1. Graduate Education in the Columbia Physics Department
W.A. Zajc
Director of Graduate Studies

2. Overview Size Ph.D. program Support:
18-19 admits per year (target set by GSAS)
~110 students in program
Ph.D. program
Required courses in first two years
Qualifying exam
Thesis research
Dissertation defense
Mean time to degree ~6.2 years
Support:
Years 1-2: Teaching Fellowship
~ 9 hours per week of teaching obligations
$2000 per month
(research assistantship in summer)
Subsequent years: Research Assistantship, costs carried by grants
Placement exams

3. Stormer Pinczuk Arrive
Admission Statistics
Clear increasing trend in number of applicants
Increased selectivity
Time correlated with condensed matter recruitments
Conscious effort to increase representation of women in admit pool
Stormer Pinczuk Arrive

4. Graduate Student Composition
National origins
By undergrad institution…
By citizenship ?
mini-CUSPEA
CUSPEA  CU S Physics E A …
Columbia, CCNY, NYU
Princeton…
Select group determined via
written examination
interviews by faculty from participating institutions
1-2 per year
CCNY to date
Princeton, Yale, Rutgers nest year
more at others
Fudan only, to be extended to USTC, Peking, Xinghua

5. Teaching Average of 9 hours per week
One 3-hour laboratory per week
Grading of lab reports : 3 hours per week
Preparation for laboratory: 1 hour per week
Help room : 1 hour per week
Grading of lecture course examinations (~14 hours per semester)
Contact hours contingent upon satisfactory written +aural + oral competency
Internal CU program….
ITA part of American Language Program

6. Awards and Honors NSF’s….. Presidential Teaching Awards Other…..
University-wide competition
Three awardees in past N years:
Michael Larkin (199?)
Chad Finley (200?)
Gabriel Perez-Giz (2003)
Other…..
More than any other department!
D.O.D Carlo
CAL for NASA?

7. Required?? Courses
All five of the following formal introductory courses:     G6037/ 8: Quantum Mechanics I and II     G6092/ 3: Electromagnetic Theory I and II     G : Statistical Mechanics
Two courses from the following phenomenological subject courses:     G6050: Elementary Particle Physics     G6040: Nuclear Physics     G6018: Solid State Physics G6010: Advanced Astrophysics     G6011: High Energy Astrophysics     G6060: Laser Physics
G6070 Biophysics
One of the following advanced theoretical courses:     G : Advanced Quantum Mechanics I or II     G : Particle Physics I or II     G : General Relativity     G : Theoretical Solid State Physics     G : Advanced Mathematical Methods in Physics    
One of the following special techniques courses OR a second course from the advanced theoretical courses above:     G6099: Physical Phenomena     G6042: Experimental Methods in Nuclear Physics     G6080: Scientific Computing
Sakurai
Huang
AQM = F.T.

8. ?
Discussion here about ongoing study by Graduate Committee on course reform?
Examined offerings at peer institutions
Roughly similar
Some emerging sentiment to “modernize” core offerings:
Not yet a proposal, but for example:
Reduce E&M to 1 semester
Replace with
GR + Early Universe ?
Non-linear phenomena?
Computational methods?
Also: rationalize advanced particle physics and field theory offerings
Classical field theories = GR + hydro
Earlier time to research?

9. Qualifying Examination
Offered once per year (January)
Level: ~advanced undergraduate
Format:
Three (4 hr) written exams:
Classical Physics (Mechanics, E&M)
Modern Physics (formal Quantum Mechanics, applied Quantum Mechanics, and Relativity)
General Physics (Thermodynamics, Optics, HEP, Nuclear, Astrophysics, Atomic, Condensed Matter)
Oral Examination by 3-person faculty committee
Pass/Fail status determined in faculty meeting following detailed discussion of each student’s performance on written and oral qualifying exam, and in course work:
Pass  complete course requirements, begin research
Fail  repeat entire exam following year
Conditional  repeat specific section following year
Second failure  requested to leave program
Statistics: (Past 5 years):
96 students
22 repeats
2 failed 2nd attempt
Diagnostic
Most take 1st year, postponement allowed

10. Typical Program

11. Distribution of Degrees
Broken down by Exp/Theory
By topic
~10% outside department
# stationed off-site?
Drop outside?

12. Time To Degree Results from monitoring over past decade:
Times to Degree:
All (100%): Avg = 6.25y, Median = 6 y
Experiment ( 54%): Avg = 6.29y, Median = 6 y
Theory ( 46%): Avg = 6.21y, Median = 6 y

13. Employment Data Relatively good employment prospects for PhD’s
Majority take postdoc
Obvious influence of proximity to Wall Street
2004 unknown = postdoc

14. Comparison Data from AIP’s link to http://www.gradschoolshopper.com/
Remove Faculty (Total) , go to 35+2
Duke  Penn
UCSB

15. Some Clever Summary

16. Getting Information
Use it!
Ask!

17. Placement Exams Offered on Thursday, 02-Sep-04:
10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon: G6092-3
(Electromagnetic Theory I and II)
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM: G6037-8
(Quantum Mechanics I and II)
You are strongly encouraged to take either (or both) of these exams
Pass: Credit for the course
Fail : No record is kept
Re-visiting material you know well is not a productive use of your time!

18. Ethical Behavior (I)
Columbia University is an academic community committed to fostering intellectual inquiry in a climate of academic freedom and integrity. Its members are expected to uphold these principles and exhibit tolerance and respect for others. Thus, the Graduate School condemns all forms of misconduct and works strenuously to assure that its students are accorded tolerance, dignity and respect. Any graduate student who believes that he or she is a victim of misconduct has recourse to the mediation and grievance procedures developed by the Graduate School. Students are encouraged to discuss problems, questions, and grievances with anyone in a supervisory position, such as an advisor, director of graduate studies, department chair or appropriate dean or university administrator...
Full details available at

19. Ethical Behavior (II)
Columbia University is an academic community committed to fostering intellectual inquiry in a climate of academic freedom and integrity. Its members are expected to uphold these principles and abide by the regulations of the University. They are also expected to obey local, state and federal laws. Students continue at the University, receive academic credits, graduate, and obtain degrees subject to the disciplinary powers of the University. The Trustees of the University have delegated responsibility for student discipline to the deans of the individual schools or divisions. Students should be aware that academic dishonesty (for example, plagiarism, cheating on an examination, or dishonesty in dealing with a faculty member or other University official) or violence, threatening behavior, or harassment are particularly serious offenses that will be dealt with severely under Dean’s Discipline.
Full details available at

20. Policy on Academic and Personal Misconduct
The Graduate School prohibits academic dishonesty or misconduct. Without trying to list every example, the following illustrate the different forms that academic fraud or misconduct can take:
1. Cheating on examinations or tests; also fabrication of data and/or fabrication of results.
2. Plagiarism, the failure to acknowledge adequately ideas, language or research of others, in papers, essays, dissertations or other work.
3. Knowingly assisting others in plagiarism, by making one’s papers, essays, or written work available for such use.
4. Misstatement or misrepresentation in connection with any academic matter, such as in an application for admission or financial aid, or during a formal inquiry by University officials.
5. Misuse, alteration, or fabrication of University documents, records and credentials, including transcripts and I.D. cards.
6. Improper use of the library and its resources: theft or purposely hoarding or hiding books or materials.
7. Misconduct in carrying out teaching or research responsibilities. See appendix C for faculty guidelines. These guidelines apply to anyone teaching or conducting research at Columbia.

21. Your Role Why this emphasis? Because The community:
You are joining a community of scholars
Whose medium of exchange is individual ideas and research results
The community:
Your fellow students
The Columbia physics faculty
The associated research scientists, post-docs, and technicians
Similar groups at other institutions

22. The Columbia Faculty A broad department covering A department with
Condensed matter
Astrophysics
“Particle” theory
Experimental particle physics
“Nuclear” physics
A department with
An illustrious past
A bright future (you)

23. Condensed Matter Experiment Igor Aleiner Tony Heinz Allan Blaer
Theory
Igor Aleiner
electron transport
Allan Blaer
Low T phase transitions
Tim Halpin-Healey
phase transitions and critical phenomena
Andy Millis
interacting e’s in metals
Experiment
Tony Heinz
Surface physics w. lasers
Philip Kim
low-dimensional nanostructures
Aron Pinczuk
low-dim e systems
Horst Stormer
Tomo Uemura
mSR, high Tc

24. Astrophysics Theory Experiment Andrei Beloborodov Lam Hui Janna Levin
X-ray binaries, AGN, bursts
Lam Hui
cosmology
Janna Levin
theoretical astrophysics
Mal Ruderman
Compact objects
Experiment
Elena Aprile
Gamma ray sources, LXe-TPC
Charles Hailey
Gamma ray astronomy
Amber Miller
CMB probes
Reshmi Mukherjee
gamma rays, AGN
Stefan Westerhoff
HiRes, AGN

25. “Particle” Physics Experiment Theory Gustaaf Brooijmans Janet Conrad
Norman Christ
LQCD
Brian Greene
strings, cosmology
Daniel Kabat
strings, quantum gravity
T.D. Lee
Everything
Robert Mawhinney
Alfred Mueller
QCD, heavy ions
Erick Weinberg
strings, black holes
Experiment
Gustaaf Brooijmans
D0, ATLAS
Janet Conrad
miniBoone, nuTeV (FNAL)
Hal Evans D0
John Parsons
Frank Sciulli
ZEUS
Michael Shaevitz
NuTeV, miniBoone
Michael Tuts
William Willis
ATLAS

26. “Nuclear” Physics Theory Experiment Miklos Gyulassy Brian Cole
QCD, heavy ion theory
Experiment
Brian Cole
PHENIX, proton-Nucleus
William Zajc
PHENIX at RHIC

27. To Learn More Required: Attend the Graduate Seminar!
Colloquium: (Mondays at 4pm)
Various regularly scheduled seminars
Ask!

28. The Graduate Experience
It’s the same:
Continue to take classes
Grades continue to matter
It’s different:
You will make a transition from
a student to
a researcher
an independent researcher
The experience will have a profound affect on your entire career, in or out of science