Graduate Student Handbook Digest

The latest revision version is June 2024. This page is to act as a streamlined version of the graduate student handbook with input from senior graduate students on what things are most important and what things can skate by while you are trying to survive.

1. Student Advising and Mentoring

The department follows the provost office document found here: http://www.pitt.edu/~graduate/advising.html
If you have any issue with your advisor, student mentor, or faculty mentor, you can always see the Directory of Graduate Studies (DGS), or Department Chair.

Your Advisors

• Your Academic Advisor

Before you arrive on campus, you will be assigned an academic advisor who may or may not be in your desired area of research. You’ll meet with this advisor during orientation. This first meeting will go over the course expectations and you placement exam performance (if you are on the Physics Track).  This faculty member will serve as your advisor until you sign a research agreement.

• Your Research Advisor

After signing a research agreement, your research advisor will chair your thesis committee and be responsible for your academic progress. 

Your Mentors

• Student/Peer Mentors

Prior to arrival on campus, you will be assigned a student mentor. This person will be your point of contact for graduate student life during your first year. You will meet with them ~2 times per semester for lunch and any time as needed. They will help you with balancing life advice, the research advisor search, and navigating resources.

• TA/TF Mentor

Each year, a student is recommended as the TA/TF Mentor for the department. They serve as a mentor to those students who may be teaching for the first time.

• Faculty Mentors (Underutilized)

After classes have started, there will be an informal social meeting between students and potential faculty mentors. These mentors are intended to be separate from your research advisor or academic advisor, for when you may be struggling academically or having difficulty with your advisor. 

2. Entering Student Placement

The department strives to place students in the place they are most likely to succeed. Students are able to take undergraduate courses to ensure their performance in the graduate courses. This is extremely common and will not “set you back” in your degree. 

Pre-tests

Before orientation, you will be expected to take several diagnostic tests: one for E&M, Stat Mech, and Quantum. These tests are fairly low stakes but may be worth some preparation for to get you back in the swing of taking tests if you are a non-traditional student. You will discuss your performance with your academic advisor and they will recommend you to take the graduate or undergraduate versions of the courses. In most cases, you have the option to take the graduate course or undergraduate course regardless of performance on the pre-test. 

Testing Through Core Courses (Written Exam)

If you have completed a similar graduate course before coming to Pitt, you may attempt an advancement exam for any of the core courses. Students must notify the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Administrator of their intent to take one or more advancement exams prior to 1 August. 

Testing Through Core Courses (Oral Exam, Students w/ Master’s)

If you have an M.S. degree, you may take an oral advancement exam covering the core courses. You will be exempted from the relevent core courses if you pass. In order to be eligible to take these oral examinations, the student must (a) have a MS degree from an academic institution with an academic standing similar or exceeding that of the University of Pittsburgh, and (b) notify the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Administrator of their intent to take an oral exam prior to 1 August.

Transfer Credits

Students may apply 6 credits at Master’s level toward the Master’s Degree or up to 30 credits at Master’s level toward the Ph.D. Students who have received approval for 30 transfer credits cannot then apply for a masters degree at the University of Pittsburgh, they must take more credits at Pitt.

Astro Track Students

Astro Track students do not need to take the pre-tests. You will also not be able to take the advancement exam, not even for the Dynamical Systems core course.  You are able to transfer credits, but you will still be expected to take 4 of the core courses. 

3. Masters degree requirements

A minimum of 30 credits and a 3.0 GPA is required at the graduate level for the MS for both thesis and non-thesis options. The student must be in compliance with all of the University’s degree requirements. At least four physics courses (12 credits) at the graduate 2000-level must be completed with a grade of B (3.00). A 3000-level course can be substituted for one of these, but only with the Academic Advisor’s approval. No more than six credits of graduate work completed at another institution may be accepted by the Graduate Committee toward the completion of the residence requirement. Credits earned for PHYS 2997 and PHYS 2998 may not be used to satisfy this requirement. No more than two non-physics graduate-level courses, approved in advance by the Director of Graduate Studies, will be considered for credit towards the MS degree. 

There are three ways to earn an MS degree:

1. Submit no thesis and complete at least eight courses. Courses and directed study/research credit must be accrued to reach the minimum 30 credit hours. Four courses must be graduate core courses as listed above, each with a grade of B or better. Courses needed to accrue the necessary credit hours may include any number of 3000-level advanced graduate courses.

2. Submit no thesis and complete at least six courses from among 2373, 25XX or beyond. In order to accrue the requisite 30 credits for graduation, the student may engage in Directed Study, Directed Research, or take additional, approved courses at the 3000-level.

3. Submit a thesis and complete at least six courses. Four courses must be graduate core courses (2373, 2513, 2541, 2555, 2565, 2566) each with a grade of B or better. Courses and directed study/research credit must be accrued to reach the minimum 30 credit hours. Courses may include any number of 3000-level advanced graduate courses.
   Applicants interested in pursuing the thesis option are required to reach out to potential advisors before applying and to name in their application narrative the faculty member who has agreed to serve as their thesis advisor.

• 30 credits or more (4 graduate core courses plus 3000-level advanced graduate courses with grade B or better)

• 3.0 GPA or higher 

4. PhD. Requirements

Courses

Starting Fall 2023, PhD students at Pitt will choose one of two "tracks" for their degree: the Physics Track or the Astrophysics Track.  The two tracks have different course requirements.

Students in either track are required to take the following courses:

• PHYS 2997 Teaching of Physics (1 semester; 1 credit)

  • This course is aimed at introducing teaching pedagogy to incoming students and is offered every Fall.  Even if you are not teaching during your first semester, you should still take this course during that first fall semester along with the rest of your cohort. 

• PHYS 2998 Teaching Practicum (2 semesters; 1-2 credits)

  • Students will take PHYS 2998 concurrently with their teaching assignments.  This course requirement is essentially synonymous with the requirement that all PhD students teach for at least two semesters.

• PHYS 2999 Physics and Astronomy Colloquium (2 semesters; 1 credit)

  • First year students are expected to attend the weekly department colloquia. The colloquia is shared with Carnegie Mellon University, so both institutions alternate hosting the colloquia.  This means the location alternates throughout the semester; when hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, the colloquia take place in Thaw 102.  They typically take place on Mondays at 3:30 pm.  Students must attend and submit a very brief report (~ 1 page).  That is all that this course consists of.

Students are required to complete 4 core courses in order to advance to candidacy.  The required core courses are now different depending on which track you choose:

Physics Track:

• PHYS 2541 Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics

• PHYS 2555 Advanced Electricity and Magnetism

• PHYS 2565 Non-Relativistic Quantum Mechanics I

• PHYS 2513 Dynamical Systems OR PHYS 2566 Non-Relativistic Quantum Mechanics II

The first three are required for all physics-track students; students can choose the fourth course depending on which of the two options is most useful for them.

Astrophysics Track:

Astrophysics track students can choose any 4 of the following courses to count towards their core courses:

• PHYS 2531 Dynamical Systems

• ASTRON 3101 Introduction to Astronomy

• ASTRON 3550 Stellar Structure

• ASTRON 3580 Galactic and Extragalactic Astronomy

• ASTRON 3705 Astronomical Techniques

• ASTRON 3785 Cosmology

• PHYS 3274 Computational Methods

However, within the astrophysics track, all of these courses (except Computational Methods) must be taken at some point. The additional courses will count towards the advanced course requirement.

In addition to core courses, students must take advanced courses or "3000-level" courses. Five advanced courses are needed if four core courses were taken (or four if five core courses were taken). These classes can be taken outside of the Physics and Astronomy department if approved by the Graduate Curriculum Committee, however, a minimum of two must be within the department.

5. Comprehensive Examination Requirement

Comprehensive exam must be passed by the end of the second year -- this means you have two attempts (first and second year).

Physics Track Requirements:

• GPA >= 3.0

• Grade of at least B+ in four of the courses listed under "Physics Track".

Astrophysics Track:

• GPA >= 3.0

• Grade of at least B+ in four of the seven courses listed under “Astrophysics Track”

6. Research + Research Agreements

Within 6 months of completing the comprehensive examinations, students must sign a research agreement which indicates that they have been accepted as a dissertation student by a research advisor.

Once a research agreement is completed, students may register for PHYS/ASTRON 3000 (dissertation research), or for FTDB 3999 (full-time dissertation study) if the student has accumulated 72 credits. Until then, students enroll in PHYS 3907 (directed research) with an “interim” research advisor.

Students may request permission to perform PhD research under the primary guidance of a faculty member outside the Department of Physics and Astronomy. If so, a graduate faculty member of the Department of Physics and Astronomy must serve as the co-advisor.

7. Forming a Dissertation Committee

Must be formed within 8 months of having passed comprehensive examinations. Discuss with research advisor about who to include. The member requirements are:

• There must be 4 members, 3 of which are members of the physics and astronomy department (including your advisor). The fourth is a member of a different department.

• There must be at least one theorist and at least one experimentalist.

Note: Your committee meetings don't need to be scary. They are there to help you make progress in the PhD!

8. Teaching and the Teaching Requirements

Grad students are required to serve as a TA for either two regular academic terms or one regular term plus one six-week summer session.

Students will be graded on their teaching performance based upon the recommendations of the professor/instructor in charge of the course(s) they TA for. Credit toward fulfillment of the teaching requirement of the Department of Physics and Astronomy will only be awarded to teaching assistants that receive a teaching grade of B or better.

See TA Resources for more details.

Ph.D. timeline :

• link to website timeline: https://www.physicsandastronomy.pitt.edu/graduate/phd-program/phd-milestones

  • Keep in mind that this timeline is a suggestion; your committee will assess your progress with consideration of your unique circumstances