Candidates pursuing Doctor of Philosophy in Physics by research are required to attend and pass examinations in a minimum of six courses:

• PC5198 Graduate Seminar Courses in Physics, and
• Five level-5000 physics courses.

Candidates must complete these coursework within the first two years of the Ph.D programme and secure a CAP of at least 3.50.

Candidates may read up to two graduate-level courses offered by other Departments subject to the approval from their thesis supervisor(s) and/or department(s). All courses, which include undergraduate courses and cross faculty courses, taken by the candidates will be included in the CAP computation.

Candidates must submit, through the supervisor(s) and the Head of Department, their theses for examination within the maximum period of candidature. The thesis must be on a topic approved by the respective departments and must make some contribution to knowledge and not be a mere collation of existing materials. The thesis must contain original work or critical interpretation worthy of publication.

It is a common practice that candidates are required to present a seminar talk in the Department on their research findings before submitting the theses for examination.

A presentation (25-30min) is required when a PhD or Master by Research student is about to submit his/her thesis. The dates of presentations are tentatively:

1. August, semester I, week 0 (e.g. Friday) on the “Physics Graduate Symposium”, organized by Physics Graduate Society.
2. November, Friday of last instruction week, the week before the reading week.
3. January, semester II, Friday of week 1
4. April, Monday of the reading week.

To facilitate the organization of a group presentations with several talks, students who intend to submit the thesis must plan earlier, and use one of the four slots indicated above. If the student decided to make a presentation for the purpose of thesis submission requirement, a title and an abstract should be submitted to Maggie (phylausk@nus.edu.sg), one week before the presentation date, so that the department can work out a schedule and announce the talks.

All international students are required to take an English Language proficiency test (Diagnostic English Test) unless exemption has been granted. This test will determine whether candidates would need to take the Graduate English course. If applicable, candidates are required to achieve an advanced level of proficiency in the Graduate English course.

Candidates are required to attend 75% of colloquia and seminars organized by the Department. The department Office will keep track of your attendance.

Your attendance is tracked by department until your graduation. This attendance count is going to be reflected and reviewed during your yearly progress or final report. Only attendance to the Department’s organized seminars/colloquia is eligible and counted toward the 75% requirement. Your involuntary absence to any Department seminars can be counted towards the 75% requirement only with a valid (academic and medical) reason and proof, such as academic/medical leave, time-conflict with your courses/courses, and research group meetings.

Research performance is rated in 5 categories: excellent, good, average, marginal and unsatisfactory.

For any semester in which the student’s research performance is rated “marginal”, that student will receive a warning letter and will be interviewed by the. The student will be automatically placed on probation unless he/she has a valid reason for the poor performance.

For any student who has received two “marginal” ratings or one “unsatisfactory” rating for research performance, the student will be issued a letter of dismissal by the Registrar and denied re-admission.

To continue in a Ph.D. programme, a student may not have:

• GPA below 3.5 (but ≥ 3.0) for three consecutive semesters; or
• GPA below 3.0 for two consecutive semesters.

For any semester in which the student’s GPA falls below 3.5 (but ≥ 3.0), that student will be issued an academic warning. If, in the following semester, the student’s GPA again falls below 3.5, s/he will be placed on probation. If the student’s GPA remains below 3.5 for the third consecutive semester, the student will be issued a letter of dismissal by the Registrar and denied re-admission.

For students whose GPA falls below 3.0 for two consecutive semesters, they will be placed on probation for the first semester, followed by dismissal in the second semester.

• Achieve a minimum GPA of 3.5 for all required courses.
• Obtain at least a grade C in the graduate English courses conducted by the Centre for English Language.
• Communication at advanced level (if applicable).
• Pass the PhD Qualifying Examination.
• Pass the PhD Thesis.
• Pass the PhD Oral Examination.
• Attended 15 seminars organized by the Department.