Graduate Studies
The Physics Department will move into White Hall in the Fall of 2011. This building is being completely renovated for Physics and will house state of the art laboratories, computing facilities, classrooms, planetarium and rooftop optical telescope.
Application Information
The Department of Physics offers a solid foundation in the fundamentals as well as a diverse range of specializations for M.S. and Ph.D. research. Currently there are 20 regular faculty members; 8 emeritus, adjunct, and visiting faculty; 8 post-doctoral associates; 9 staff; and approximately 60 graduate students. The size of the physics department is sufficient to provide research opportunities in a select range of physics subspecialities without being so large that students are lost in the crowd. Opportunities for collaborative research with other departments in the university also exist and physics graduate students have worked with faculty in chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, and chemistry. Applicants are expected to have a bachelor’s degree in physics, with upper-division courses in electricity and magnetism, mechanics, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and mathematical methods. Students lacking some of these courses may be admitted provisionally and will be allowed to remedy the deficiencies by taking the appropriate courses at WVU. Applicants should take the GRE general tests. We recommend, but do not require, that applicants take the physics subject test. TOEFL scores are also required of students for whom English is not their native language.
Applicants are encouraged to visit the Department of Physics to talk with the faculty and view the facilities. Limited financial support is available to help defray the cost of lodging and meals. Contact the Chair of the Physics Department, Professor Earl Scime, to make arrangements. His phone number is (304)293-3422, ext. 1437 and his e-mail address is escime@wvu.edu.
