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Overview of the Collaborative Program |
| This program establishes a collaboration between the Physics Departments at UH and UHCL for the mutual benefit of both universities, their students, and the Clear Lake Community. This joint effort unites the Master’s program at UHCL with the PhD program at UH. UH will award the PhD; UHCL supports the effort with its courses and research opportunities. Select faculty at UH and UHCL hold joint appointments. This allows them to ensure their students a smooth transition into the PhD program. All UHCL Physics students are encouraged to apply to the UH Physics program before beginning graduate level coursework in order to take advantage of this program. |
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| UHCL Physics students pursuing a PhD can do so through the Collaborative UH/UHCL Physics PhD program. Six UHCL Physics courses and their corresponding recitations PHYS 5311/5331: Electrodynamics, PHYS 5411/5431: Classical Mechanics, PHYS 5511/5531: Mathematical Methods in Physics I, PHYS 5611/5631 and 5612/5632: Quantum Mechanics I and II, and PHYS 5711/5731: Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics will count towards PhD candidacy at UH. A candidate must earn a grade of B or better in the class and on the final exam. Students exploring this option must apply for PhD candidacy by applying and being accepted into both the UHCL and UH physics programs. This should be done before taking any graduate level physics courses in order to take advantage of this program. Students accepted into the collaborative PhD program will be subject to the same requirements as other PhD candidates in the UH Physics program. They will complete their PhD Thesis under the advisement of a UH and UHCL faculty committee. |
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Physics Candidacy Certificate |
| Students who are not enrolled in our MS Physics program but are interested completing the candidacy requirements for the Collaborative UHCL/UH Physics Ph.D. Program may wish to apply for our physics candidacy certificate. This certificate can be awarded to students independently of the Physics Master¹s Degree. A student pursuing a certificate has the option of switching to the Physics MS degree program at anytime during their enrollment in the certificate program and can apply all physics course-work taken towards the certificate to the MS degree. This certificate does not imply any acceptance into the UH Ph.D. Program or the successful completion of all Ph.D. candidacy requirements and is used primarily at UHCL to monitor the progress of students working towards the Physics Ph.D. through our Collaborative Physics Ph.D. Program. Students in this certificate program will have to apply and be accepting into the PhD program at UH in order to qualify for PhD Candidacy. |
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Benefits of the program |
Benefits to Students:
- The first local PhD program available to full-time and part-time students
- Advanced training in Physics increases work-related proficiency for students
- Increased knowledge base improves job satisfaction
- Intellectual challenge for students
Benefits to the Clear Lake Community:
- Accessibility of pertinent courses for JSC and petrochemical communities
- More PhDs available to local industry and JSC
- Connection to UH System for advanced research projects of benefit to the community
- Local PhD opportunities helps private and public institutions retain employees
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Degree Requirements |
Application to the Program
To be admitted into the program, students must apply and be accepted into both the UHCL and UH physics programs separately. All students should do this before beginning graduate level coursework. |
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Core Requirements at UHCL
- PHYS 5311/5331 Electrodynamics
- PHYS 5411/5431 Classical Mechanics
- PHYS 5511/5531 Mathematical Methods in Physics I
- PHYS 5611/5631 Quantum Mechanics I
- PHYS 5612/5632 Quantum Mechanics II
- PHYS 5711/5731 Statistical Mechanics & Thermodynamics
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Advanced Electives
Students will select advanced UHCL and UH courses to meet their professional goals in consultation with their advisor. Many of these electives may be taken at either UH or UHCL but final approval of electives that count towards the PhD is handled by the Graduate Studies Committee. |
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UHCL MS Capstone
After completing the core courses and some electives, some students may choose to finish the requirements of the UHCL MS program, while others may choose to move directly into PhD level work without completing the MS. The choice of whether or not to complete the degree depends on several factors. Currently, students who complete the MS at UHCL are no longer considered degree-seeking students and are therefore ineligible for financial aid on the UHCL campus. We are working to resolve this situation. |
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PhD Work at UH
Students must complete all PHD level work according to the standard rules of the UH Physics Department. Visit http://www.phys.uh.edu/graduate/reqs-phd/index.php for a full description of these requirements.
Students in the program should be continuously enrolled at either UHCL or UH each long semester until they complete their degree. After taking the core courses, all students should select a research advisor and dissertation committee. The student and advisor must jointly select the dissertation committee. The student must then submit an oral presentation and research plan to the dissertation committee. The student must also send annual progress reports to the dissertation committee. The student must present an acceptable dissertation based on original research in Physics and defend it orally before the dissertation committee. In addition, to complete the PhD, students may be required to take additional courses under the request of their thesis advisor. They may take these courses at UH or UHCL. |
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Admissions |
| Students interested in this program must apply and be accepted into both the UHCL and UH physics programs separately. The application standards of this committee will be the same as those of the UH PhD admissions committee (visit http://www.phys.uh.edu/graduate/index.php for details). This process gives students access to both UHCL and UH courses, library, labs, and other resources needed to successfully complete the PhD program. |
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FAQ |
| The frequently asked questions dynamically expands the answer when clicked on. |
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High student and community demand. Between 2002 and 2004, the Physics program at UHCL conducted four needs-assessment surveys. These surveys focused primarily on establishing a Masters Degree in Physics at UHCL, but received dozens of unsolicited requests to establish a Physics PhD program. In response to these requests. The department conducted a fifth needs-assessment survey in the fall of 2006. The results of this survey showed an overwhelming demand for the program.
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Plan on spending 10-20 hours per week on each three credit-hour graduate class. This program is designed for both full-time (nine credit hours per semester) and part-time (fewer than nine credit hours per semester) students.
In addition to the five core courses required for the MS, a PhD candidacy also demands a sixth course PHYS 5632 Quantum Mechanics II and one hour recitations for each core course. Each core course (and its final exam) will count toward PhD candidacy in the UH Physics program with a passing grade of B or better. Candidates can transfer some UHCL advanced courses to UH for PhD credit. In addition, some UH faculty will offer courses at UHCL.
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If you choose to complete the MS at UHCL and not continue on with the PhD, nothing will change. If you want to complete the PhD, you must apply and be accepted into the UH physics program and pass the final exams in each core course (and recitation) with a grade of B or better.
Students in this program can pursue research related to the scholarly interests of any Physics faculty member at UHCL or UH.
UHCL students may apply for Financial Aid. In addition, a faculty grant funding program offers some teaching and research assistantships.
We do not currently offer any core courses online. However, we do offer evening courses and many of our advanced courses are taught between UH and UHCL using video conferencing software. Faculty members occasionally teach daytime courses off campus.
This can vary, depending on whether a student completes the program part-time or full-time. Typically, it takes two to three years to complete the MS (at UHCL), and another four to six years to complete the PhD (at UH).
You will need to submit a complete UH application and submit all the needed materials, following the same instructions as any other applicants. Please note that UH and UHCL are different Universities. Applying to UHCL is not the same as applying to UH. In order to be in the collaborative program a student must apply and be admitted to UH. For more information please see http://phys.uh.edu/graduate/faq/index.php.
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