Physics Program

Program Director: Christina Keller, Ph.D.
Graduate Coordinator: Yongchen Sun, Ph.D.

Physics Program
Akeley-Lawrence Science Center, Room 201
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Phone: 605-677-5649
physics@usd.edu
www.usd.edu/physics 

FACULTY

Professor:

Christina Keller, Program Director of Physics, Ph.D., North Dakota State University. Specialization: Condensed Matter Physics and Physics Education.

Associate Professors:

Dongming Mei, Ph.D., University of Alabama. Specialization: Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Astroparticle Physics.
Yongchen Sun, Ph.D., Montana State University-Bozeman. Specialization: Laser Spectroscopy and Condensed Matter Physics.

 Assistant Professors:

Jing Liu, Ph.D., Technical University of Munich. Specialization: Nuclear and Particle Physics.
Ryan MacLellan, Ph.D., Queen’s University. Specialization: Particle Physics.
Joel Sander, Ph.D., University of California-Santa Barbara. Specialization: Nuclear and Particle Physics.
Ian M. Shoemaker, Ph.D., University of California-Los Angeles. Specialization: Cosmology, Theoretical Physics.
Wenqin Xu, Ph.D., University of California-Los Angeles. Specialization: Nuclear and Particle Physics, Neutrino Physics.

Research Assistant Professor:

Chao Zhang, Ph.D., Institute of High Energy Physics, Beijing. Specialization: Nuclear and Particle Physics.

DEGREE

Master of Science   
Doctor of Philosophy   

Program Description

The graduate programs in physics will prepare students for a variety of career paths, including positions in academia, industry and at national labs. While degree candidates may pursue specialized research foci based on the research expertise of individual faculty members, the most significant goal of the program is to focus on research areas germane to the needs and special resources of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF). Examples of specialized research areas connected to SURF include nuclear/particle physics and particle astrophysics involving next-generation neutrino detection; double beta-decay, dark matter searches and gravitational wave detection experiments, as well as condensed matter physics concentrating on novel low background radiation materials and devices.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. Completed Graduate Application form found at: https://usd-web.usd.edu/apps/grad-app/login.cfm and a non-refundable application fee of $35.
2. One official transcript verifying receipt of an undergraduate degree and previous graduate credit (in English or with translation) must accompany an application. Official transcripts of all academic work at the undergraduate and graduate levels are required for international students. The USD Graduate School and/or academic departments retain the right to require an Educational Credential Evaluators/World Education Services (ECE/WES) evaluation for a student if such an evaluation is deemed necessary.
3. Applicants to the master’s program must have completed a baccalaureate in physics, although applicants with baccalaureate or graduate degrees in closely related fields may be considered. Applicants to the doctoral program will be considered with either an undergraduate or master’s degree in physics. Baccalaureate degree must be from an institution with full regional accreditation for that degree. A minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 on conferred degree and/or graduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, based on a 4.0 scale, on all graduate coursework is required for full admission. We may admit students on provisional status per university policy.
4. Applicants with degrees from countries other than the United States who have obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree from a regionally accredited American college or university are not required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score. For all other applicants, a minimum score of 79 on the Internet-Based TOEFL (iBT) or 550 on the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT), a minimum IELTS score of 6.0, or a minimum PTE score of 53 is required for graduate admission. Applicants from or who have obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree from these English-speaking countries (UK, Australia, Canada [except Quebec], Ireland, or New Zealand) are not required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score if their academic records indicate that English was the classroom language for the majority of their schoolwork.
5. Applicants are required to submit a statement of purpose or goal statement.

Additional Program Admission Requirements:

6. The General GRE is required for the master’s program and the Physics Subject GRE is required for the doctoral program.
7. Three (3) professional letters of recommendation, at least one of which must be from the student’s parent institution.

With permission of the graduate program, those who have not completed an undergraduate or master’s degree in physics may be admitted on a provisional basis. Students must complete the non-elective required courses for the undergraduate physics major (a year of calculus-based physics and PHYS 421, PHYS 431, PHYS 441, PHYS 451, and PHYS 471) at USD or demonstrate competence in those areas through some other mechanism prior to beginning graduate coursework.

SCHOLARSHIPS

A limited number of graduate assistantships are awarded each year on a competitive basis to fully admitted, full-time, on-campus M.S. and Ph.D. students. Applications for graduate assistantships are due on February 1.