topological quantum materials for manipulating, transferring, and storing information for quantum computers and sensors;
• investigate how quantum computers can meaningfully speed up answers to real-world scientific problems and create new tools to quantify this advantage and performance.

In partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Harvard University Center for Integrated Quantum Materials (CIQM) has helped develop curriculum and educator activities that will help K‒12 students engage with quantum information science. CIQM is also collaborating with the Learning Center for the Deaf to create quantum science terms in American Sign Language .

“Breakthrough research happens when you create the right community of scholars around the right ideas at the right time,” said Claudine Gay, the Edgerley Family Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “The Harvard Quantum Initiative builds on Harvard’s historic strength in the core disciplines of quantum science by drawing together cross-cutting faculty talent into a community committed to thinking broadly and boldly about the many problems where quantum innovations may offer a solution. This new approach to quantum science will open the way for new partnerships to advance the field, but perhaps even more importantly, it promises to make Harvard the training ground for the next generation of breakthrough scientists who could change the way we live and work.”

“Harvard’s missions are to excel at education and research, and these are closely related,” said John Doyle, the Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics and co-director of HQI. “Being at — and sometimes defining — the frontier of research keeps our education vibrant and meaningful to students. We aim to teach a broad range of students to think about the physical world in this new, quantum way as this is crucial to creating a strong community of future leaders in science and engineering. Tight focus on both research and teaching in quantum will develop Harvard into the leading institution in this area and keep the country at the forefront of this critical area of knowledge.”

Quantum at Harvard: ‘A game-changing’ moment

A conversation with SEAS Dean Frank Doyle, John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Science Division Dean Christopher Stubbs, Samuel C. Moncher Professor of Physics and of Astronomy.

Transcript:

Doyle: We’re at a game changing point in science and technology. We’re poised to enable translation breakthroughs in our applications of that understanding to broadly stated information science, so networking, signal processing, encryption, communications, computing and simulation.

Stubbs: What we’re talking about, looking to the future, exploits the really spooky parts of quantum mechanics, about the relationship of information in spatially separated systems and trying to harness that technologically and bringing it to bear on problems in networking, computing, and sensing systems.

I think we’re learning more about the way the world works every day, and we’re interested here at Harvard in knitting that understanding together across different traditionally separated fields and pulling together an integrated effort that pulls together, computer science, electrical engineering, physics systems engineering, and tries to use these to build new tools to make life better for everybody.

Doyle: Chris, I completely agree, and I would say that one thing, I recognize deeply as the dean on the engineering side is that foundations are critical to achieving success in the domain of innovation or translation, whatever the application space might be. We have to have that core body of knowledge supporting and enabling really a continuum from basic science through applied science, ultimately to engineering. I would also point to the fact that we are modestly scaled compared to some of our peers, which I think empowers us with agility and nimbleness that allows us to quickly assemble the teams that cross the spectrum of these disciplines that we need to harness, and that’s a real strength here at Harvard as well.

Stubbs: I would say we’re making significant institutional investments in this enterprise. We’ve identified a building, working in partnership across the university, that’s going to be put to use for this activity, with new labs, new teaching labs. We will fill that space with colleagues that we intend to bring to campus to strengthen our faculty in this domain. We’re building a strong and vibrant educational program. And I think an important element to include here is that we see this as a way to reach all the way into applications at scale, and we’re building partnerships with industrial partners, ranging from startups-sized companies to major national corporations that are going to have the ability to bring these ideas to bear at scale and impact people’s lives in a positive way.

Doyle: I would say that this opportunity has tremendous potential across a wide array of fields and applications, from more traditional engineering fields like communications, cybersecurity, network science, but across an even broader array of fields including finance (thinking about the new kinds of algorithms that are going to power the future of things like trading and stress testing the market); precision medicine; the quantum principles that we’re going to be able to leverage in devices that will now interrogate at unprecedented scale — spatial and temporal — to bring information back that we can act upon. So it’s virtually a limitless horizon of application opportunities out there.

Stubbs: We’re fortunate in the Boston area to have another university down the road, whose initials are MIT, with which, in particular in this technical domain, we have strong existing partnerships among the faculty. We view this as moving forward arm-in-arm with sister institutions in this region to establish Boston as one of the premier centers in the nation for both innovation, education, and application of this new technology.

Doyle: Our faculties partnering across Harvard and MIT have been doing this for literally decades. So there’s an incredible organic foundation that has been laid in the Greater Cambridge, Greater Boston space that we’re now turning an inflection point to accelerate that activity.

The field of quantum really opens up some exciting partnership opportunities, which we’re exploring with great passion. The notion that the continuum from the university and basic research and applied research, through to getting products in the market, through getting operational networks, operational systems is one that truly is a continuum. So there has to be integrated partnerships, where we invite partners in the private sector in to be embedded on the campus to learn from the researchers in our labs, where we embed our faculty out in the private sector in national labs to learn about the cutting edge applications that need to drive and fuel the research taking place back on the campus. So I really view this as a wonderful new opportunity to rethink the nature of how the private sector and the academy partner to enable the ultimate translation into products, technologies that are going to benefit mankind.

Edited for length.

The University’s location within the Greater Boston ecosystem of innovation and discovery is one of its greatest strengths.

A recent collaboration between Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and University quantum physicists resulted in a proof-of-concept algorithm to dramatically speed up the analysis of nuclear magnetic resonance (NNMR) readings to identify biomarkers of specific diseases and disorders, reducing the process from days to just minutes.

A multidisciplinary team of electrical engineers and physicists from Harvard and MIT are building the infrastructure for tomorrow’s quantum internet , including quantum repeaters, quantum memory storage, and quantum networking nodes, and developing the key technologies to connect quantum processors over local and global scales.

“We are moving forward arm in arm with sister institutions in this region, most notably MIT, to establish Boston as one of the premier centers in the nation for both education and developing technologies that we anticipate will have significant impact on society,” said Christopher Stubbs, science division dean and Samuel C. Moncher Professor of Physics and of Astronomy.

  “We are excited to see the ever-growing opportunities for collaboration in quantum science and engineering at Harvard, in the Boston community, and beyond,” said Evelyn L. Hu, the Tarr-Coyne Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Science at SEAS and co-director of the Harvard Quantum Initiative. “Harvard is committed to sustaining that growth and fostering a strong community of students, faculty, and inventors, both locally and nationwide.”

Fiber-optical networks, the backbone of the internet, rely on high-fidelity information conversion from electrical to the optical domain. The researchers combined the best optical material with innovative nanofabrication and design approaches, to realize, energy-efficient, high-speed, low-loss, electro-optic converters for quantum and classical communications.

“Building a vibrant community and ecosystem is essential for bringing the benefits of quantum research to different fields of science and society,” said Mikhail Lukin, George Vasmer Leverett Professor of Physics and co-director of HQI. “Quantum at Harvard aims to integrate unique strengths of university research groups, government labs, established companies, and startups to not only advance foundational quantum science and engineering but also to build and to enable broad access to practical quantum systems.”

To facilitate those collaborations, the University is finalizing plans for the comprehensive renovation of an existing campus building into a new quantum hub — a shared resource for the quantum community with instructional and research labs, seminar and workshop spaces, meeting spaces for students and faculty, and space for visiting researchers and collaborators. The quantum headquarters will integrate the educational, research, and translational aspects of the diverse field of quantum science and engineering in an architecturally cohesive way.

This critical element of Harvard’s quantum strategy was made possible by a generous gift from Stacey L. and David E. Goel ’93 and gifts from several other alumni who stepped forward to support HQI. David Goel, co-founder and managing general partner of Waltham, Mass.-based Matrix Capital Management Co. and one of Harvard’s most ardent supporters, said his gift was inspired both by recognizing Harvard’s “intellectual dynamism and leadership in quantum” and a sense of the utmost urgency to pursue opportunities in this field. “Our existing technologies are reaching the limit of their capacity and cannot drive the innovation we need for the future, specifically in areas like semiconductors, technology, and the life sciences. Quantum is an enabler, providing a multiplier effect on a logarithmic scale. It is a catalyst that drives the kinds of scientific revolutions and epoch-making paradigm shifts.”

Electrodes stretch diamond strings to increase the frequency of atomic vibrations to which an electron is sensitive, just like tightening a guitar string increases the frequency or pitch of the string. The tension quiets a qubit’s environment and improves memory from tens to several hundred nanoseconds, enough time to do many operations on a quantum chip.

Goel credits the academic leaders and their “commitment to ensuring that Harvard’s community will be at the forefront of the science that is already changing the world.”

The University is also building partnerships with industry partners, ranging from startups to major national corporations, that are preparing to bring quantum technologies to the public.

“An incredible foundation has been laid in quantum at Harvard, and we are now at an inflection point to accelerate that activity and build on the momentum that has already made Harvard a leader in the field,” said Frank Doyle, SEAS dean and John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “Research happening right now in Harvard labs is significantly advancing our understanding of quantum science and engineering and positioning us to make breathtaking new discoveries and industry-leading translation breakthroughs.”

To enable opportunities to move from basic to applied research to translating ideas into products, Doyle described a vision for “integrated partnerships where we invite partners from the private sector to be embedded on the campus to learn from the researchers in our labs and where our faculty connect to the private sector and national labs to learn about the cutting-edge applications, as well as help translate of basic research into useful tools for society.”

  “We are at the early stages of a technological transformation, similar or maybe even grander than the excitement and the promise that came with the birth of computer science — and Harvard is at the forefront,” Stubbs said.

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Quantum Science & Engineering

Join the quantum revolution at Harvard.

We are witnessing the birth of Quantum Science & Engineering, an event no less significant than the advent of the physics and engineering of electronics at the beginning of the last century. This new discipline demands new approaches to educating the rising generations of researchers who will require deep knowledge of science and engineering principles.

The quantum world of very small things has only recently been amenable to full control and this, in turn, has led to an explosion in potential applications, from new approaches to computation and communication, to more rapid drug discovery, and new sensors with unprecedented precision and resolution. We are at the frontier of the development of fully engineered quantum systems, starting from physical phenomena exhibited by quantum materials, integrating devices and systems subject to quantum architectures, and transforming the way in which we acquire, communicate, and process information.

Harvard University plays a leading role in the development of Quantum Science & Engineering. We invite you to learn more about our PhD program .

In Quantum Science & Engineering

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Quantum Science and Engineering

Graduate Program

In this first-of-its-kind program, you will be a part of an interdisciplinary program that builds on Harvard’s track record of excellence in the field. The flexible curriculum will equip you with a common language for the rapidly growing field of quantum science and engineering (QSE). You will have the opportunity to work with faculty from both the science and engineering programs to design an individualized path tailored to your QSE research interests. Research is a primary focus of the program, and you will be working with state-of-the-art experimental and computational facilities.

Quantum Science and Engineering

PhD in Molecular Engineering

PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering

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For general inquiries about the PhD program, questions on financial aid, or to schedule a visit to PME, please contact  [email protected]

David Taylor Dean of Students [email protected] Phone: 773.834.2057

Quantum resources and initiatives

• Chicago Quantum Exchange
• James Franck Institute

The PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering program provides students with the opportunity to study with some of  the most prominent researchers  working in both fundamental and applied aspects of quantum science. The program encompasses a variety of engineering topics that will help shape the quantum future. This includes quantum computing, quantum communications, and quantum sensing, as well as research in quantum materials. Students have the option of working with one or more thesis advisors to build a cross-cutting research project that touches multiple disciplines.

Our graduate students work within a growing nexus of quantum research in Chicago, which includes the  Chicago Quantum Exchange , two Department of Energy funded national quantum information science research centers  Q-NEXT  and  SQMS , the  NSF QuBBE Quantum Leap Challenge Institute , one of the  longest ground-based quantum communication channels  in the country, and much more.

Students perform their research in state-of-the-art facilities at both the  University of Chicago  and  Argonne National Laboratory  campuses, and have opportunities to gain industry expertise through interactions with UChicago’s  Booth School of Business  and the  Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation , as well as our  industry and corporate partners . More opportunities are available through our robust programs in  career development and entrepreneurship ,  science communication ,  mentoring training and opportunities , and  educational outreach .

Program overview

Learn more about our curriculum structure, inclusive and student-centered approach to education and research, programs to support career development, and more.

Enroll today

Learn more about the application process.

Noah Glachman

Bernien Lab

“Quantum computing has the potential to solve some of the world's biggest problems. I'm proud to be a part of a team here making that happen.”

Anchita Addhya

“PME brings these diverse fields together and has this very collaborative environment that I really appreciate.”

José A. Méndez

Awschalom Lab (co-advised by Hannes Bernien)

“Study something that you find interesting and I guarantee we can use you here.”

Quantum science and engineering

Quantum mechanical entanglement is the main resource for implementation of all quantum technologies (quantum computers,simulators, sensors, and networks). Our goal is to study and scale entanglement in a variety of physical systems (light, semiconductors, atoms), and to develop practical quantum systems and technologies.  

Courses Related to Quantum science and engineering

This course listing is an example; Please speak with your Advisor about what courses are best suited for your individual interest areas.

Graduate School

New Quantum Science and Engineering Ph.D. program provides training in emerging discipline

Princeton scientists measure quantum correlations between molecules for the first time. Members of the Princeton research team. Front row (from left to right) Dr. Zoe Yan; Lysander Christakis; Jason Rosenberg. Back row (from left to right) Ravin Raj; Prof. Waseem Bakr; Prof. David Huse. Photo: Department of Physics, Richard Soden.

Princeton University has launched a  new Ph.D. program  in Quantum Science and Engineering (QSE), providing graduate training in an emerging discipline at the intersection of quantum physics and information theory. This new field of quantum information science has broad implications and may enable fundamentally new technology, including new types of computers that can solve currently intractable problems, communication channels guaranteed secure by the laws of physics, and sensors that offer unprecedented sensitivity and spatial resolution.

Applications from prospective students are due December 15 for an incoming first class in Fall 2024. 

The new doctoral program is part of Princeton’s  expanded commitment  to quantum science and engineering research and education. The University’s growing programs, along with the ongoing recruitment of top faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, reflect the University’s recognition of the transformative potential of quantum science and technology to benefit society in the decades ahead.

According to Andrew Houck, professor of electrical and computer engineering and co-director of the  Princeton Quantum Initiative , Princeton is “ramping up efforts across campus to remain the leading place in the world for this kind of science and engineering for many decades.”  Ali Yazdani, the Class of 1909 Professor of Physics and co-director alongside Houck, adds that Princeton’s work in this area stands apart from quantum research at other institutions due to the University’s inclusive approach across disciplines and across the spectrum from foundational science to innovative devices. 

 “A major goal of the program is to form a graduate student community spanning disciplines and research topics, and united by a common scientific language,” according to Nathalie de Leon, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and the director of graduate studies for QSE. “Our curriculum will place students in an excellent position to build new quantum systems, discover new technological innovations, become leaders in the emergent quantum industry, and make deep, lasting contributions to quantum information science.”

De Leon says the new QSE doctoral program is structured to take advantage of the unique interdisciplinary breadth of Princeton’s quantum community. “Research at Princeton encompasses every layer of the quantum technology stack, bringing together many-body physics, materials, devices, new quantum hardware platforms, quantum information theory, metrology, algorithms, complexity theory, and computer architecture,” explains de Leon. “This vibrant environment allows for rapid progress at the frontiers of quantum science and technology, with cross-pollination among quantum platforms and approaches.”

The initiative also benefits from a growing number of collaborations with scientists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory managed by Princeton; the collaborative work includes designing highly specialized materials such as diamonds and superconducting magnets needed for quantum experiments and technologies.

De Leon adds, “The quantum faculty at Princeton value interdisciplinarity, collaboration, depth, and fostering a close-knit community that enables fundamental and significant advances.”

The QSE program will provide students with a strong foundation of fundamentals, as well as opportunities to explore the frontiers of current research, instruction on reading and understanding literature over an extensive range of topics, and many opportunities for scientific interaction and professional development. 

Princeton University’s stipend for graduate students is among the highest in the nation. The University fully funds all Ph.D. students, offering generous tailored support across all years of regular program enrollment. The  graduate student experience  at Princeton encompasses campus housing, a health plan and benefits, family care assistance, and a wide range of student life programs and traditions that welcome all to participate in the diverse and inclusive  Graduate School  community.

Prospective students are encouraged to review the degree  program requirements  and indicate on the application their interest in the broad research areas of quantum systems experiment, quantum systems theory, quantum material science, or quantum computer science.

Graduate Students

Applying to Caltech as a graduate student interested in QSE

• Prospective graduate students should apply to a graduate program (including Physics, Applied Physics, Material Science, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, or Computer Science) depending on their research interest and background.
• In your application (e.g., at the end of your personal statement), list the faculty members across all divisions that you are most interested in. You can find the QSE faculty here .
• Importantly, at Caltech, you have the flexibility to work with a PhD supervisor outside of your assigned program/division. In fact, this is quite common and part of the interdisciplinary spirit here. Hence, your choice of a graduate program does not limit you to work with certain faculty.
• Graduate students may apply to only one academic option per admission cycle. In reviewing your application, the admission committee of the option to which you have applied may recommend that your application be reviewed by another option, if they foresee a better fit with that option. This internal review is automatic and does not require any additional fees, or duplicate application.
• In addition, Caltech offers a Quantum Science and Engineering Minor open to graduate students in all options. You can find more information for the QSE Minor here .
• Caltech offers a wide range of courses in Quantum Science and Engineering. A sample of courses can be found on the QSE Minor page.

More information about applying to options in each Academic Division is available at:

• Physics (PMA)
• Applied Physics (EAS)
• Material Science (EAS)
• Chemistry (CCE)
• Electrical Engineering (EAS)
• Computer Science (EAS)

Additional information about applying to Caltech as a graduate student is available through the Graduate Studies Office

Find a list of QSE Faculty along with information about their research area, their Academic Division and links to their websites on the QSE Faculty page.

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Harvard launches phd in quantum science and engineering.

Harvard University announced today one of the world’s first PhD programs in Quantum Science and Engineering,  a new intellectual discipline at the nexus of physics, chemistry, computer science and electrical engineering with the promise to profoundly transform the way we acquire, process and communicate information and interact with the world around us.

With the launch of the PhD program, Harvard is making the next needed commitment to provide the foundational education for the next generation of innovators and leaders who will push the boundaries of knowledge and transform quantum science and engineering into useful systems, devices and applications. 

"The new PhD program is designed to equip students with the appropriate experimental and theoretical education that reflects the nuanced intellectual approaches brought by both the sciences and engineering," said faculty co-director Evelyn Hu, Tarr-Coyne Professor of Applied Physics and of Electrical at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). "The core curriculum dramatically reduces the time to basic quantum proficiency for a community of students who will be the future innovators, researchers and educators in quantum science and engineering."

"Quantum science and engineering is not just a hybrid of subjects from different disciplines, but an important new area of study in its own right,” said faculty co-director John Doyle, Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics.“A Ph.D. program is necessary and foundational to the development of this new discipline."

The new program lies at the interface of physics, chemistry, and engineering, providing students with exciting opportunities to explore the fundamentals, realizations, and applications of QSE. Students of diverse backgrounds will benefit from an integrated curriculum designed to dramatically reduce the time to basic quantum proficiency and to equip students with experimental and theoretical education that reflects the nuanced intellectual approaches brought by both the sciences and engineering. Students will have the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art experimental and computational facilities. Integrating a new approach to interdisciplinary scholarship, graduates of the program will be prepared for careers in academia, industry, and national laboratories.

Research is a primary focus of the program, with students beginning research rotations in their first year. Extensive mentoring and advising is embedded in the program: graduate students in QSE are part of an academic community that cuts across departments and schools and, as such, are strongly encouraged to pursue cross-disciplinary research. In addition to their research, QSE PhD students will receive training in communication and professional opportunities, such as industry internships.

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PhD Program

Graduate student guide -- updated for 2024-25, expected progress of physics graduate student to ph.d..

This document describes the Physics Department's expectations for the progress of a typical graduate student from admission to award of a PhD.  Because students enter the program with different training and backgrounds and because thesis research by its very nature is unpredictable, the time-frame for individual students will vary. Nevertheless, failure to meet the goals set forth here without appropriate justification may indicate that the student is not making adequate progress towards the PhD, and will therefore prompt consideration by the Department and possibly by Graduate Division of the student’s progress, which might lead to probation and later dismissal.

Course Work

Graduate students are required to take a minimum of 38 units of approved upper division or graduate elective courses (excluding any upper division courses required for the undergraduate major).  The department requires that students take the following courses which total 19 units: Physics 209 (Classical Electromagnetism), Physics 211 (Equilibrium Statistical Physics) and Physics 221A-221B (Quantum Mechanics). Thus, the normative program includes an additional 19 units (five semester courses) of approved upper division or graduate elective courses.  At least 11 units must be in the 200 series courses. Some of the 19 elective units could include courses in mathematics, biophysics, astrophysics, or from other science and engineering departments.  Physics 290, 295, 299, 301, and 602 are excluded from the 19 elective units. Physics 209, 211 and 221A-221B must be completed for a letter grade (with a minimum average grade of B).  No more than one-third of the 19 elective units may be fulfilled by courses graded Satisfactory, and then only with the approval of the Department.  Entering students are required to enroll in Physics 209 and 221A in the fall semester of their first year and Physics 211 and 221B in the spring semester of their first year. Exceptions to this requirement are made for 1) students who do not have sufficient background to enroll in these courses and have a written recommendation from their faculty mentor and approval from the head graduate adviser to delay enrollment to take preparatory classes, 2) students who have taken the equivalent of these courses elsewhere and receive written approval from the Department to be exempted. 

If a student has taken courses equivalent to Physics 209, 211 or 221A-221B, then subject credit may be granted for each of these course requirements.  A faculty committee will review your course syllabi and transcript.  A waiver form can be obtained in 378 Physics North from the Student Affairs Officer detailing all required documents.  If the committee agrees that the student has satisfied the course requirement at another institution, the student must secure the Head Graduate Adviser's approval.  The student must also take and pass the associated section of the preliminary exam.  Please note that official course waiver approval will not be granted until after the preliminary exam results have been announced.  If course waivers are approved, units for the waived required courses do not have to be replaced for PhD course requirements.  If a student has satisfied all first year required graduate courses elsewhere, they are only required to take an additional 19 units to satisfy remaining PhD course requirements.  (Note that units for required courses must be replaced for MA degree course requirements even if the courses themselves are waived; for more information please see MA degree requirements).

In exceptional cases, students transferring from other graduate programs may request a partial waiver of the 19 elective unit requirement. Such requests must be made at the time of application for admission to the Department.

The majority of first year graduate students are Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) with a 20 hour per week load (teaching, grading, and preparation).  A typical first year program for an entering graduate student who is teaching is:

First Semester

• Physics 209 Classical Electromagnetism (5)
• Physics 221A Quantum Mechanics (5)
• Physics 251 Introduction to Graduate Research (1)
• Physics 301 GSI Teaching Credit (2)
• Physics 375 GSI Training Seminar (for first time GSI's) (2)

Second Semester

• Physics 211 Equilibrium Statistical Physics (4)
• Physics 221B Quantum Mechanics (5)

Students who have fellowships and will not be teaching, or who have covered some of the material in the first year courses material as undergraduates may choose to take an additional course in one or both semesters of their first year.

Many students complete their course requirements by the end of the second year. In general, students are expected to complete their course requirements by the end of the third year. An exception to this expectation is that students who elect (with the approval of their mentor and the head graduate adviser) to fill gaps in their undergraduate background during their first year at Berkeley often need one or two additional semesters to complete their course work.

Faculty Mentors

Incoming graduate students are each assigned a faculty mentor. In general, mentors and students are matched according to the student's research interest.   If a student's research interests change, or if (s)he feels there is another faculty member who can better serve as a mentor, the student is free to request a change of assignment.

The role of the faculty mentor is to advise graduate students who have not yet identified research advisers on their academic program, on their progress in that program and on strategies for passing the preliminary exam and finding a research adviser.  Mentors also are a “friendly ear” and are ready to help students address other issues they may face coming to a new university and a new city.  Mentors are expected to meet with the students they advise individually a minimum of once per semester, but often meet with them more often.  Mentors should contact incoming students before the start of the semester, but students arriving in Berkeley should feel free to contact their mentors immediately.

Student-Mentor assignments continue until the student has identified a research adviser.  While many students continue to ask their mentors for advice later in their graduate career, the primary role of adviser is transferred to the research adviser once a student formally begins research towards his or her dissertation. The Department asks student and adviser to sign a “mentor-adviser” form to make this transfer official.  

Preliminary Exams

In order to most benefit from graduate work, incoming students need to have a solid foundation in undergraduate physics, including mechanics, electricity and magnetism, optics, special relativity, thermal and statistical physics and quantum mechanics, and to be able to make order-of-magnitude estimates and analyze physical situations by application of general principles. These are the topics typically included, and at the level usually taught, within a Bachelor's degree program in Physics at most universities. As a part of this foundation, the students should also have formed a well-integrated overall picture of the fields studied.

The preliminary examination, also called “prelims”, is designed to ensure that students have a solid foundation in undergraduate physics to prepare them for graduate research. The exam is made up of four sections.  Each section is administered twice a year, at the start of each semester.  

For a longer description of the preliminary exam, please visit Preliminary Exam page

Start of Research

Students are encouraged to begin research as soon as possible. Many students identify potential research advisers in their first year and most have identified their research adviser before the end of their second year.  When a research adviser is identified, the Department asks that both student and research adviser sign a form (also available from the Student Affairs Office, 378 Physics North) indicating that the student has (provisionally) joined the adviser’s research group with the intent of working towards a PhD.  In many cases, the student will remain in that group for their thesis work, but sometimes the student or faculty adviser will decide that the match of individuals or research direction is not appropriate.  Starting research early gives students flexibility to change groups when appropriate without incurring significant delays in time to complete their degree.

Departmental expectations are that experimental research students begin work in a research group by the summer after the first year; this is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged.  Students doing theoretical research are similarly encouraged to identify a research direction, but often need to complete a year of classes in their chosen specialty before it is possible for them to begin research.  Students intending to become theory students and have to take the required first year classes may not be able to start research until the summer after their second year.  Such students are encouraged to attend theory seminars and maintain contact with faculty in their chosen area of research even before they can begin a formal research program. 

If a student chooses dissertation research with a supervisor who is not in the department, he or she must find an appropriate Physics faculty member who agrees to serve as the departmental research supervisor of record and as co-adviser. This faculty member is expected to monitor the student's progress towards the degree and serve on the student's qualifying and dissertation committees. The student will enroll in Physics 299 (research) in the co-adviser's section.  The student must file the Outside Research Proposal for approval; petitions are available in the Student Affairs Office, 378 Physics North.   

Students who have not found a research adviser by the end of the second year will be asked to meet with their faculty mentor to develop a plan for identifying an adviser and research group.  Students who have not found a research adviser by Spring of the third year are not making adequate progress towards the PhD.  These students will be asked to provide written documentation to the department explaining their situation and their plans to begin research.  Based on their academic record and the documentation they provide, such students may be warned by the department that they are not making adequate progress, and will be formally asked to find an adviser.  The record of any student who has not identified an adviser by the end of Spring of the fourth year will be evaluated by a faculty committee and the student may be asked to leave the program. 

Qualifying Exam

Rules and requirements associated with the Qualifying Exam are set by the Graduate Division on behalf of the Graduate Council.  Approval of the committee membership and the conduct of the exam are therefore subject to Graduate Division approval.  The exam is oral and lasts 2-3 hours.  The Graduate Division specifies that the purpose of the Qualifying Exam is “to ascertain the breadth of the student's comprehension of fundamental facts and principles that apply to at least three subject areas related to the major field of study and whether the student has the ability to think incisively and critically about the theoretical and the practical aspects of these areas.”  It also states that “this oral examination of candidates for the doctorate serves a significant additional function. Not only teaching, but the formal interaction with students and colleagues at colloquia, annual meetings of professional societies and the like, require the ability to synthesize rapidly, organize clearly, and argue cogently in an oral setting.  It is necessary for the University to ensure that a proper examination is given incorporating these skills.”

Please see the  Department website for a description of the Qualifying Exam and its Committee .   Note: You must login with your Calnet ID to access QE information . Passing the Qualifying Exam, along with a few other requirements described on the department website, will lead to Advancement to Candidacy.  Qualifying exam scheduling forms can be picked up in the Student Affairs Office, 378 Physics North.   

The Department expects students to take the Qualifying Exam two or three semesters after they identify a research adviser. This is therefore expected to occur for most students in their third year, and no later than fourth year. A student is considered to have begun research when they first register for Physics 299 or fill out the department mentor-adviser form showing that a research adviser has accepted the student for PhD work or hired as a GSR (Graduate Student Researcher), at which time the research adviser becomes responsible for guidance and mentoring of the student.  (Note that this decision is not irreversible – the student or research adviser can decide that the match of individuals or research direction is not appropriate or a good match.)  Delays in this schedule cause concern that the student is not making adequate progress towards the PhD.  The student and adviser will be asked to provide written documentation to the department explaining the delay and clarifying the timeline for taking the Qualifying Exam.

Annual Progress Reports

Graduate Division requires that each student’s performance be annually assessed to provide students with timely information about the faculty’s evaluation of their progress towards PhD.  Annual Progress Reports are completed during the Spring Semester.  In these reports, the student is asked to discuss what progress he or she has made toward the degree in the preceding year, and to discuss plans for the following year and for PhD requirements that remain to be completed.  The mentor or research adviser or members of the Dissertation Committee (depending on the student’s stage of progress through the PhD program) comment on the student’s progress and objectives. In turn, the student has an opportunity to make final comments. 

Before passing the Qualifying Exam, the annual progress report (obtained from the Physics Student Affairs Office in 378 Physics North) is completed by the student and either his/her faculty mentor or his/her research adviser, depending on whether or not the student has yet begun research (see above).  This form includes a statement of intended timelines to take the Qualifying Exam, which is expected to be within 2-3 semesters of starting research.  

After passing the Qualifying Exam, the student and research adviser complete a similar form, but in addition to the research adviser, the student must also meet with at least one other and preferably both other members of their Dissertation Committee (this must include their co-adviser if the research adviser is not a member of the Physics Department) to discuss progress made in the past year, plans for the upcoming year, and overall progress towards the PhD.  This can be done either individually as one-on-one meetings of the graduate student with members of the Dissertation Committee, or as a group meeting with presentation. (The Graduate Council requires that all doctoral students who have been advanced to candidacy meet annually with at least two members of the Dissertation Committee. The annual review is part of the Graduate Council’s efforts to improve the doctoral completion rate and to shorten the time it takes students to obtain a doctorate.)

Advancement to Candidacy

After passing the Qualifying Examination, the next step in the student's career is to advance to candidacy as soon as possible.  Advancement to candidacy is the academic stage when a student has completed all requirements except completion of the dissertation.  Students are still required to enroll in 12 units per semester; these in general are expected to be seminars and research units.  Besides passing the Qualifying Exam, there are a few other requirements described in the Graduate Program Booklet. Doctoral candidacy application forms can be picked up in the Student Affairs Office, 378 Physics North.

Completion of Dissertation Work

The expected time for completion of the PhD program is six years.  While the Department recognizes that research time scales can be unpredictable, it strongly encourages students and advisers to develop dissertation proposals consistent with these expectations.  The Berkeley Physics Department does not have dissertation defense exams, but encourages students and their advisers to ensure that students learn the important skill of effective research presentations, including a presentation of their dissertation work to their peers and interested faculty and researchers.

100 Best colleges for Quantum and Particle physics in the United States

Updated: February 29, 2024

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Below is a list of best universities in the United States ranked based on their research performance in Quantum and Particle physics. A graph of 204M citations received by 5.95M academic papers made by 1,304 universities in the United States was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

For Quantum and Particle physics

2. University of California - Berkeley

3. Stanford University

4. Harvard University

5. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

6. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

7. Princeton University

8. California Institute of Technology

9. University of Texas at Austin

10. University of California - Los Angeles

11. Pennsylvania State University

12. Cornell University

13. Georgia Institute of Technology

14. University of Washington - Seattle

15. University of Wisconsin - Madison

16. University of Maryland - College Park

17. University of California - Santa Barbara

18. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

19. University of California-San Diego

20. Columbia University

21. Northwestern University

22. Ohio State University

23. Purdue University

24. Texas A&M University - College Station

25. University of Pennsylvania

26. Yale University

27. University of Chicago

28. University of Arizona

29. University of Florida

30. Carnegie Mellon University

31. Johns Hopkins University

32. Rutgers University - New Brunswick

33. Iowa State University

34. University of Colorado Boulder

35. University of Southern California

36. Arizona State University - Tempe

37. University of California - Davis

38. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

39. Michigan State University

40. North Carolina State University at Raleigh

41. New York University

42. Duke University

43. University of Utah

44. University of California - Irvine

45. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

46. University of Rochester

47. University of Pittsburgh

48. University of Virginia

49. Boston University

50. Rice University

51. Stony Brook University

52. University of Massachusetts - Amherst

53. University of Notre Dame

54. University of Tennessee - Knoxville

55. Case Western Reserve University

56. University of Delaware

57. Brown University

58. Washington University in St Louis

59. Providence College

60. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

61. University at Buffalo

62. University of Houston

63. Florida State University

64. University of California - Riverside

65. University of California - Santa Cruz

66. University of Illinois at Chicago

67. University of Iowa

68. University of Central Florida

69. Vanderbilt University

70. University of Connecticut

71. University of California - San Francisco

72. Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

73. University of Kentucky

74. University of New Mexico

75. Colorado State University - Fort Collins

76. University of South Carolina - Columbia

77. University of Nebraska - Lincoln

78. Northeastern University

79. University of Missouri - Columbia

80. University of Georgia

81. University of Cincinnati

82. Washington State University

83. Oregon State University

84. Drexel University

85. Clemson University

86. Emory University

87. Wayne State University

88. Tulane University of Louisiana

89. Syracuse University

90. University of Oregon

91. University of South Florida

92. Kansas State University

93. University of Kansas

94. University of Oklahoma - Norman

95. University of Miami

96. Lehigh University

97. Missouri University of Science and Technology

98. Tufts University

99. Auburn University

100. Dartmouth College

The best cities to study Quantum and Particle physics in the United States based on the number of universities and their ranks are Cambridge , Berkeley , Stanford , and Ann Arbor .

Physics subfields in the United States

UCL Quantum Science and Technology Institute

PhD Opportunities

As a research institute, UCLQ offers PhD students the opportunity to learn about and contribute to cutting edge developments in the field of Quantum Technolgies. Alongside our postgraduate programmes, UCLQ academics may also offer standalone PhD opportunities for specialised projects.

UCL  is the home of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Delivering Quantum Technologies  which launched in 2014, with funding for five cohorts. The CDT has now securing funding from EPSRC and our partners to renew the centre for five further cohorts from Autumn 2019. 

In addition to the CDT, individual academics often have funding for  possible PhD projects. We maintain a full list of all UCLQ staff. It may also be possible to apply to work with a UCLQ academic through their departmental postgraduate portal. Please see the following links below for more information:

• PhDs in Physics and Astronomy
• PhDs in Computer Science
• PhDs in Electronic and Elecetrical Engineering

Opportunities at the London Centre for Nanotechnology

Academics in the LCN, many of whom are affiliated with UCLQ, may also advertise a PhD project on the institutional website. Please visit their website for more details on these opportunites, and how to apply.

Requirements for a Doctorate in Physics

An advanced degree in physics at Caltech is contingent upon an extensive research achievement. Students in the program are expected to join a research group, carry out independent research, and write publications for peer-reviewed journals as well as a thesis. The thesis work proposed to a Caltech candidacy committee then presented and evaluated by a Caltech thesis committee in a public defense. Initially, students are required to consolidate their knowledge by taking advanced courses in at least three subfields of physics. Students must also pass a written candidacy exam in both classical physics and quantum mechanics in order to progress into the research phase of the degree.

Graduates of our program are expected to have extensive experience with modern research methods, a broad knowledge of contemporary physics, and the ability to perform as independent researchers at the highest intellectual and technical levels.

The PhD requirements are below and are also available in the Caltech Catalog, Section 4: Information for Graduate Students .

Plan of Study

The plan of study is the set of courses that a student will take to complete the Advance Physics Requirement and any courses needed as preparation to pass the Written Candidacy Exams (see below). Any additional courses the student plans to take as part of their graduate curriculum may be included in the plan of study but are not required. Students should consult with their Academic Advisor on their Plan of Study and discuss any exception or special considerations with the Option Representative. 

Log in to REGIS and navigate to the Ph. D. Candidacy Tab of your Graduate Degree Progress page. Add you courses into the Plan of Study section. When complete, click the "Submit Plan of Study to Option Rep" button. This will generate a notice to the Option Rep to approve your plan of study. Once you complete the courses in the Plan of Study, the Advanced Physics Requirement is completed.

Written Candidacy Exams

Physics students must demonstrate proficiency in all areas of basic physics, including classical mechanics (including continuum mechanics), electricity and magnetism, quantum mechanics, statistical physics, optics, basic mathematical methods of physics, and the physical origin of everyday phenomena. A solid understanding of these fundamental areas of physics is considered essential, so proficiency will be tested by written candidacy examinations.

No specific course work is required for the basic physics requirement, but some students may benefit from taking several of the basic graduate courses, such as Ph 106 and Ph 125. In addition, the class Ph 201 will provide additional problem solving training that matches the basic physics requirement.

Exam I: Classical Mechanics and Electromagnetism       Topics include: TBA

Exam 2: Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics      Topics include: TBA

Both exams are offered twice each year (July and October) Email  [email protected]  to sign up

Nothing additional. Sign up for the exam by emailing Mika Walton. The Student Programs Office will update your REGIS record once you pass the exams.

Advanced Physics Requirement

Students must establish a broad understanding of modern physics through study in six graduate courses. The courses must be spread over at least three of the following four areas of advanced physics. Many courses in physics and related areas may be allowed to count toward the Advanced Physics requirements.  Below are some popular examples.  Contact the Physics Option Representative to find out if any particular course not listed here can be used for this requirement. 

Physics of elementary particles and fields (Nuclear Physics, High Energy Physics, String Theory)

                 Ph 139 Intro to Particle Physics                 Ph 205abc Relativistic Quantum Field Theory                 Ph 217 Intro to the Standard Model                 Ph 230 Elementary Particle Theory (offered every two years)                 Ph 250 Intro to String Theory (offered every two years)

Quantum Information and Matter (Atomic/Molecular/Optical Physics, Condensed-Matter Physics, Quantum Information)   

                Ph 127ab Statistical Physics                 Ph 135a Intro to Condensed Matter Physics                 Ph 136a Applications of Classical Physics (Stat Mech, Optics) (offered every two years)                 Ph 137abc Atoms and Photons                 Ph 219abc Quantum Computation                 Ph 223ab Advanced Condensed Matter Physics

Physics of the Universe (Gravitational Physics, Astrophysics, Cosmology)             

                Ph 136b Applications of Classical Physics (Elasticity, Fluid Dynamics) (offered every two years)                 Ph 136c Applications of Classical Physics (Plasma, GR) (offered every two years)                 Ph 236ab Relativity                 Ph 237 Gravitational Waves (offered every two years)                 Ay 121 Radiative Processes

Interdisciplinary Physics (e.g. Biophysics, Applied Physics, Chemical Physics, Mathematical Physics, Experimental Physics)

                Ph 77 Advanced Physics Lab                   Ph 101 Order of magnitude (offered every two years)                 Ph 118 Physics of measurement                 Ph 129 Mathematical Methods of Physics                 Ph 136a Applications of Classical Physics (Stat Mech, Optics) (offered every two years)                 Ph 136b Applications of Classical Physics (Elasticity, Fluid Dynamics) (offered every two years)                 Ph 229 Advanced Mathematical Methods of Physics

Nothing additional. Once you complete the courses in your approved Plan of Study, the Advanced Physics Requirement is complete.

Oral Candidacy Exam

The Oral Candidacy Exam is primarily a test of the candidate's suitability for research in his or her chosen field. Students should consult with the executive officer to assemble their oral candidacy committee. The chair of the committee should be someone other than the research adviser.

The candidacy committee will examine the student's knowledge of his or her chosen field and will consider the appropriateness and scope of the proposed thesis research during the oral candidacy exam. This exam represents the formal commitment of both student and adviser to a research program.

See also the Physics Candidacy FAQs

After the exam, your committee members will enter their result and any comments they may have. Non-Caltech committee members are instructed to send their results and comments to the physics graduate office who will enter the information on their behalf. Once all "pass" results have been entered, the Option Rep will be prompted to recommend you for admission to candidacy. The recommendation goes to the Dean of Graduate Studies who has the final approval to formally admit you to candidacy.

Teaching Requirement

Thesis advisory committee (tac).

After the oral candidacy exam, students will hold annual meetings with their Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). The TAC will review the research progress and provide feedback and guidance towards completion of the degree. Students should consult with the executive officer to assemble their oral candidacy committee and TAC by the end of their third year. The TAC is normally constituted from the candidacy examiners, but students may propose variations or changes at any time to the option representative. The TAC chair should be someone other than the research Adviser. The TAC chair will typically also serve as the thesis defense chair, but changes may be made in consultation with the Executive Officer and the Option Rep.

What to do in REGIS?

Login to Regis, navigate to the Ph. D. Examination Tab of your Graduate Degree Progress page, and scroll down to the Examination Committee section. Enter the names of your Thesis Advisory Committee members. Click the "Submit Examination Committee for Approval" button and this will automatically generate notifications for the Option Rep and the Dean of Graduate Studies to approve your committee. Enter the date, time and location of your TAC meeting and click "Submit Details." Your committee members will automatically be sent email reminders with the meeting details.

PhD Defense

The final thesis examination will cover the thesis topic and its relation to the general body of knowledge of physics. The candidate should send the thesis document to the defense committee and graduate office at least two weeks prior to the defense date. The defense must take place at least three weeks before the degree is to be conferred. Please refer to the  Graduate Office  and  Library  webpages for thesis guidelines, procedures, and deadlines.

• Date, time, and location of your exam and click the "Submit Examination Details" button. You committee members will automatically be sent email reminders with the exam details. 
• Commencement Information and click the "Submit Commencement Information" button (at least 2 weeks prior to defense)
• Marching Information and click the "Submit your Marching Information" button (at least 2 weeks prior to commencement)

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Stanford Online

Quantum mechanics for scientists and engineers.

SOE-YEEQMSE01

Stanford School of Engineering

This 9 week course aims to teach quantum mechanics to anyone with a reasonable college-level understanding of physical science or engineering. Quantum mechanics was once mostly of interest to physicists, chemists and other basic scientists. Now the concepts and techniques of quantum mechanics are essential in many areas of engineering and science such as materials science, nanotechnology, electronic devices, and photonics. This course is a substantial introduction to quantum mechanics and how to use it. It is specifically designed to be accessible not only to physicists but also to students and technical professionals over a wide range of science and engineering backgrounds.

Course syllabus

Introduction to quantum mechanics.

How quantum mechanics is important in the everyday world, the bizarre aspects and continuing evolution of quantum mechanics, and how we need it for engineering much of modern technology.

Schroedinger's wave equation

Getting to Schroedinger's wave equation. Key ideas in using quantum mechanical waves - probability densities, linearity. The "two slit" experiment and its paradoxes.

Getting "quantum" behavior

The "particle in a box", eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. Mathematics of quantum mechanical waves.

Quantum mechanics of systems that change in time

Time variation by superposition of wave functions. The harmonic oscillator. Movement in quantum mechanics - wave packets, group velocity and particle current.

Measurement in quantum mechanics

Operators in quantum mechanics - the quantum-mechanical Hamiltonian. Measurement and its paradoxes - the Stern-Gerlach experiment.

Writing down quantum mechanics simply

A simple general way of looking at the mathematics of quantum mechanics - functions, operators, matrices and Dirac notation. Operators and measurable quantities. The uncertainty principle.

The hydrogen atom

Angular momentum in quantum mechanics - atomic orbitals. Quantum mechanics with more than one particle. Solving for the the hydrogen atom. Nature of the states of atoms.

How to solve real problems

Approximation methods in quantum mechanics.

Prerequisites

The course is approximately at the level of a first quantum mechanics class in physics at a third-year college level or above, but it is specifically designed to be suitable and useful also for those from other science and engineering disciplines.

The course emphasizes conceptual understanding rather than a heavily mathematical approach, but some amount of mathematics is essential for understanding and using quantum mechanics. The course presumes a mathematics background that includes basic algebra and trigonometry, functions, vectors, matrices, complex numbers, ordinary differential and integral calculus, and ordinary and partial differential equations.

In physics, students should understand elementary classical mechanics (Newton's Laws) and basic ideas in electricity and magnetism at a level typical of first-year college physics. (The course explicitly does not require knowledge of more advanced concepts in classical mechanics, such as Hamiltonian or Lagrangian approaches, or in electromagnetism, such as Maxwell's equations.) Some introductory exposure to modern physics, such as the ideas of electrons, photons, and atoms, is helpful but not required.

The course includes an optional and ungraded refresher background mathematics section that reviews and gives students a chance to practice all the necessary math background background. Introductory background material on key physics concepts is also presented at the beginning of the course.

Course Staff

David miller.

David Miller is the W. M. Keck Foundation Professor of Electrical Engineering and, by Courtesy, Professor of Applied Physics, both at Stanford University. He received his B. Sc. and Ph. D. degrees in Physics in Scotland, UK from St. Andrews University and Heriot-Watt University, respectively. Before moving to Stanford in 1996, he worked at AT&T Bell Laboratores for 15 years. His research interests have included physics and applications of quantum nanostructures, including invention of optical modulator devices now widely used in optical fiber communications, and fundamentals and applications of optics and nanophotonics. He has received several awards and honorary degrees for his work, is a Fellow of many major professional societies in science and engineering, including the Royal Society of London, and is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the US. He has taught quantum mechanics at Stanford for more than 10 years to a broad range of students ranging from physics and engineering undergraduates to graduate engineers and scientists in many disciplines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Required text.

The text Quantum Mechanics for Scientists and Engineers (Cambridge, 2008) is recommended for the course, though it is not required. It follows essentially the same syllabus, has additional problems and exercises, allows you to go into greater depth on some ideas, and also contains many additional topics for further study.

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Harvard Launches PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering

Program will prepare leaders of the ‘quantum revolution’

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CAMBRIDGE, MA (Monday, April 26, 2021) – Harvard University today announced one of the world’s first PhD programs in Quantum Science and Engineering , a new intellectual discipline at the nexus of physics, chemistry, computer science, and electrical engineering with the promise to profoundly transform the way we acquire, process and communicate information and interact with the world around us.

“This cross-disciplinary PhD program will prepare our students to become the leaders and innovators in the emerging field of quantum science and engineering,” said Emma Dench, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History and of the Classics. “Harvard’s interdisciplinary strength and intellectual resources make it the perfect place for them to develop their ideas, grow as scholars, and make discoveries that will change the world.”

The University is already home to a robust quantum science and engineering research community, organized under the Harvard Quantum Initiative . With the launch of the PhD program, Harvard is making the next needed commitment to provide foundational education for the next generation of innovators and leaders who will push the boundaries of knowledge and transform quantum science and engineering into useful systems, devices, and applications. 

“The new PhD program is designed to equip students with the appropriate experimental and theoretical education that reflects the nuanced intellectual approaches brought by both the sciences and engineering,” said faculty co-director Evelyn Hu , Tarr-Coyne Professor of Applied Physics and of Electrical Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “The core curriculum dramatically reduces the time to basic quantum proficiency for a community of students who will be the future innovators, researchers, and educators in quantum science and engineering.”

“Quantum science and engineering is not just a hybrid of subjects from different disciplines, but an important new area of study in its own right,” said faculty co-director John Doyle , Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics. “A PhD program is necessary and foundational to the development of this new discipline.”

“America’s continued success leading the quantum revolution depends on accelerating the next generation of talent,” said Dr. Charles Tahan, assistant director for quantum information science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and director of the National Quantum Coordination Office. “It’s nice to see that a key component of Harvard’s education strategy is optimizing how core quantum-relevant concepts are taught.”

The University is also finalizing plans for the comprehensive renovation of a campus building into a new state-of-the-art quantum hub—a shared resource for the quantum community with instructional and research labs, spaces for seminars and workshops, and places for students, faculty, and visiting researchers and collaborators to meet and convene. Harvard’s quantum headquarters will integrate the educational, research, and translational aspects of the diverse field of quantum science and engineering in an architecturally cohesive way. This critical element of Harvard’s quantum strategy was made possible by generous gifts from Stacey L. and David E. Goel ‘93 and several other alumni.

“Existing technologies are reaching the limit of their capacity and cannot drive the innovation we need for the future, specifically in areas like semiconductors and the life sciences,” said Goel, co-founder and managing general partner of Waltham, Massachusetts-based Matrix Capital Management Company, LP, and one of Harvard’s most ardent supporters. “Quantum is an enabler, providing a multiplier effect on a logarithmic scale. It is a catalyst that drives scientific revolutions and epoch-making paradigm shifts.”

“Harvard is making significant institutional investments in its quantum enterprise and in the creation of a new field,” said Science Division Dean Christopher Stubbs, Samuel C. Moncher Professor of Physics and of Astronomy. Stubbs added that several active searches are underway to broaden Harvard’s faculty strength in this domain, and current faculty are building innovative partnerships with industry around quantum research.

“An incredible foundation has been laid in quantum, and we are now at an inflection point to accelerate that activity,” said SEAS Dean Frank Doyle , John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

To enable opportunities to move from basic to applied research to translating ideas into products, Doyle described a vision for “integrated partnerships where we invite partners from the private sector to be embedded on the campus to learn from the researchers in our labs, and where our faculty connect to the private sector and national labs to learn about the cutting-edge applications and to help translate basic research into useful tools for society.”

Harvard will admit the first cohort of PhD candidates in fall 2022 and anticipates enrolling 35 to 40 students in the program. Participating faculty are drawn from physics and chemistry in Harvard’s Division of Science and in applied physics, electrical engineering, and computer science at SEAS.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences provides more information on Harvard’s PhD in Quantum Science and Engineering , including the program philosophy, curriculum, and requirements.

Harvard has a long history of leadership in quantum science and engineering. Theoretical physicist and 2005 Nobel laureate Roy Glauber is widely considered the founding father of quantum optics, and 1989 Nobel laureate Norman Ramsey pioneered much of the experimental foundation of quantum science.

Today, Harvard experimental research groups are among the leaders worldwide in areas such as quantum simulations, metrology, and quantum communications and computation, and are complemented by strong theoretical groups in computer science, physics, and chemistry.

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Master's Programme in Physics – Theoretical Physics: Quantum Fields and Strings

120 credits

Are you interested in physics, quantum field- and string theory? Do you want to know more about the smallest to the largest in the field? Then the Master's Programme in Physics with a focus on theoretical physics - quantum field and string theory is for you. The width of subjects allows you to carry out degree projects in many key areas and you will come into contact with broad and world-leading research in quantum field theory and string theory.

Autumn 2024 Autumn 2024, Uppsala, 100%, On-campus, English

Academic requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university.

Also required is 75 credits in physics.

Language requirements

Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6. This requirement can be met either by achieving the required score on an internationally recognised test, or by previous upper secondary or university studies in some countries. Detailed instructions on how to provide evidence of your English proficiency are available at universityadmissions.se .

Students are selected based on an overall appraisal of previous university studies and a statement of purpose.

If you are not a citizen of a European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) country, or Switzerland, you are required to pay application and tuition fees.

• First tuition fee instalment: SEK 72,500
• Total tuition fee: SEK 290,000

Read more about fees.

In addition to the general supporting documents, you also need to submit a programme-specific statement of purpose (1 page).

Check the application guide for information on how to apply and what other supporting documents you need to submit.

About the programme

Physics at Uppsala University covers the entire length scale from subatomic strings to the whole universe, with forefront research across all sub-branches of physics. From research on elementary particles and materials, the structure of the earth and its atmosphere, to space and the properties of the universe.

Theoretical Physics: Quantum Fields and Strings, is a specialisation within the Master's Programme in Physics. It gives you exposure to this very active research area. After completing your Master's studies, you will have gained excellent preparation for commencing PhD studies in many different fields and subjects.

During the programme, you can expect to:

• have access to a world-recognised theoretical physics group,
• gain a solid foundation for further PhD studies,
• write a Master's thesis in one of several areas where quantum field theory and/or string theory play a key role.

In your second year, you will have the opportunity to complete a Master's thesis with the help of a supervisor or research staff in the theoretical physics group. Topics can range from all areas of string theory, quantum field theory or mathematical physics. Typically, the last semester of the second year is devoted almost entirely to the thesis project.

Student profile

You are expected to have a solid theoretical foundation in both physics and mathematics. A strong previous performance in the Bachelor's level courses for quantum mechanics, electrodynamics and statistical mechanics is essential.

You should be highly motivated and willing to take responsibility for your own education by choosing from the wide range of courses offered.

The programme leads to the degree of Master of Science (120 credits) with Physics as the main field of study. After one year of study, it is possible to obtain a degree of Master of Science (60 credits).

An introductory quantum field theory course is offered in the first year and a more advanced level course at the beginning of the second year. There are also two courses in string theory offered in the second year. These courses will give you the basics to start doing active research in the programme and provide the necessary qualifications to apply for a PhD position in theoretical physics.

Many other courses are available to choose from, such as:

• analytic mechanics,
• symmetry and group theory,
• gravitation and cosmology,
• a continuing course in quantum mechanics,
• advanced statistical mechanics,
• advanced methods in mathematical physics, including computer algebra software and symmetry in physics.

Courses within the programme

See the programme outline for courses within the specialisation .

Learning experience

During the two-year programme you will apply your background in physics to the field of cutting-edge questions in high-energy and mathematical physics.

Our teachers are active researchers and the courses closely follow current developments in theoretical physics.

During a typical week you will have about 8-10 hours of scheduled classroom time. The majority of time is thus spent studying on your own or in a study group outside the classroom. You can also choose to conduct research projects. They are a lot like thesis work, only shorter in duration, and are an excellent way into a new research field and research group.

Classes are typically small, ranging from a few students up to about 20. This gives you close contact with the teachers as well as your fellow students. Our teaching is in English as the student group is international.

Instruction consists of lectures, teacher-supervised tuition, and guidance in conjunction with laboratory work. The forms of examination vary depending on the course content and design. Final exams are more common for theoretical courses, although many tutors have continuous examination during the course, such as group discussions and hand-in exercises.

The programme takes place in Uppsala.

With a Master's degree in physics, you will be qualified for PhD studies in physics and many of our students continue as PhD students, at Uppsala University or elsewhere in the world. You will also have the opportunity to work with research and development at various companies and public authorities.

Recent graduates have found PhD positions at e.g. Uppsala University, University of Amsterdam and University of Southampton.

Career support

During your time as a student, UU Careers offers support and guidance. You have the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities and events that will prepare you for your future career.

Is this programme right for you?

Read interviews about the programme.

Register your interest

Keep updated about the application process.

Programme syllabus

• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2024
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2023
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2022
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2021
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2020
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2019
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2018
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2017
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2016, version 2
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2016, version 1
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2015
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2014
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2013
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2012
• Programme syllabus valid from Autumn 2011
• Outline valid from Autumn 2024
• Outline valid from Autumn 2023
• Outline valid from Autumn 2022
• Outline valid from Autumn 2021
• Outline valid from Autumn 2020
• Outline valid from Autumn 2019
• Outline valid from Autumn 2018
• Outline valid from Autumn 2017
• Outline valid from Autumn 2016, version 2
• Outline valid from Autumn 2016, version 1
• Outline valid from Autumn 2015
• For programme-specific information, please contact our study counsellor:
• [email protected]
• +46 18 471 59 91
• For admissions-related or general information, please contact our applicant support team:
• [email protected]
• Astronomy and Space Physics
• Energy Physics
• Meteorology and Climate Physics
• Nuclear and Particle Physics
• Theoretical Physics: Quantum Fields and Strings

Admitted or on the waiting list

Find information about the programme start and registration in the student gateway.

As a student you will find information about your studies in the student gateway.

Requirements

Application & Statement of Purpose

Letters of Recommendation

GRE & Exam Scores

More information

Application Resources

Our Graduate Recruitment Committee (GRC) conducts a holistic review of all application materials for indicators that the applicant possesses the essential qualities that will contribute to the successful completion of our degree program. No single factor leads to either accepting or excluding an applicant from admission. Our admissions review process considers each applicant’s academic performance to date, the potential for meaningful research contributions, and persistence in and commitment to educational success.

Your Undergraduate Degree

Prior to matriculation into the Physics graduate program, the University requires all applicants to have completed a bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. college or university or an international degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree in both length and rigor. International applicants should refer to  this GIAC site  to ensure that their educational credentials meet The Graduate School's requirements. 

No minimum undergraduate GPA is required to apply, however, in order to receive funding, the University requires a minimum of a 3.00 GPA in all upper-division or advanced course work undertaken at the undergraduate level.

No specific course work is required prior to the application for admission.  Although , the educational grounding necessary for the program is the equivalent of a full undergraduate major in physics. This should include solid courses at the intermediate-level or beyond in: classical mechanics, electromagnetism, waves, thermal and statistical physics, and quantum mechanics, as well as some study of applications in the context of modern physics. If you majored in something other than physics as an undergraduate and would like help evaluating whether your background is sufficient, please see our page on this subject for more information. Additionally, research experience is not a requirement, but it is an undeniable asset.

Application   (required)

Please, note that the State of Texas maintains a unified application system for all public institutions of higher education in the state at:  ApplyTexas.org . All application materials are processed by GIAC prior to being referred to the Department for review. This site allows you to save your work and complete the application at your own pace.

To be considered, all applications and their accompanying materials must be submitted before the yearly application deadlines of:

• 11:59 p.m. CDT on 1 October  for Spring admission
• 11:59 p.m. CST on 1 December  for Fall admission.

We allow a grace period of precisely one (1) calendar week following each of the deadlines for the uploading of Letters of Recommendation by your recommenders.

The application fee must be paid as instructed by the GIAC website. The fee is $65 for United States citizens or permanent residents, and $90 for non-U.S. citizens. The Graduate School provides fee waivers to applicants who meet certain criteria. The Department is not involved in either the fee payment or fee waiver processes.

Statement of Purpose   (required)

The Statement of Purpose is not wholly equivalent to a ‘Personal Statement’ and should be no more than two pages in length. Instead, your Statement of Purpose may begin with a  brief  personal statement that amounts to  no more than one-third (1/3)  of your Statement as a whole. Please address any information that you believe your application would be incomplete without and that sheds more light on your unique potential to succeed in Physics and contribute to the University community and the field or profession.

Following, the  brief  personal statement, you should plan to answer—to some degree—the majority of the following questions:

• What are your current goals and expectations for graduate school? For your future career?
• What is your past research experience? What are your research interests? With whom might you plan to do your research at UT Physics?
• How have your educational, research, and/or professional experiences prepared you for pursuing a graduate degree in physics?

Should you choose to submit the GRE Subject Test in Physics (pGRE) scores—then the personal statement section of your Statement of Purpose must also make explicit your reasons for doing so (including the ways in which you believe these scores are essential to the success of your application as a whole). If you submit such scores and you do not include this information in your Statement of Purpose, then your scores will not be considered in our review of your application.

Letters of Recommendation   (required)

Three (3) Letters of Recommendation must be submitted via ApplyTexas. The Graduate Recruitment Committee will not review more than three (3) letters. Thus, it is essential that you choose your recommenders with the utmost care. All of your recommenders should be able to speak to your knowledge, skills, or achievements in some combination of the following broad areas: course work, research, background, and personal qualities. It is also wise to choose recommenders who have a degree of knowledge regarding your development toward graduate school over time.

The ApplyTexas application will prompt you to provide contact information for each of your recommenders as part of the “Academic References” section. Once you have submitted your application and paid the application fee, the system will then send an email to each of your recommenders containing an individualized link to an online portal where they must upload their Letter of Recommendation.

If your recommenders are unable to submit their letters through the online application, please contact GIAC at:  [email protected] . Letters of Recommendation that are mailed or emailed directly to the program will not be considered.

Transcripts   (required)

Official transcripts must be submitted and reviewed by GIAC. After satisfying the application fee, you must provide an official transcript from every senior college you have attended. Even if courses taken at one institution are recorded on another college's transcript, transcripts must be submitted from the institution at which the courses were taken. Failure to list all colleges on the application and provide those transcripts will be considered an intentional omission and may lead to the cancellation of your application for admission or withdrawal of your offer of admission.

Official transcripts bear the facsimile signature of the registrar and the seal of the issuing institution. Transcripts from U.S. colleges or universities must have been produced within the last calendar year and should include the award of degree printed on the transcript unless coursework is still in progress. Transcripts written in a language other than English must be accompanied by a translation. We do not accept outside evaluations of foreign transcripts. Each transcript (mark sheet) should contain a complete record of studies at the institution from which it is issued (i.e., the subjects taken and grades [marks] earned in each subject).

Please note the department is not involved in the transcript process prior to application review. For submission options based on the sending institution please review this  GIAC site . Questions regarding transcripts should be directed to   [email protected]  (Please do not send transcripts to this address).

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Test Scores

The General Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is  not  required and  will not  be considered as part of your application if submitted.

The GRE Subject Test in Physics (pGRE) is optional; if you choose to submit a pGRE score you must make a clear case (in your required Statement of Purpose) for why you believe it is integral to your application, otherwise, it will not be considered, as described above under “The Statement of Purpose”.

We only accept scores officially and electronically reported to The University of Texas at Austin by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), our institution code is 6882.

English Proficiency Exams   (required of international applicants only)

In addition to completing the prescribed  graduate admissions  process, international students applying to The University of Texas at Austin must submit either an official  Test of English as a Foreign Language  (TOEFL) or  International English Language Testing System  (IELTS) score report demonstrating an adequate knowledge of English. The Institutional TOEFL (ITP) and the IELTS General Training, and alternatives ( ex: Duolingo ) are not accepted.

Scores must be sent to the university by the testing agency (self-reported scores are not accepted). The Educational Testing Service (ETS) institution code for UT Austin is 6882. There is no institutional code for the IELTS examination. To fulfill the requirement with scores from the IELTS, please use the IELTS electronic score delivery service to send your scores to the “University of Texas at Austin” account.

The minimum scores considered acceptable for admission by the Graduate School are TOEFL: 79 on the Internet-based test (iBT); IELTS: An overall band of 6.5 on the Academic Examination. Do not be discouraged from submitting an application if you do not meet these minimum scores.

International applicants who are from a  qualifying country  are exempt from this requirement. Additionally, applicants are exempt from the requirement if they possess a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. institution or a  qualifying country .  The requirement is not waived for applicants who have earned a master's—but not a bachelor's—degree from a similar institution.  For more information, please visit  this GIAC site .

MyStatus Website   (for everyone)

The University of Texas at Austin utilizes the online  MyStatus site  as your hub for the remainder of your application after ApplyTexas submission. This process is electronic and centralized, as such, please  do not  send any application materials directly to the department.

In an effort to increase security, multi-factor authentication (Duo) will be required to access most online services that require a UT EID login. Please make sure to  set up Duo  prior to attempting to log in to  MyStatus . Once logged on, your application will have one of the following statuses:

• Incomplete – review list of missing application items, must be completed by the deadline!
• In Review – application received by the department; you are now on the waitlist!
• Admitted – have been offered admission!
• Denied – have been denied admission.

After 1 May of every year, all remaining applications with Incomplete and In Review status begin to be closed out by the department. For more information, please email  [email protected] .

Where to Find More Information   (for everyone)

For more detailed information on our various research groups, please see Explore Our Graduate Program page. For additional information regarding our program as a whole, please consult the same website (including the FAQ page).

UT Application Process Overview:

• Where to Begin provides introductory information regarding UT Austin programs and degrees offered, cost of attendance, admissions and enrollment statistics, and eligibility for admission.
• How to Apply helps you decide which type of application is for you and provides logistical details such as application fees & official score submission procedures.
• ApplyTexas is where you will start your application before the deadline.
• MyStatus is your portal for all application documents & status updates during the admissions process  after  your ApplyTexas submission. 

Please note: Admitted Master’s applicants are not awarded financial support regardless of semester.

Following your circuit through the above websites, if you then have additional questions concerning our department, its research entities, and/or the admissions process, we would be more than happy to answer them, please contact us directly at:  [email protected] . In our effort to provide you with the best possible experience, when corresponding with our office  always  include your full name and either your Applicant ID (before submitting your application) or your EID (which you will receive after ApplyTexas submission)—the EID is always preferred.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a compilation of the most commonly received questions regarding the Graduate Program, Admissions, and other graduate-related topics. Additional resource sites & contacts are provided below . If your question is not addressed here or in the other areas of this site, please email us at [email protected] .

Please note, the Department of Physics at The University of Texas at Austin no longer requires the General GRE and the GRE Subject Test in Physics (pGRE) is now optional.

Should you choose to submit the pGRE—then the personal statement section of your Statement of Purpose must also make explicit your reasons for doing so (including how you believe these scores are essential to the success of your application as a whole). If you submit such scores and you do not include this information in your Statement of Purpose, then your scores will not be considered in our review of your application.

No. We also do not make admissions comments should you send CVs or other application materials prior to applying.

Due to the high volume of requests and applicants (approximately 500 a year), we cannot provide you with an estimate of your chances for admission. Admission is highly competitive and is more so for international students due to the higher volume of applicants and fewer admissions. For Fall 2020 admission, we had 182 international applicants and only accepted 42 for admission. For U.S. applicants, there were 172 applicants, and 50 were admitted. A total of 92 were admitted with 26 new students enrolling (11 international and 15 U.S. students).

Our Graduate Recruitment Committee will begin to review applications in mid-January. Decisions should take place in l ate February for U.S. applicants and early to mid-March for International applicants. Please be patient as we review your materials. If you submitted a full application (application fee, official test scores, online application, etc.), you may check on your status through your MyStatus check page. The Department sends acceptance and financial aid award letters only to those who are admitted.

No, our admissions process is now completely online. All application materials should be submitted electronically through the MyStatus portal .

No, our admissions process is now completely paperless. All application materials should be submitted electronically through the MyStatus portal .

No. Please email us at [email protected] for further guidance.

Once you have submitted your application, you can use our self-service feature on the “My Status” website to re-send the Request for Reference email to your recommenders, if necessary. You can also use this site to supply an alternate email if your recommender’s spam filter blocks the original request, or, has removed the link. You can also add a new recommender and send the Request for Reference email or revise your FERPA (right to view) status from retained to waived.

Yes, however, please note we do not offer any financial support to Master’s applicants.

No. Most of our Ph.D. students do not earn a Master’s while en route to the Ph.D. There is an oral examination given in the third year of the program, and students also apply for Ph.D. candidacy later in that year, but this is not to earn a Master’s degree, but simply to advance in the program. If a student is making poor academic progress, he or she will often take a Master’s degree and leave before completing the Ph.D. Only about 1–2 students per year need to take the Masters' in this manner.

No, please review our main admissions page to review what is currently required. Should you need to send GRE and TOEFL scores to the University of Texas, please use university code 6882 through the ETS system.

There is no institutional code for the IELTS examination, please use the IELTS electronic score delivery service to send your scores to the “University of Texas at Austin” account.

International applicants who are from a qualifying country are exempt from this requirement. Additionally, applicants are exempt from the requirement if they possess a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. institution or a qualifying country . The requirement is not waived for applicants who have earned a master's—but not a bachelor's—degree from a similar institution.

Log into My Status to review the status of all your application materials.

It should be OK if your scores arrive within a couple of weeks after the deadline. Any longer than this and we may begin the review process, and your scores will not be in your file in time. We still review your other items, but this will hurt your chances if scores are missing.

No, we can only accept scores officially reported to us electronically by ETS (code: 6882).

No. You may see a major code for Applied Physics on the online application, but please do not choose this major code. We simply do not have many courses in this area on a Ph.D. level. You might want to consider applying to an Engineering area at UT Austin instead.

Physics Department Contacts

Graduate Admissions Coordinator [email protected]

Physics Graduate Recruitment Committee Dierdre Shoemaker, Professor of Physics [email protected]

Graduate Advisor Richard Fitzpatrick, Professor of Physics [email protected] PMA 11.226 • (512) 560-7295

Graduate Program Coordinator Matt Ervin [email protected] PMA 7.326 • (512) 471-1664

Physics Graduate Representatives [email protected]

Purdue physicists throw world’s smallest disco party

A new milestone has been set for levitated optomechanics as prof. tongcang li’s group observed the berry phase of electron spins in nano-sized diamonds levitated in vacuum.

Physicists at Purdue are throwing the world’s smallest disco party.  The disco ball itself is a fluorescent nanodiamond, which they have levitated and spun at incredibly high speeds. The fluorescent diamond emits and scatters multicolor lights in different directions as it rotates. The party continues as they study the effects of fast rotation on the spin qubits within their system and are able to observe the Berry phase. The team, led by Tongcang Li , professor of  Physics and Astronomy  and  Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, published their results in Nature Communications . Reviewers of the publication described this work as “arguably a groundbreaking moment for the study of rotating quantum systems and levitodynamics” and “a new milestone for the levitated optomechanics community.”

“Imagine tiny diamonds floating in an empty space or vacuum. Inside these diamonds, there are spin qubits that scientists can use to make precise measurements and explore the mysterious relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity,” explains Li, who is also a member of the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute .  “In the past, experiments with these floating diamonds had trouble in preventing their loss in vacuum and reading out the spin qubits. However, in our work, we successfully levitated a diamond in a high vacuum using a special ion trap. For the first time, we could observe and control the behavior of the spin qubits inside the levitated diamond in high vacuum.”

The team made the diamonds rotate incredibly fast—up to 1.2 billion times per minute! By doing this, they were able to observe how the rotation affected the spin qubits in a unique way known as the Berry phase.

“This breakthrough helps us better understand and study the fascinating world of quantum physics,” he says.

The fluorescent nanodiamonds, with an average diameter of about 750 nm, were produced through high-pressure, high-temperature synthesis. These diamonds were irradiated with high-energy electrons to create nitrogen-vacancy color centers, which host electron spin qubits. When illuminated by a green laser, they emitted red light, which was used to read out their electron spin states. An additional infrared laser was shone at the levitated nanodiamond to monitor its rotation. Like a disco ball, as the nanodiamond rotated, the direction of the scattered infrared light changed, carrying the rotation information of the nanodiamond.

The authors of this paper were mostly from Purdue University and are members of Li’s research group: Yuanbin Jin (postdoc), Kunhong Shen (PhD student), Xingyu Gao (PhD student) and Peng Ju (recent PhD graduate). Li, Jin, Shen, and Ju conceived and designed the project and Jin and Shen built the setup. Jin subsequently performed measurements and calculations and the team collectively discussed the results. Two non-Purdue authors are Alejandro Grine, principal member of technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, and Chong Zu, assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Li’s team discussed the experiment results with Grine and Zu who provided suggestions for improvement of the experiment and manuscript.

“For the design of our integrated surface ion trap,” explains Jin, “we used a commercial software, COMSOL Multiphysics, to perform 3D simulations. We calculate the trapping position and the microwave transmittance using different parameters to optimize the design. We added extra electrodes to conveniently control the motion of a levitated diamond. And for fabrication, the surface ion trap is fabricated on a sapphire wafer using photolithography. A 300-nm-thick gold layer is deposited on the sapphire wafer to create the electrodes of the surface ion trap.”

So which way are the diamonds spinning and can they be speed or direction manipulated? Shen says yes, they can adjust the spin direction and levitation.

“We can adjust the driving voltage to change the spinning direction,” he explains. “The levitated diamond can rotate around the z-axis (which is perpendicular to the surface of the ion trap), shown in the schematic, either clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on our driving signal. If we don’t apply the driving signal, the diamond will spin omnidirectionally, like a ball of yarn.”

Levitated nanodiamonds with embedded spin qubits have been proposed for precision measurements and creating large quantum superpositions to test the limit of quantum mechanics and the quantum nature of gravity.

“General relativity and quantum mechanics are two of the most important scientific breakthroughs in the 20 th century. However, we still do not know how gravity might be quantized,” says Li. “Achieving the ability to study quantum gravity experimentally would be a tremendous breakthrough. In addition, rotating diamonds with embedded spin qubits provide a platform to study the coupling between mechanical motion and quantum spins.”

This discovery could have a ripple effect in industrial applications. Li says that levitated micro and nano-scale particles in vacuum can serve as excellent accelerometers and electric field sensors. For example, the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are using optically-levitated nanoparticles to develop solutions for critical problems in navigation and communication .

“At Purdue University, we have state-of-the-art facilities for our research in levitated optomechanics,” says Li. “We have two specialized, home-built systems dedicated to this area of study. Additionally, we have access to the shared facilities at the Birck Nanotechnology Center, which enables us to fabricate and characterize the integrated surface ion trap on campus. We are also fortunate to have talented students and postdocs capable of conducting cutting-edge research. Furthermore, my group has been working in this field for ten years, and our extensive experience has allowed us to make rapid progress.”

Quantum research is one of four key pillars of the   Purdue Computes   initiative, which emphasizes the university’s extensive technological and computational environment.

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant number PHY-2110591), the Office of Naval Research (grant number N00014-18-1-2371), and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (grant DOI 10.37807/gbmf12259). The project is also partially supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Sandia National Laboratories.

Related News:

• Purdue physicists lift a nano-dumbbell with light and spin it at 100 billion rpm near a surface: Department of Physics and Astronomy: Purdue University
• Chip-based optical tweezers levitate nanoparticles in a vacuum (phys.org)
• Light powers world's fastest-spinning object - Purdue University News

About the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University   

Purdue’s Department of Physics and Astronomy has a rich and long history dating back to 1904. Our faculty and students are exploring nature at all length scales, from the subatomic to the macroscopic and everything in between. With an excellent and diverse community of faculty, postdocs and students who are pushing new scientific frontiers, we offer a dynamic learning environment, an inclusive research community and an engaging network of scholars.  

Physics and Astronomy is one of the seven departments within the Purdue University College of Science. World-class research is performed in astrophysics, atomic and molecular optics, accelerator mass spectrometry, biophysics, condensed matter physics, quantum information science, and particle and nuclear physics. Our state-of-the-art facilities are in the Physics Building, but our researchers also engage in interdisciplinary work at Discovery Park District at Purdue, particularly the Birck Nanotechnology Center and the Bindley Bioscience Center. We also participate in global research including at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, many national laboratories (such as Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermilab, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Stanford Linear Accelerator, etc.), the James Webb Space Telescope, and several observatories around the world.   

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at  https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives .

Contributors:

Tongcang Li , Professor of   Physics and Astronomy   and   Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue

Tongcang Li Research Group | Purdue University (google.com)  

Writer:  Cheryl Pierce ,  Purdue College of Science

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Department of Physics and Astronomy, 525 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2036 • Phone: (765) 494-3000 • Fax: (765) 494-0706

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