The Physics Placement Exam
Our experience with the PhD admissions process is that it successfully identifies students with the ability to complete our program, but does not guarantee that the talented individuals admitted to our program all arrive with the same experience in and prior access to advanced physics coursework. As such, the purpose of the Physics Placement Exam is not to rate a student's abilities but rather to assess the student's relative preparedness to handle graduate-level material and identify any gaps in their knowledge so that course recommendations can be tailored to their needs.
The exam is required for all incoming Physics PhD students and is administered during orientation week, prior to the start of Fall semester classes. This year's Fall 2026 Placement Exam will be August 31st and September 1st from 2pm to 5pm. This is a written exam consisting of problems typical of those found in our introductory and advanced undergraduate courses in mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. Students take the exam in two parts, each 3 hours in length. Part I covers mechanics and electromagnetism; Part II covers quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. Students may bring one formula sheet (to be turned in with their exam), but textbooks and electronics are not allowed. This includes personal calculators; basic calculators will be provided.
Following the exam, the results are first discussed by a small faculty group, consisting of members of the placement exam and graduate advising committees; this is followed by individual meetings between each student and the DGS (Director of Graduate Studies). In situations where results indicate a possible gap in knowledge that could inhibit the student's ability to complete one or more of the required graduate courses, the student and the DGS will decide on a course of action to remedy the gap. Examples range from student self-study (when the gap is relatively small) to successfully completing the corresponding undergraduate course(s) prior to taking the corresponding graduate course(s). Again, the goal is to ensure that all students admitted to our PhD program are successful in their studies.
The results of the placement exam become part of the student’s departmental record and will be reviewed in a faculty meeting later in the Fall semester. The DGS will also review core graduate course midterm scores in the Fall semester and contact students who appear at risk of obtaining a course grade below the required B-.
The level of material covered by the Placement Exam as it maps to our undergraduate courses is as follows:
- Mechanics, Physics GU4003: Classical Mechanics, Goldstein, Poole and Safko
- Electromagnetism, Physics GU3007-3008: Introduction to Electrodynamics, Griffiths
- Quantum Mechanics, Physics GU4021-4022: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, Griffiths; A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics, Townsend
- Statistical Mechanics, Physics GU4023: An Introduction to Thermal Physics, Schroeder; Thermal Physics, Kittel and Kroemer
Please note that this guidance is intended to be descriptive, not prescriptive. There are many other excellent textbooks for each of these subjects.
Previous Placement Exams can also be utilized as study material: