Qualifying Exam

All Ph.D. students must take The Doctoral Qualifying Examination.

The exam will have two parts:

Part 1) Written exam: Students will have to solve problems covering the following topics: Classical Mechanics (including relativity), Electricity and Magnetism, Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics.

Part 2) Oral exam: Will be held within two weeks after the written exam.

Students are allowed two attempts to pass the examination. The examination is usually taken at the end of the student's second year but should be taken not later than the end of the student's third year of graduate work. A year's deferral may be granted to students who enter with course deficiencies. Such deferral must be approved by the department during the student's first semester of enrollment.

All exams are in PDF Format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access these files. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available on the web free at http://www.adobe.com/.

• Fall 2023

• Fall 2018

• Fall 2016

• Fall 2015

• Fall 2014

• Fall 2013

• Fall 2012

• Fall 2011

• Fall 2010

• Fall 2009

• Fall 2008

• Fall 2007

• Fall 2006

• Fall 2005

• Fall 2004

• Fall 2003

• Fall 2002

• Fall 2001

• Fall 2000

• Fall 1999

• Fall 1998

• Fall 1997

• Fall 1996

• Fall 1995

• Spring 1995

• Spring 1994

• V.V. Batyigin and I.N. Toptyigin: Problems in Electrodynamics (Dover, New York, 1978).
• S.B. Cahn, G.D. Mahan and B.E.Nadgorny: A Guide to Physics Problems, Part 1(Plenum Press, New York, 1997).
• S.B. Cahn, G.D. Mahan and B.E.Nadgorny: A Guide to Physics Problems, Part 2(Plenum Press, New York, 1997).
• J.A. Cronin, D.F. Greenberg and V.L.Telegdi: University of Chicago Graduate Problems in Physics with Solutions (The University of Chicago Press, Chicago,1967).
• I.I. Goldman and V.D. Krivchenkov: Problems in Quantum Mechanics (Dover, New York, 1993).
• S. Flügge: Practical Quantum Mechanics (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1971).
• C.S. Johnson, Jr. and L.G. Pedersen: Problems and Solutions in Quantum Chemistry and Physics (Dover, NewYork, 1986).
• Y.-K. Lim: Problems and Solutions on Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics(World Scientific, Singapore, 1990).
• N. Newbury, M. Newman, J. Ruhl, S.Staggs and S. Thorsett: Princeton Problems in Physics with Solutions (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1991).
• A.C. Tribble: Princeton Guide to Advanced Physics (Princeton University Press,Princeton, 1996)