Documents Required

Official sources are the final authority

Statement of purpose

Submitted online with list of publications, honors, and awards as applicable.

CV or resume

Include education, research experience, publications, honors, and awards as applicable.

Personal statement

Graduate College personal-statement short answers; typically 250 words per prompt.

Recommendation letters x 3

Prior physics instructors and research supervisors preferred.

Unofficial transcript(s)

Upload for review. Official transcripts and degree certificates typically required only after accepting admission.

Published Score Requirements

Official sources are the final authority

Academic: Bachelor's degree with GPA 3.0/4.0; Minimum 3.00/4.00 for the last two years of undergraduate work required; applicants below about 3.50 are rarely admitted due to space limits. Prior graduate coursework typically expects at least 3.50/4.00.
Prerequisites: Coursework prerequisites; At least 20 semester hours (30 quarter hours) of intermediate and advanced undergraduate physics. Essential preparation includes electricity and magnetism, optics, mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics, quantum mechanics, mathematical physics, differential equations, and analysis.
IELTS: 7.5 overall; Graduate College full-status admission minimum. Limited status is 6.5 overall.
TOEFL: New scale: 5.0 overall | Old scale: 103 overall; Graduate College full-status admission minimum. New scale for scores dated after 20 Jan 2026; old scale before 21 Jan 2026.; Graduate College full-status admission minimum when English proficiency is required. Limited status is 79 overall (old scale) / 4.0 (new scale). Scores must be less than two years old from the first day of classes.
GRE: Optional; GRE General and Physics Subject tests are optional.