A. Admission

Students with acceptable chemistry or physics undergraduate degrees and Graduate Record Examination scores can be admitted into the Program in Chemical Physics after having been accepted into the graduate program of either the Chemistry or Physics Department. Alternatively, students with an appropriate undergraduate record and acceptable Graduate Record Examination scores can enter directly into the Program.

Depending on how they enter the Program, new students should prepare themselves for one of three qualifying procedures:

1) For students entering in Chemistry, there are diagnostic examinations in physical chemistry and in two other areas of chemistry (Chose from analytical, biochemistry, inorganic and organic chemistry), followed by evaluation of course work performance.

2) In Physics, there is a proficiency examination covering physics across-the-board at the upper division level.

3) For those entering directly into Chemical Physics, there is a two-part qualifying examination which will include material from (i) two semesters of physical chemistry at the level of CHM 4410 and 4411 at FSU, and (ii) upper division courses in mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and optics.

For students following the Chemistry or Physics Departmental qualifying procedure, the usual Departmental rules shall apply.

B. Master's Degree

A thesis-type Master of Science (M.S.) degree is offered. The candidate must earn at least sixteen (16) semester hours of credit at the 5000 level or above and, of these sixteen (16), at least six (6) must be in formal lecture courses in either Physics or Chemistry; a minimum of six (6) hours of thesis credit is required. The candidate must also achieve an appropriate performance in the qualifying procedure. He or she must take an oral examination which will include a defense of thesis.

A satisfactory M.S. thesis may be required by the faculty as a prerequisite to candidacy for the doctoral degree in particular cases, but neither the thesis nor the master's degree is a general prerequisite for the Doctor of Philosophy degree.

C. Doctoral Degree

1. The Preliminary Examination for the Ph.D. degree program consists of both written and oral sections.

a) The student can satisfy the written part by following one of two options:

Option i: The student passes six (6) out of the sixteen (16) cumulative examinations given by the Physical Chemistry Division of the Chemistry Department in a two-year period. These two-hour exams are given eight (8) times a year; each cumulative exam deals with one of the broad areas of physical chemistry: thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, chemical dynamics/kinetics, and quantum mechanics. (Some cume passes may be earned by outstanding coursework performance.) Normally the student begins taking the cumulative exams at the start of the second year and continues until six (6) are passed or sixteen (16) are attempted. In addition, the student must complete satisfactorily (B or better) senior level electricity and magnetism courses (PHY 4321-4322 or the equivalent) and a one semester graduate level physics course approved by the student's Supervisory Committee. The Physical Chemistry cumulative examinations are based primarily on the graduate-level courses CHM 5460-5461 and CHM 5480-5481.

Option ii: The student passes the written Comprehensive Examination given in the Physics Department which covers graduate-level mechanics, statistical mechanics, electrodynamics and quantum mechanics. Further, the student must pass (B or better) Chemical Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (CHM 5460), an additional graduate-level physical chemistry course and an additional graduate level physics course, approved by the student's Supervisory Committee.

The form of the Examination above is designed to make optimum use of the student's background while emphasizing the fundamental unity of the Program.

b) The oral portion of the Preliminary Examination emphasizes the area of the student's proposed research, but the student is also expected to be familiar with basic concepts in chemical physics.

2. The student is required to present at least one seminar in the regular Physical Chemistry-Chemical Physics seminar series during his or her period of study for the Master's or doctoral degree.

3. The student's Supervisory Committee consists of (a) the major professor who is a member of the Chemical Physics faculty; (b) three additional members of the Chemical Physics faculty (not all from the same department); and (c) a graduate faculty representative outside the Program in Chemical Physics.

D. Courses in Chemical Physics

PHS 5871r. Thesis (3-6) (S/U grade only)

PHS 6980r. Dissertation (24-) (S/U grade only)

PHS 8976. Master's Thesis Defense (0)

PHS 9969. Preliminary Doctoral Examination (0)

PHS 9985. Dissertation Defense (0)