• obtain a student Blaster Card (an identification card, named after the Mines mascot Blaster, an irritable-looking burro with a stick of dynamite clenched in his teeth). This is needed to enter the building after normal business hours.
• establish a campus computer account and campus email address via Mines MultiPass Account Claim
• fill out a form (available from the Physics Department administrative assistant Barbara Shellenberger, CoorsTek 382F, to start an account on the Physics Department network, which provides access to many physics-specific tools.
• notify the student’s academic advisor (named in the admission letter) and Barbara Shellenberger of your new campus email address as soon as possible in order for you to be included in the distribution list for important notifications from the Department.

Additional useful links concerning campus-wide graduate school deadlines can be found at Graduation Deadlines .

Obtaining transfer credit is not simply a way of saving yourself time. The Graduate Bulletin states

Students enrolled in thesis-based degree programs who have completed the minimum course and research requirements for their degree are eligible to continue to pursue their graduate program full time at a reduced registration [tuition] level.

The sooner you have your Admission to Candidacy form approved the sooner you (and your thesis advisor’s grant) qualify for reduced tuition.  Please see Eligibility for Reduced Registration in the catalog on the Registration and Tuition Classification page.

The Physics Department’s Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC) reviews applications for transfer credit. See the form entitled Transfer of Course Credit in the Forms section on this page. You should apply to the GSAC in the first week of your first semester at Mines. This process can actually begin when you are admitted into the program so you can confirm, before accepting admission, how much transfer credit you will probably be granted. Inmaking decisions, the GSAC (or sometimes faculty who have recently taught a particular graduate orundergraduate course) will evaluate degrees, theses, transcripts, and course materials (text, syllabus, and assignments) from courses the applicant has taken, so please be prepared to bring in this material.

The GSAC also decides which courses taken elsewhere can be used in fulfillment of the requirements for the quality control process (used in lieu of a qualifying examination) in our department. To be considered for this purpose, these courses must have (i) been passed with a course grade of B (or better) or (ii) the contents of these courses must have been subject to a comprehensive examination (with a grade of B or better) for a graduate degree at your previous graduate institution. Foreign grading scales will be evaluated by the committee as needed.

• obtain a student Blaster Card (an identification card, named after the Mines mascot Blaster, an irritable-looking burro with a stick of dynamite clenched in his teeth). This is needed to enter the building after normal business hours.
• establish a campus computer account and campus email address via Mines MultiPass Account Claim
• fill out a form (available from the Physics Department administrative assistant Barbara Shellenberger, CoorsTek 382F, to start an account on the Physics Department network, which provides access to many physics-specific tools.
• notify the student’s academic advisor (named in the admission letter) and Barbara Shellenberger of your new campus email address as soon as possible in order for you to be included in the distribution list for important notifications from the Department.

Additional useful links concerning campus-wide graduate school deadlines can be found at Graduation Deadlines .

Students enrolled in thesis-based degree programs who have completed the minimum course and research requirements for their degree are eligible to continue to pursue their graduate program full time at a reduced registration [tuition] level.

The sooner you have your Admission to Candidacy form approved the sooner you (and your thesis advisor’s grant) qualify for reduced tuition.  Please see Eligibility for Reduced Registration in the catalog on the Registration and Tuition Classification page. The Physics Department’s Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC) reviews applications for transfer credit. See the form entitled Transfer of Course Credit in the Forms section on this page. You should apply to the GSAC in the first week of your first semester at Mines. This process can actually begin when you are admitted into the program so you can confirm, before accepting admission, how much transfer credit you will probably be granted. Inmaking decisions, the GSAC (or sometimes faculty who have recently taught a particular graduate orundergraduate course) will evaluate degrees, theses, transcripts, and course materials (text, syllabus, and assignments) from courses the applicant has taken, so please be prepared to bring in this material. The GSAC also decides which courses taken elsewhere can be used in fulfillment of the requirements for the quality control process (used in lieu of a qualifying examination) in our department. To be considered for this purpose, these courses must have (i) been passed with a course grade of B (or better) or (ii) the contents of these courses must have been subject to a comprehensive examination (with a grade of B or better) for a graduate degree at your previous graduate institution. Foreign grading scales will be evaluated by the committee as needed.

• Submit the graduate admissions application during your junior year.
• The Thesis Committee be formed by the end of the first month of graduate school.
• Most research be completed by the end of the first semester of graduate study.
• The thesis proposal, consisting of a 5-page proposal and a 10-minute oral defense, be completed by October in order to graduate in May.
• The M.S. thesis be defended well before the end of the second (Spring) semester.

• Include adequate background to allow the committee to understand the importance of the proposed research.
• Discuss the project within the framework of prior research and place it in context within the relevant field of study. Include an adequate bibliography to demonstrate that you have a complete grasp of the relevant literature.
• Present and justify the techniques and approaches that will be used to achieve the proposed goals. While not always necessary, preliminary results are often included to help justify the direction and approach.
• Include a time table for completion of the thesis, and a list of courses that have been taken (or will be taken) to meet the degree course requirements.

• Final copies of the thesis must be given to the committee members at least a week before the defense date.
• A copy of the thesis should be left with the department administrative assistant at the same time it is distributed to the committee to allow non-committee members, who might wish to attend the defense to review the thesis in advance.
• An email announcement which includes the student’s name, thesis title, location, and time of defense should be sent to physics department faculty, staff, and graduate students at least one week before the defense.
• An advertisement for the thesis defense should be printed and given to the department administrative assistant at least one week in advance of the defense.
• The defense should be scheduled for two hours. This includes an oral presentation by the student of a summary of the thesis, followed by questions from the committee and guests. The length and style of presentation is determined by the committee chair in conjunction with the student although talks are typically 30-40 minutes long.
• After a successful defense, and completion of any corrections to the thesis, the thesis is formally submitted. Note: the possibility of strictly electronic submission is currently being considered. The Statement of Work Completion form is submitted to the Graduate School office. A copy must go to the department administrative assistant and to the thesis advisor.

The check-out procedure for graduation is discussed in the Graduate Bulletin.

To demonstrate adequate preparation for the Ph.D. degree in Physics, each student must achieve a grade of 3.0 or better in each core course. Students not meeting this standard must pass oral examinations covering the relevant core courses or retake the courses with a grade of 3.0 or better within one year. This process is part of the requirement for admission to candidacy, which full time Ph.D. students must complete within two calendar years of admission, as described in the campus-wide graduate degree requirements section of this bulletin. Other degree requirements, time limits, and procedural details can be found in the Physics Department Graduate Student Advising Brochure.

The Graduate Student Advising Committee (GSAC), described above and selected by the physics faculty, administers this policy. The GSAC guides the progress of the incoming physics graduate students, organizes the necessary oral examinations, and makes recommendations of graduate students to the Physics faculty for admission to Ph.D candidacy. Each student passing the core courses identified above with a grade point average of 3.0 or better will be eligible to apply for Ph.D. Candidacy. See the form entitled Quality Control Completion available from the Forms section on this page. Students who do not meet this standard will be required to take an oral examination in areas of weakness as determined by the GSAC, typically in those core courses were the student received a grade lower than B (3.0). Members of the physics faculty will administer the necessary oral examinations during as scheduled, generally as soon as possible after the student has completed the core sequence. The GSAC may grant students postponements in emergency circumstances. If the student fails the oral examination, the student may either (a) repeat the subject course or courses or (b) retake the oral examination at the next regularly scheduled opportunity. Students electing to repeat courses who fail to attain a grade point average of 3.0 or better in the physics graduate core with the new grade substituting for the previous may not become Ph.D. candidates. Likewise, students who fail the oral examinations twice may not become Ph.D. candidates. Students with previous graduate training may request the GSAC to consider substitution of earlier courses for core courses within one month of initiating graduate studies at CSM. Students admitted to the physics graduate program with a M.S. degree or a foreign equivalent, will have their previous course work, thesis, and other academic materials evaluated by the GSAC which will determine which courses, if any, can be substituted for core courses. Please see Transfer Credit in the Arrival at Mines section on this page for more information on transfer credit.

• Include adequate background to allow the committee to understand the importance of the proposed research.
• Discuss the project within the framework of prior research and place it in context within the relevant field of study. Include a comprehensive bibliography to demonstrate that you have a complete grasp of the relevant literature.
• Present and justify the techniques and approaches that will be used to achieve the proposed goals. While not always necessary, preliminary results are often included to help justify the direction and approach.
• Include a time table for completion of the thesis and a list of courses that have been taken (or will be taken) to meet the degree course requirements.

The thesis proposal should not, however, be a mini-thesis; it needs to be a proposal. It need not be a long document. Something less than 30 pages with less than 20 pages of actual written discussion is more than adequate. The format of the thesis proposal defense is set by the committee but typically is scheduled for two hours with a short presentation followed by questions from the audience and committee. Upon successful completion, the committee and advisor will complete the form entitled Proposal Defense, available from the Forms section on this page. Ph.D. candidates have two attempts to defend their thesis proposal. If necessary, the second thesis proposal defense must occur within six months of the first attempt. A student who fails to successfully defend his or her thesis proposal after two attempts will be removed as a physics Ph.D. candidate but may petition the GSAC for permission to pursue a M.S. degree.

• Copies of the thesis must be given to the committee members at least a week before the defense date.
• A copy of the thesis should be left with the department administrative assistant at the same time it is distributed to the committee to allow non-committee members who might wish to attend the defense to review the thesis in advance.
• An email announcement which includes the student’s name, thesis title, location, and time of defense should be sent to physics department faculty, staff, and graduate students at least one week before the defense.
• An advertisement for the thesis defense, using the form given in the forms section of the brochure, should be printed and given to the department administrative assistant at least one week before the defense.
• The defense should be scheduled for two hours. This includes oral presentation by the student of a summary of the thesis. This is followed by questions from the committee and guests. The length and style of presentation is determined by the committee chair in conjunction with the student although talks are typically 30-40 minutes long. Possible outcomes of the defense are discussed in the Graduate Bulletin.
• After a successful defense, and completion of any corrections to the thesis, the thesis is formally submitted. The Statement of Work Completion form is submitted to the Graduate School office. A copy must go to the department administrative assistant and to the thesis advisor.
• The check-out procedure for graduation is discussed in the university Graduate Bulletin.