Prospective students must satisfy the requirements of the Graduate School as described in the Graduate School Catalog and have the approval of the Graduate Admissions Committee of the Department of Physics. In addition, to be admitted to graduate study in physics without deficiency, candidates should have an undergraduate degree with the equivalent of a 30-hour major in physics including intermediate level courses in mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermal physics, quantum mechanics, and mathematics through differential equations. Students who present less than the above may be admitted with deficiency subject to the approval of the department's Graduate Admissions Committee. Students may eliminate deficiencies while concurrently enrolling in graduate courses, provided prerequisites are met. While submission of Graduate Record Examination scores is not required for admission, students who have taken the GRE advanced physics test are urged to submit their test scores to the Physics Department to facilitate advising and placement.

Prospective students from foreign countries in which English is not the native language must submit TOEFL score of 550 (213 computer based) or above. To receive an Assistantship for which the duties include teaching, the student must score 50 or more on the Test of Spoken English. An Assistantship may be awarded with other departmental duties, but in such a case the student must agree to take the Test at its earliest offering.

More detailed information about the admission requirements can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook in the section "Admission Requirements".