Department of Physics
A complete graduate application for classified status in the ISU Physics Department consists of:
a. GRE aptitude scores (a minimum of 35 percentile on verbal, quantitative or analytical is required for classified students);
b. an ISU Graduate School Application form and official copies of transcripts;
c. three letters of recommendation
Applicants must hold the degree of Bachelor of Science of Bachelor of Arts in Physics or the equivalent as determined by the department. The student's course of study will be determined by consultation and possibly an entrance examination. Students will normally be required to complete as deficiencies any courses required for the B.S. in Physics at ISU which they have not already taken. Continued enrollment in the program is contingent upon maintaining a 3.0 grade point average and upon making satisfactory progress toward the degree.
A satisfactory score on physics examination(s) may be required before admission to candidacy. Required courses are:
PHYS 611-612 Electricity and Magnetism 6 crPHYS 621 Classical Mechanics 3 cr
PHYS 624-625 Quantum Mechanics 6 cr
5-9 additional credits in courses approved by the student's advisor, department Chair, and the Graduate School.
PHYS 650 Thesis 6-10 cr
6-10 credits for the thesis option or 6-10 credits in additional courses approved by the graduate faculty in the department for the non-thesis option. In addition to the oral examination required of the thesis and non-thesis options, the non-thesis option will include a written comprehensive examination.
The Health Physics Emphasis of the M.S. in Physics is a thesis program that will prepare students for radiation protection careers leading to upper technical and management levels in industry, universities, medicine, national laboratories, government, nuclear power, and radioactive waste management.
The minimum admission requirements are admission to the Graduate School and a baccalaureate degree in a physical or biological science or engineering. The basic program requirements are 30 credits of which 15 credits must be at the 600-course level. Six of the fifteen 600-level credits may be thesis. The normal core program is listed below. Students who are prepared with some education and experience in health physics will likely not need all of the elective health physics courses. Therefore, the program of the student will be determined in consultation with the student's advisor and committee and can include electives to meet their needs. An oral examination in defense of the thesis is required.
PHYS 601 Quantitative Methods in Physics 3 cr PHYS 605 Radiological Environmental Monitoring and Surveillance 3 cr ENGR 606 Environmental Law and Regulations 3 cr PHYS 650 Thesis 6 cr Electives - may be required if not taken at the undergraduate level. PHYS 509 Introductory Nuclear Physics 3 cr PHYS 533 Advanced Health Physics I 3 cr PHYS 534 Advanced Health Physics II 3 cr PHYS 555 Topics in Health Physics I 2 cr PHYS 556 Topics in Health Physics II 2 cr PHYS 592 Colloquium in Physics (may be repeated) 1 cr
The Master of Natural Science in Physics is designed primarily for teachers and prospective teachers who want to improve their understanding of the subject matter of physics. Emphasis is upon the subject matter and is generally not a thesis program. Individuals interested in this degree should hold a teaching certificate or be working toward one. The program of the student will be determined in consultation with the student's advisor and committee. The program requires a minimum of 30 credits, 22 of which must be in residence. A final oral examination is required.
PHYS g301 Modern Physics 3 credits. A one-semester course surveying 20th century physics including elements of special relativity and quantum mechanics as applied to atoms. A continuation of the Engineering Physics sequence. PREREQ: PHYS 222; COREQ: MATH 360.
PHYS g313 Intermediate Laboratory I 2 credits. Modern and historical experiments in atomic physics, nuclear physics, and optics. COREQ: PHYS 301, MATH 360.
PHYS g314 Intermediate Laboratory II 2 credits. Modern and historical experiments in atomic physics, nuclear physics, and optics. PREREQ: PHYS g313.
PHYS g331 Principles of Health Physics I 3 credits. A lecture/laboratory course covering topics such as the interaction of radiation with matter, instrumentation for measuring radiation and shielding from radiation. PREREQ: JUNIOR STANDING IN HEALTH PHYSICS.
PHYS g332 Principles of Health Physics II 3 credits. A continuation of g331. A lecture/laboratory course covering topics such as the interaction of radiation with matter, instrumentation for measuring radiation and shielding from radiation. PREREQ: PHYS g311
PHYS g352 Intermediate Optics 3 credits. Topics covered include fundamental wave theory, interference, diffraction, polarization, and selected topics from the electromagnetic theory of light. PREREQ: PHYS 221-222; COREQ: MATH 360.
PHYS g353 Topics in Astrophysics 2 credits. Laboratory oriented course covering various selected topics in astronomy. Projects on and work with telescopes will be included. PREREQ: PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS g370 Analytical Geochemistry 3 credits. A survey of geochemical analysis techniques. All aspects of analysis, including sample collection, preparation, instrumental analysis, QA/QC procedures, interpretation and presentation are discussed. Cross-listed as CHEM g370, GEOL g370. PREREQ: CHEM 122 AND PHYS 212.
PHYS g383 Theoretical Mechanics 4 credits. Mechanics of particles, planetary motion, rigid bodies; vibrating particles and strings; Lagranges' Equations and Hamiltonian methods. PREREQ: PHYS 222 AND MATH 360.
PHYS g403-404 Advanced Modern Physics 3 credits. Study of the elementary principles of quantum mechanics and an introduction to atomic, solid state and nuclear physics. Quantum mechanics will be used as much as possible. PHYS g403 is a PREREQ for g404. PREREQ: MATH 360 OR EQUIVALENT, AND PHYS 302.
PHYS g405 Advanced Laboratory 2 credits. Experiments in radiation detection and measurement, nuclear spectroscopy including x-ray and gamma spectroscopies, neutron activation and ion beam methods. Available to Geology, Engineering, Health Physics, and Physics majors. PREREQ: PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS g406 Advanced Physics Laboratory 2 credits. Senior projects providing a capstone to the physics major curriculum. Written and oral presentation of the project procedures and results are required. PREREQ: PHYS g405.
PHYS g408 Accelerator Health Physics 3 credits. Fundamentals of particle accelerator design and operation. Examination of the potential radiation environment associated with accelerators and health and safety issues of their operation. PREREQ: SENIOR STANDING IN HEALTH PHYSICS OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS g409 Introductory Nuclear Physics 3 credits. A course in Nuclear Physics with emphasis upon structural models, radioactivity, nuclear reactions, fission and fusion. PREREQ: KNOWLEDGE OF ELEMENTARY QUANTUM MECHANICS AND DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS g415 Statistical Physics 3 credits. Topics covered may include kinetic theory, elementary statistical mechanics, random motion and the theory of noise. Choice of topics will depend upon the interest of the students and instructor. PREREQ: PHYS 221-222, MATH 360.
PHYS g421-422 Electricity and Magnetism 3 credits. Intermediate course in fundamental principles of electrical and magnetic theory. Free use will be made of vector analysis and differential equations. PHYS g421 is a PREREQ for g422. PREREQ: PHYS 222 AND MATH 360.
PHYS g433 Advanced Health Physics I 3 credits. A lecture/laboratory course covering topics such as personnel and effluent monitoring, bioassay, sampling techniques, and calibration and standards. PREREQ: PHYS g332 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS g434 Advanced Health Physics II 3 credits. A continuation of g433 course covering topics such as personnel and effluent monitoring, bioassay, sampling techniques, and calibration and standards. PREREQ: PHYS g433 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS g442 Solid State Physics 3 credits. Introduction to the field of solid state physics emphasizing the fundamental concepts. Topics usually covered are crystal structure, X-ray diffraction, crystal binding energies, free electron theory of solids, energy bands. PREREQ: PHYS 302, 384, MATH 360 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS g455 Topics in Health Physics I 2 credits. A lecture/seminar course covering special topics in Health Physics such as state and federal regulations, waste disposal methodology, and emergency procedures. PREREQ: PHYS g332 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS g456 Topics in Health Physics II 2 credits. A continuation of g455. A lecture/seminar course covering special topics in Health Physics such as state and federal regulations, waste disposal methodology, and emergency procedures. PREREQ: PHYS g332 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS g461-g462 Introduction to Mathematical Physics 3 credits. Introduction to the mathematics most commonly used in physics with applications to and practice in solving physical problems; includes vector analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations. PHYS g461 is a PREREQ for g462. PREREQ: PHYS 222 AND MATH 360.
PHYS g492 Colloquium in Physics 1 credit. Faculty and student lectures in current research topics in physics. Open to upper division and graduate students in physics.
PHYS 597 Professional Education Development Topics. Variable credit. May be repeated. A course for practicing professionals aimed at the development and improvement of skills. May not be applied to graduate degrees. May be graded S/U.
PHYS 601 Quantitative Methods in Physics 3 credits. A review of the principles of physics and quantitative methods used: calculus, elementary differential equations and statistics. Designed for graduate students in the biosciences, chemistry, geology and interdisciplinary sciences.
PHYS 603 Particle and Nuclear Physics 3 credits. Basic properties of particles and nuclei; principles of high energy accelerators, particle and radiation detectors; nuclear masses and systematics of nuclei; nuclear models; nuclear interactions; high energy physics. COREQ: PHYS 624.
PHYS 605 Radiological Environmental Monitoring and Surveillance 3 credits. Advanced considerations in the design of monitoring programs. Sampling and analytical measurement programs for specific radionuclides and sources with emphasis in quality assurance.
PHYS 611-612 Electricity and Magnetism 3 credits. Applications of Maxwell's equations to problems involving antennas, waveguides, cavity resonators, and diffraction. Includes the solution of problems by the classical methods of retarded potentials and orthogonal expansions. PHYS 611 is a PREREQ for 612. PREREQ: PHYS g383-384, g421-422, g461-462, OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS 615 Neutron Activation Analysis 4 credits. Theory and use of neutron activation methods for quantitative chemical analysis of natural and synthetic materials. Applications in geologic systems with be emphasized. Cross-listed as CHEM 615, GEOL 615. PREREQ: PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS 621 Classical Mechanics 3 credits. Lagrange equations, small vibrations; Hamilton's canonical equations; Hamilton's principal, least action; contact transformation; Hamilton-Jacobi equation, perturbation theory; non-linear mechanics. PREREQ: PHYS 383-384, 461-462, OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS 624-625 Quantum Mechanics 3 credits. Schrodinger wave equation, stationary state solution; operators and matrices; perturbation theory, non-degenerate and degenerate cases; WKB approximation, non-harmonic oscillator, etc.; collision problems. Born approximation, method of partial waves. PHYS 624 is a PREREQ for 625. PREREQ: PHYS 461-462, 621 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS 630 Accelerator Physics 3 credits. The physics of direct voltage accelerators, betatrons, sychrotrons, linear induction acceleration; high current accelerators; electromagnetic particle optics,free electron lasers and synchrotron light sources. PREREQ: PHYS 612, PHYS 624 OR EQUIVALENT.
PHYS 631 Accelerator Technology 3 credits. Topics will include high voltage and pulsed power techniques, wave guide and R.F. structures, ion and electron beam sources and beam measurements as applied to particle beam machines. PREREQ: PHYS 612 OR EQUIVALENT.
PHYS 632 Particle Beam Laboratory 1-4 credits. Laboratory projects in particle beam and ion optics, radiation detectors, ion source operation, etc. May be repeated up to 4 credits. PREREQ: PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR
PHYS 640 Statistical Mechanics 3 credits. Statistical ensembles; the Maxwell-Boltzmann law; approach to equilibrium, quantum statistical mechanics; application of statistical mechanics to thermodynamic processes. PREREQ: PHYS 415 AND 621.
PHYS 641 Field Theory, Particles, and Cosmology I 3 credits. Topics may include Dirac theory, group theory, Feynman diagrams, superstrings, super gravity, relativity and cosmology. PREREQ: PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS 642 Field Theory, Particles, and Cosmology II 3 credits. A continuation of 641. Topics may include Dirac theory, group theory, Feynman diagrams, superstrings, super gravity, relativity and cosmology. PREREQ: PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
PHYS 648 Special Topics in Physics 1-3credits. Survey, seminar, or project (usually at anadvanced level) in one area of physics. Content varies depending upon the desires of the students and faculty. May be repeated until 6 credits are earned. PREREQ: PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR.
Idaho State University Academic Information
Revised: May 1, 1996
URL http://www.isu.edu/academic-info/prev-isu-cat/grad96/artsci/physdept.html