Graduate Student Manual
Graduate Student ManualRight now this is just a placeholder, but soon we hope to fill these pages with sage advice for current and future CU physics graduate students. If you are a current student, you can contribute! This is a wiki page. Login and add what you feel needs to be added.
Department of Physics: Teaching and Research
Department of Physics: Teaching and ResearchMission Statement:
The Department of Physics is an integral part of the College of Arts and Sciences and Creighton University as a whole, and as such is committed to a quality liberal education in the Jesuit tradition. Through physics, the most fundamental of the natural sciences, we stimulate intellectual curiosity and develop the student's understanding of the world around us. Through classroom experiences, laboratory discovery activity and opportunities for research participation, we guide students towards a mastery of the skills and tools physicists use to address fundamental questions, foster the development of a logical approach to problem solving, and aid the development of an ethical framework, both professionally and personally. Through close personal attention we help students to develop confidence in their abilities.
Graduate Program:
Our M.S. graduate program began in 1968 with an initial enrollment of two graduate Teaching Fellows and several part-time students. Since then it has grown to support nine Teaching Fellows and several Research Fellows, along with part-time students. Teaching Fellows perform an essential service to the department as junior colleagues as well as being full-time graduate students. Our graduation rate matches the number of students we have in our program: 8-10 over a typical 2-year period. All full-time graduate students are encouraged to follow Plan-A, the thesis track, while Plan-B is more appropriate for part-time students. All of our faculty, at various times, serve as research advisors for one or more graduate students. Thesis committees comprise the adviser plus two additional faculty members. Graduate students present their work at the weekly departmental seminar, at the annual meeting of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, St. Albert’s Day, and at local, national and international professional conferences. They often have their thesis work published in professional journals, co-authored with their adviser. Faculty are also involved in composing and grading written comprehensive exams which graduate students must pass.
About one-third of our graduates go on to pursue the Ph.D. in physics. The remainder have found success in a variety of areas, including medicine, medical physics, industry, computer programming, national laboratories, and teaching.
Departmental Activities:
In addition to teaching and research, the physics department engages in various extra-curricular activities. These include a Retreat, a Field Day for high school students, invited speakers in our Seminar courses, Dr. Zepf’s Haunted Physics Lab around Halloween, a Christmas party, a Fall picnic, and an Evening of Reflection at the end of the academic year. The department also participates in Career Days and an Open House in the Fall to attract majors. Each year, there is a university-wide St. Albert’s Day poster and oral research presentation event on campus for students to present their ongoing research. There is a Graduate Student organization, which all graduate students can join, that presents an Open House each year. Also, the International Students have an organization that presents an Open House and other festivities.
Physical Facilities:
Since 1968, when physics first moved into the Rigge Science building, the number of our faculty and staff has more than doubled. The demand for our courses is extremely high; enrollment in our astronomy course, for example, has grown to over 400 students per year. At the beginning of 2003, the departmental offices were moved to the new Hixson-Lied (HL) Science Building. Also included in the new building are the Teaching/Research Fellows’ offices, physics club room, faculty/staff lounge, a student study area, and a new large classroom. The Rigge Science building was also renovated during 2003-2004.
Departmental Office Areas: The departmental office is located in room G81. Across the hall, room G79 houses the departmental work room which includes the mailboxes, supply storage, Fax machine, and copier.
Undergraduate Physics Club Room: Room G55 contains ample space for the convenience of physics club members. It includes several computers, copier, and a small library.
Fellows Office Suite: Room G63 affords office space for up to nine Fellows. Each desk is equipped with a computer and an adjoining book shelf. Each computer is interfaced to a common printer. The adjoining room, G62, has space for three Fellows.
Conference Room: The conference room is used primarily for departmental and committee meetings. The conference room, G05, is located on the ground floor of Rigge. It also contains a small kitchen area.
Reinert Alumni Library: This is the main university library. It is easily accessible without going outdoors by walking through the Eppley Business College building (connected to Rigge) on the second floor. Current journals are located on the upper level of the library, new books are displayed on the main level, and physics books are shelved in the lower level. Reserve materials and inter-library loans are obtained at the front desk. Electronic access is available through www.creighton.edu/libraries.
Lecture Rooms: The large lecture room is G59, which seats about 60 students and is adaptable for small group instruction. The smaller class room, G09, is located in room on the ground floor of Rigge. It can seat up to around 20 students. Each room is equipped with modern AV facilities and internet hook-ups are available at each student space.
Undergraduate Laboratories: Three General Physics laboratories and an astronomy laboratory are situated on the ground floor of Rigge. Upper division laboratories are to be found in the lower level of Rigge. These include Electronics, Modern Physics, Optics, Condensed Matter, and Nuclear Instruments and Methods (NIM).
Research Laboratories: Research laboratories in the areas of Condensed Matter, Biophysics, and Atomic Physics are located on the lower level of Rigge. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), astrophysics, computational biophysics and astro-particle research areas are located on the ground floor of Rigge.
Machine Shop: The fully-equipped departmental machine shop is located on the lower level of Rigge. The machines in the shop are operated by a full-time machinist.
Department Contacts
Department ContactsContact Information for all physics department faculty and staff can be found on the Contacts Page.
Program Guidelines
Program GuidelinesM..S. Plans:
Plan A or B - all full time should take plan A (30 cr. hrs. of 500-level or higher courses, including 6 cr. hrs for the thesis), while most part-time students will prefer plan B (33 cr. hrs. of 500-level or higher courses, including a one semester research project for 3 cr. hrs. and a research paper). All students are required to take the four core courses, and up to 15 cr. hrs. of elective courses can be taken outside the department, with the advisers approval. Also, Graduate Seminar (PHY 791, 1 cr. hr.) is required each semester for all full-time students. In this course, you are required to give a short presentation of a physics-related topic, which could include past or current research; new foreign students often give a description of their home country and school as a first presentation.
Teaching Certificate Plan - students taking this track start their studies in the summer preceding the first Fall semester of classes. Check the schedule for this track which is a concentrated combination of Education and Physics graduate courses. This program is similar to Plan B in that no thesis is required and PHY 797 (Ind. Dir. Research) is required along with the writing of a Research Report.
Advising:
The Program Director will serve as the general academic adviser for all graduate students. At the time you begin research (Plan A), you will also be guided by your research adviser. Among other things, your adviser will assist you in scheduling courses into your program. You need to update your Tracking Form in this booklet with courses you take each semester. PINs for pre-registration need to be obtained from the Program Director after approving your course selections on the Tracking Form.
Research Work:
In plan A, you should start working with a faculty member on activities leading to a thesis project after the initial semester. This usually takes place with a Directed Independent-type course. This also gives you an opportunity to change to another faculty member for thesis research work, if necessary, by the following semester or summer term. Thesis research is accompanied by taking 6 credit hours (usually, 3 hrs each of the last two semesters) of PHY 799. You will get grades of I (Incomplete) in these courses until your thesis is finished and approved (remind your adviser to complete these grades when the thesis is final).
Once accepted by a faculty member to work on a thesis project, a thesis committee will be assigned, consisting of the research advisor and two other physics faculty. The student should meet with the committee at least once each semester/summer to keep them abreast of progress and schedules. The committee needs to approve the final thesis and administers the oral thesis defense. Bound copies of the thesis are no longer required. Instead, an electronic copy of your thesis needs to be delivered to the Graduate School. Your adviser will inform you of the official style considerations for the thesis as required by the Graduate School (also found in this booklet).
Plan B work can begin at any time after the student is accepted by a faculty member for a research project. The project is accomplished under the format of taking PHY 797 (Dir. Ind. Research) for 3 credit hours. A paper based on the research project is required. It should at least be written at the level of an advanced laboratory report and must be approved, first, by the faculty member guiding the research and, last, by the Director.
Comprehensive Exams:
All students need to pass the 3-part Comprehensive Exam which is administered three times each year (January, June, and August). A schedule is posted about a month in advance of each test. Each part can be taken separately in any order. It is required that you "sign up" for each test in advance. You are allowed two attempts to pass each part; if you do not pass after two attempts, you must petition the Director for special consideration to take the test again. Starting with new students entering the program during Fall 2010, it is required that you must pass at least on Exam part during your first year in order to remain in the program. The test is at the level of undergraduate physics (mostly General Physics). New students can take one Part of the Comprehensive Exam during orientation and this will not count towards the “two attempts to pass” rule.
Previous exams given over the last 5 years are available to help prepare for these exams. These are available on a shared network drive. Contact the program directors for instructions on accessing these files.
Graduate School Requirements:
Consult the schedule of important deadlines (separate handout) and the Graduate School web page.
Teaching Fellows:
Teaching Fellows (TF) are restricted to a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 11 credit hours each semester, with a maximum of 18 credit hours per academic year, including summer; exceptions are possible only in special cases and must be approved by the Graduate Dean. Teaching Fellows are required to provide approximately 17-20 hours of service per week. Service typically involves teaching general physics laboratory sections and/or discussion sections, along with grading (reports, tests, and quizzes), proctoring tests, and office hours. Assignments are made at an announced meeting prior to the start of the semester. There is a weekly meeting of TFs and faculty teaching the general physics sections.
Teaching Fellows occupy a shared office with separate desks and computers. The department secretary will issue keys to each TF: TF office, general physics lecture and laboratory rooms, and desk. E-mail accounts can be set up on line or by calling the DoIt Help Desk at 1111. Each TF will have a shared mail box. A special code is required to operate the copy machine - check with the departmental administrative assistance.
Teaching Fellow stipends are paid monthly, either by check or by direct deposit in a bank account, according to how individuals wish to be paid.
Teaching Fellows need to contact the department administrative assistant to fill out necessary forms to get on the payroll and set up direct deposits when they begin their graduate studies. Keys and instructional materials are also obtained from the administrative assistant.
Starting in 2008-09, a new position of Graduate Laboratory Manager has been created. One TF line will be devoted to this position each semesgter and during the summer terms. The duties involve working with the designated faculty Laboratory Manager to set up and store away general physics experiment stations, attend weekly staff meetings of general physics courses, assist setting up classroom demonstrations, order and repair teaching apparatus, and help organize equipment storage.
It is expected that Teaching Fellows demonstrate proper proficiency and professional conduct in their teaching duties. Teaching Fellows are evaluated by both their students and the faculty each semester. A record of poor performance may result in termination of the Fellowship.
Research Fellows:
Provided enough students are available, faculty research grants often support graduate students as Research Fellows whose stipends are paid from the grants. Otherwise, Research Fellows have the same privileges and obligations as Teaching Fellows. Instead of devoting 17-20 hours per week engaged in teaching activities, Research Fellows spend time doing research.
Departmental Meeting Representative:
The graduate students are expected to elect one of their members to serve as their representative at departmental meetings.
Other:
Parking permits for the student lots can be purchased through Public Safety.
The Physics Department will be paying all student fees each semester.
The Graduate School offer small travel grants to support graduate students to attend a meeting (one per year) to present papers on their research. Funding requests should be submitted to the Graduate Student Goverment following using their application process.
Please also refer to the policies and guidelines of the CU graduate school.
Recommended Courses Sequence
Recommended Courses SequenceIf you are looking for information on registering for classes, please refer to the CU graduate school pages on online registration and grades.
Recommended Course Sequence (Plan A):
(Note:there is a special course sequence for the Teaching Certificate track which is
found separately in this handbook)
| First year | |
| Fall | Spring |
| Core course 1 |
Core course 2 |
| Graduate Seminar (PHY 791 or 591) |
Ind. Dir. Study or Readings(PHY 793 or PHY 795) |
| Elective | Graduate Seminar |
| Ind. Dir. Study or readings (PHY 793 or 795) | |
| Second year | |
| Fall | Spring |
| Core course 3 | Core course 4 |
| Masters Thesis (PHY 799) | Masters Thesis (PHY 799) |
| Graduate Seminar |
Graduate Seminar |
| Elective(s) |
Elective(s) |
- Each core course (PHY 611, PHY 621, PHY 631, PHY 641) is offered every other year.
- PHY 793/795/797 serves as an introduction to research with a faculty member.
- Electives can be any 500- , 600-, or 700-level physics course, or appropriate courses from another department that are directly related to your thesis research.
- Teaching Fellows are limited to a total of 18 cr. hrs. per year (Fall+Spring+Summer).
- Plan B students substitute Ind. Dir. Research (PHY 797, 3 cr. hrs.) for the two Masters Thesis courses; a formal report on the research is required.
The Master's Thesis
The Master's ThesisAll Plan A students are required to complete a thesis. In addition to the written thesis, the student should also submit an electronic copy of the thesis. The format of the electronic thesis could be any commonly used word processor or it could be converted to PDF. A form for submitting the electronic copy to the Graduate School is obtained from the Program Director at the time of the oral defense of the thesis; a copy is also provided in the following pages. Although the Graduate School no longer requires a written copy of the thesis, the physics department requires that the student arrange for at least two written copies (one for the student, one for the advisor).
The following links will take you to the CU graduate school webiste. All physics graduate students should be familar with the information on the following pages:
M.S. Program Deadlines
M.S. Program Deadlines| Fall Semester | Spring Semester | Summer | Deadline |
| October 15, 2014 | February 15, 2015 | June 15, 2015 | Last day for file on-line degree application for degree to be conferred at the end of semester |
| December 15, 2014 | May 11, 2015 | August 17, 2015 |
|
| December 20, 2014 | May 9, 2015 | August 14, 2015 | Semester/Term ends. |
| December 20, 2014 | May 16, 2015 | August 22, 2015 | Commencement/Degree Conferral Date |
Students and advisors should also checek that the required number of credit hours have been passed for each Plan (33 hrs for Plan B, including 3 hrs of PHY 797; 30 hours for Plan A, including 6 hrs of PHY 799).
The maximum credit hours allowed for tuition remission for Teaching Fellows is 18 for each year, including summer. Special permission from the Graduate Dean is required during the Spring semester to tak courses in the following summer if the limit would be exceeded.
Plan A students should also arrange to meet at least once each semester/term with their thesis committees, especially near the time of the oral thesis defense.
When you first arrive....
When you first arrive....Procedures Upon Arriving for New Students
Orientation occurs during the two weeks prior to the start of classes. An orientation schedule is mailed in July to each student.
All Students:
Meet with the Graduate Program Director to arrange for obtaining a copy of the Physics Graduate Student handbook and registering for classes.
Meet with the Administrative Assistant to fill out paper work for getting on the stipend payroll and arranging for bank transfer of the stipend. Advice will be given on setting up a local bank account.
Obtain office space in the one of the Graduate Student offices.
Obtain keys from the Administrative Assistant.
Set up your Email account.
Obtain student ID card at Card Services in the Harper Center. The campus bookstore is also located there.
Purchase parking permit, if desired.
A graduate student teacher training session will be held the week before classes start. It runs daily from 9:00 am - 3:00pm.
The physics department orientation meetings also meet daily that week from 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm. Among other activities, your teaching schedule will be determined then.
Lab Safety training will occur on either Monday or Tuesday of the first week of classes.
You can take one Part of the Comprehensive Exam without it counting in case you don’t pass it (see schedule).
International Students:
Meet with Mrs. Shama Ali at the International Students Office at the Harper Center.
Obtain permanent social security number through the International Students Office. This involves completion of an application which needs to be signed off by the Program Director and International Student Coordinator, Mrs. Ali. Transportation to the Social Security Office in Omaha is provided by the International Student Office and usually occurs on Monday or Tuesday of the first week of classes.
General Information
General InformationDuplicating: The copy machine is located in the department mail room (HL G79). It is not intended for personal copying. Students are advised to familiarize themselves with the Federal Copyright Laws that are posted near the machine. You can print directly to the copier from your computer (Printer name is HLSBG79-WC5150 on the print1 printserver).
Students with Disabilities: The laboratories are designed to accommodate handicapped students. If one of your students is handicapped, you should notify the Lab Manager to assure that appropriate accommodations are in place. If you feel that a student’s disability is a problem, you should express your concerns to your course coordinator.
Sexual Harassment: All TFs are requested to complete an online course on sexual harassment. Please complete this training before your first class and provide a copy of you certificate to the Office Manager.
Student Cheating/Plagiarism: Cheating and plagiarism are serious infractions of University policy and can easily result in immediate expulsion. If you suspect a student of such misconduct, do not accuse the student outright. Instead, collect any supporting evidence of the infraction (copies of student’s coursework, etc.) and discuss the issue with your course coordinator.
Office Supplies: Several common office supplies are available in the mail room. If any item(s) has run out, notify the Office Manager to have the item(s) replaced.
Textbooks (Desk Copies): TFs should receive a copy of the textbook and any laboratory manuals for the course with which they are involved. These materials are not to be re-sold, but are to re-cycled each semester. If you are missing these materials, contact your course coordinator.
Email: An email account (@creighton.edu ) can be started by contacting the Information Technology staff at 280-1111. Please let the Office Manager know the email address you intend to use for department activities so that it can be added to the department’s listserv. This listserv is the department’s primary means for communicating important information.
Keys: See the Office Manager to receive keys that you will need. There are no keys to the exterior doors of the buildings. Outside doors are generally unlocked during daytime and can be opened at night and weekends using your Student ID card.
Security: If you unlock a door, you are responsible for seeing that it is re-locked when you are finished using the room. If you find an un-occupied room open after 5 pm, please lock it.
Parking: A parking permit is required to park you vehicle in any campus lot. To obtain a parking permit, contact Public Safety at 280-2104.
Payroll: You should fill out all the appropriate forms in order to get on the payroll. This is arranged with the Office Manager.
Safety: Your safety and that of your students is an important consideration. TFs will be required to complete annual safety training before being allowed to teach in the laboratory. This group training session is usually conducted in the department just prior to the start of the Fall semester. During your first class, you should point out to the students the location of all safety items, such as fire extinguishers, fire alarms, chemical showers, eyewashes, etc.) The lower level of Rigge is the approved tornado shelter for your students. A list of emergency numbers and/or an emergency phone should be readily available in your laboratory.