The Preliminary Exam is an oral presentation of the student's research before a committee. The student is also required to share with their committee a written prospectus on the research they are doing. Most students within the Physics graduate program take their prelim in either their third or fourth term in the program. 

The primary mentor in this phase is the research advisor; the research advisor will set the requirements of the exam and the presentation. Since students benefit from a full range of mentorship at this stage, they must form a prelim committee consisting of a Committee Chair and at least two additional faculty members. The Chair of the committee is the student's research advisor. The two additional members are other faculty with some expertise in the research area. A minimum of one of the members on the prelim committee must be Physics department faculty. 

As part of the prelim process, the student must present preliminary research results to the committee. The preliminary exam is flexible in its design, so the student should seek out clear guidance and expectations from their advisor when preparing for the prelim exam. This includes the length and content of the written prospectus and the structure and required materials for the presentation/defense. Know that within Physics, the written prospectus is typically short (a few pages). On average, the prelim exam includes a 45-minute presentation followed by up to 45 minutes of questions. Two hours is recommended when scheduling the prelim exam to allow for extra questions. In the talk, students will typically present their research achievements, propose their thesis topic, and outline their research plan. 

KEY INFORMATION

• Your Prelim Committee: Your prelim committee must have a minimum of three faculty members, the chair being your primary research advisor. Sometimes, the members of your prelim committee move on to become part of your dissertation committee. It is up to the student to ask faculty to be on their committee. 

• Scheduling your Prelim Exam: It is at the discretion of the student to schedule their own prelim exam. You will work directly with your faculty advisor to determine when is the right time to take it and when you are ready. The student is responsible for coordinating the date, time, and location of the exam among their committee members. To book a room in Randall or West Hall for your prelim, email physics.sso@umich.edu.

• Prelim Form and Administrative Paperwork: You must bring to your exam a printed copy of the Physics Department Prelim Form. The form is available here. Following your exam, please have each committee member sign the form and return it to the Graduate Program Coordinator. If a member participates remotely, they can email physics.sso@umich.edu attesting to the fact that they took part in your prelim. 

• Take a total of 30 course credits at graduate level, predominantly at 500-level and above. Each course must have a minimum grade of B- and the average grade must be at least B (3.0 GPA overall).

• Core Graduate courses including Quantum Mechanics (511, 512), Electricity and Magnetism (505, 506) and Statistical Mechanics (510)

• Take and pass the qualifying exam. 

• Pass the PHYSICS 501 mini-colloquium (two terms, each counting 1 credit). PHYSICS 501 serves to introduce students to a broad range of research directions and to meet faculty members.

• Enroll in and complete an ethics in research mini-course (UC 415/PHYSICS 500).

• The total course selection must include 3 cognate credits. Cognate courses are those in a discipline or area different from a student's field of study (outside of the Physics Department) but that are related or connected with some aspect of this field. Students are encouraged to select courses that are relevant or complementary to their research and scholarship but that offer different disciplinary perspectives on their interests. 

• A two-semester sequence of a specialty course (Particle Physics, Condensed Matter, AMO, Cosmology) is recommended, but students can select other electives that are more relevant to their research or when courses are not offered. 

• A maximum of two undergraduate (400 level) courses may count towards candidacy

• Receive an endorsement to advance by a research advisor.

• Take and pass the Preliminary Exam. 

A student must be enrolled during the term in which they advance to candidacy. Because Physics graduate students generally do not enroll in the Spring/Summer term (do not register for courses or pay tuition), you will be advanced to candidacy during a Fall or Winter term, provided you have completed all requirements (including the prelim) by  the deadline. Candidacy Deadlines can be found via Rackham Graduate School here. 

Core graduate courses taken previously do not need to be retaken but do not count towards the total of 30 credit hours. To be waived from a core course requirement, a student needs to provide proof of the previous coursework (via a transcript and syllabus) and receive permission from their graduate mentor. If documented proof is not available or if the student has not taken the graduate level course but has a compelling reason to skip it, the student needs to get permission from their mentor and the Physics instructor of the core course. A waiver of any core courses must be noted in writing (i.e. email) by the student's mentor and sent to the Graduate Program Coordinator; the waiver will be added to the student's department file. 

What are the pros and cons of advancing to candidacy sooner vs later?

Advancing sooner

As a pre-candidate, the set tuition rate is substantially higher than as a candidate. While you as a student will not be held accountable for this difference, it may affect the type of funding you receive. For instance, advisors may be able to support a GSRA appointment for a candidate, but not a pre-candidate. GSI positions and fellowships are not dependent on an individual faculty’s funding situation and therefore can support both pre-candidates and candidates. But, if you’re looking to be funded on GSRA, advancing to candidacy sooner may be beneficial for you and your advisor.

Advancing to candidacy reduces the number of annual courses a student can take to two per academic term (PHYSICS 995 and one other; see the Coursework and Registration section). Also, some advisors may require preliminary research results for the prelim exam. Most students join their research group at the end of their second semester, which leaves little time for producing these results.

Advancing later

Advancing later means advisors may not be able to support you on a GSRA. However, you will have more flexibility in your course allowance. You do not need to take courses beyond the 30 credits required; but you will need to stay enrolled full-time. That being said, students in the past have taken additional courses beyond the credit requirements for enrichment and to aid them with their specific research field. As a precandidate, you do not have the two courses a term limit imposed on you like candidates.

Additionally, you will have more time to produce comprehensive results for your prelim exam. This may make your prelim exam a more meaningful experience, as you can receive more feedback from faculty. 

As a Physics PhD student, you are eligible for an embedded Masters degree in Physics once you have completed your candidacy requirements; an embedded Masters can only be requested if you do not already have a Masters degree in Physics. To request the embedded MS, contact the Graduate Program Coordinator.

The average time from matriculation to defense for a Physics graduate student is 5.5 years. After reaching candidacy, you should talk annually with your advisor about your expected defense term and the requirements of reaching the point where you are ready to defend your research. 

The student and their faculty advisor will determine when it is time for the thesis defense. You can find  a link to Rackham Defense Deadlines below. As soon as your defense date is known, please inform the Graduate Program Coordinator. Rackham also provides a handy Dissertation Timeline which we strongly encourage you to follow.  This includes information on how to schedule your pre- and post-defense meetings, distributing your dissertation abstract, and more. If you will need a department space reserved for your defense, please email physics.sso@umich.edu as soon as your date and time is confirmed. 

At least six months prior to your defense, you must identify the members of your Dissertation Committee. It is highly recommended that you consult Rackham’s Guidelines for Dissertation Committee Service and their Quick Reference Chart for Dissertation Committee Membership (both linked below).  To finalize your committee, you should fill out the Dissertation Committee form (below) so that the Graduate Program Coordinator can submit it for processing to the Rackham Graduate School. (Note: Students and faculty are not permitted to submit a committee directly to Rackham; this step must be completed by administrative staff.) It is not uncommon that membership on a committee changes; if you have a change in membership, simply repeat the process of filling out the form and submitting it to the Graduate Program Coordinator. 

Your Committee is comprised of five faculty members including:

• Thesis advisor as the Chair of the committee

• At least one experimental physicist and one theoretical physicist

• One cognate member (a faculty member with an appointment in another department different from Physics)

• At least one additional member  (i.e. an additional cognate member, another faculty member in either experimental or theoretical physics, a faculty member outside of UM, etc.) 

Note: Some university information may state that you need four faculty members for your dissertation committee--that is a Rackham requirement. The Physics department requires five faculty members.