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Frequently Asked Questions
What undergraduate background is expected of
applicants to the graduate program?
Our graduate
program invites applications from interested persons who
have undergraduate degrees and course backgrounds which
emphasize physics. Clearly additional undergraduate course
experiences in astronomy, mathematics, computational
programming techniques, engineering, and electronics may
also provide useful preparation.
For admission to Physics and Astronomy's graduate
program, a B.S. or B.A. degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0 is
usually required. Persons having strong letters of
recommendation, good grades, and good test scores are
considered most seriously. A description of the UNC Physics
and Astronomy departmental degrees can be found here.
Are applicants with non-traditional academic or
career backgrounds ever considered?
Persons whose
backgrounds may be somewhat weak in physics, but who show
strong academic promise for graduate study with us, are
encouraged to inquire. We are particularly interested in
such persons who, through post-undergraduate experience,
have gained strong interest in physics- or
astronomy-related fields. However, our normal admission
requirements are not usually waived in these cases.
Is 'provisional acceptance' ever offered for graduate
study to students of promise whose prior physics training
is weak?
Provisional acceptance is not possible. It
may be possible for such students to gain sufficient
physics training to allow them to be successful in our
graduate program by further enrollment in pre-graduate
level physics courses. This can, for example, be arranged
through UNC's Continuing Studies program. Information about
registering here, as a part-time student in selected
pre-graduate courses prior to graduate work, can be found
at the Friday Center website.
How long will it require me to obtain a graduate
degree in the program?
The typical duration
of studies for well-prepared, conscientious students to
achieve a master's degree is about two years. The typical
time for similar students to receive a doctoral degree is
about five years. Students entering with a master's degree
from another physics program may require less time if they
can pass our doctoral written exams quickly. All students
proceed most quickly toward a degree when they affiliate
themselves early with one of the departmental research
programs and begin to learn about its research. Toward that
end, some admitted students may be able to arrange an
opportunity for research with us in the summer prior to
their initial fall enrollment.
What do I actually have to do to apply?
The
UNC Graduate School website provides
clear instructions for application preparation both by
domestic
and
international
students. Online application is strongly encouraged, but a
paper application
is available for prospective students who are
unable to use the online application.
How many offers of admission to the Physics and
Astronomy graduate program are made each year?
In
recent years Physics & Astronomy has sought to enroll 12 to
14 incoming graduate students in each fall semester. Due to
the fluctuating number of admitted students enrolling in our
program each year, the number of students offered admission
varies slightly from year to year. In 2006, we received an
incoming class of 12 graduate students, while in 2007 we anticipate
receiving an incoming class of 14.
Are your admission offers ever restricted in number
by field of specialization?
We strive each fall to
recruit an incoming class with a breadth of interests, and
we certainly look for and encourage applicants whose
interests match those of our faculty. We do not follow
strict guidelines about the number of admissions offered in
each of the Department's research fields.
When is the application deadline for your
program?
Our application deadline for initial Fall
semester enrollment is January 1. In practice, this means
we begin reviewing all completed applications in early
January, or as soon thereafter as they are complete. We do
not actually refuse later applications. They simply have a
decreasing chance, the later they arrive, for
consideration for admission and for full financial aid. Our
application process remains formally open until our class
is full.
The principal loss to strong applicants whose files are incomplete by early
January is that they risk not being considered for nomination for lucrative,
highly competitive, Graduate School fellowships. Our internal deadlines in this
camps-wide competition require that any nominee's file must be complete and be
fully evaluated by our departmental admissions committee before late January.
Do you accept graduate applications for mid-year
entry?
Spring graduate program admissions are
considered by Physics & Astronomy only in cases where
applicants can usefully enroll in a full complement of
courses with us. Since most graduate students enter in the
fall and follow a logically ordered course sequence over
several semesters, entry into these graduate courses in
spring semester is usually awkward and/or difficult.
Thus, spring admissions are considered only for: a)
advanced students whose prior coursework has prepared them for
immediate entry into our graduate courses above the entry
level; or b) students who meet the minimum entry requirements
but whose prior preparation is weak in some areas. Such
students often benefit from a semester of primarily
undergraduate coursework to supplement their earlier training
before beginning our regular graduate course sequence in the
fall. Spring semester admissions are also often restricted by
the mid-year availability of teaching or research
assistantships.
It is extremely unlikely that the department will consider
any applications for entry in the spring of 2008 or 2009. The main
concern is financial; the department has to support all its
students, and we are already supporting larger-than-average
incoming classes from the fall of 2004 and 2005. We encourage you to
consider applying for admission in the fall of 2008.
What is the deadline for applying for January
admission?
To allow time for proper evaluation, it is
recommended that applications for Spring semester admission be
completed at least a month before the Graduate School's
October 15th deadline for departmental recommendations for
Spring semester admission.
What is your schedule for notifying applicants of acceptance or rejection?
We usually begin to send offers
of admission in mid-February, and continue to admit students until we believe sufficient offers have been made to fill
our class for the coming year. Most of our offers for fall admission with financial aid are made by early March. Later
offers may be made if space is available. Rejection notices are not usually sent until after April 15.
Must all my application materials arrive before the application deadline?
Submission of all materials
by the application deadline is strongly encouraged. We begin to evaluate applicants' materials immediately after
the deadline. The earlier a file is complete, the earlier a formal decision can be made concerning admission. Late
arrival of test scores or letters of recommendation only delays such decisions.
Will my application be accepted if I am unable to pay the application fee?
An applicant's file is
incomplete until the application fee is paid, and no deferred fee payment is allowed. (A fee waiver is possible in rare cases for US
citizens. Applications which are incomplete because of unpaid or waived fees are not evaluated by the Department. Our
Graduate School accepts no departmental recommendation for applicant admission until the fee is paid.
Some foreign applicants for whom application fee payment is a financial hardship occasionally find a friend in the
US who can pay the fee for them. In these cases, a check or money order made payable to The University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill should be sent with a cover letter to:
The Graduate School
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CB# 4010
200 Bynum
Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA.
The cover letter must make it very clear for whom this application fee is being paid.
Will my chance of admission or financial aid be less if my materials do not arrive before the application
deadline?
Generally, yes. Early offers of financial aid are made to students with the best completed
applications. In addition, departmental nominations for the most attractive and highly competitive Graduate School
fellowships are made in late January for a small number of outstanding departmental applicants. Students whose files
are not complete early enough to allow full evaluation by the admissions committee before then are ineligible for such
consideration.
Are all students who are offered admission also provided financial support?
Generally, yes. In
recent years, most students admitted have received financial support in the form of nine-month
teaching assistantships. In some cases, research assistantships have instead been provided
to first-year students. Such stipends ($1,810 monthly for the 2007-2008 academic year)
require a total of 15 to 20 hours a week of teaching or research service. In addition,
funds are made available to cover up to 10 semesters of tuition ($2,056.50 in 2006-07 for
in-State residents; $9,055.50 for out-of-State residents) and student health insurance
($1,658 per year), provided both academic eligibility and steady academic progress toward
degree are maintained. Additional summer support, at the same monthly rate, is usually
available to all graduate students through our research and/or teaching programs.
However, TA support is withdrawn after the first semester for students who prove unable because of insufficient English communication
skills to fulfill their TA duties.
Will the opportunity for financial support depend on the field of research I chose?
Most entering graduate students are
supported during the first academic year with teaching assistantship (TA) funds, which require them to assist for 15 to 20 hours per
week as an instructor or grader in one of our lower level undergraduate courses or laboratories. Many students continue to receive
similar TA support in their second academic year, while others begin to receive some research assistantship (RA) support. By the end of
this second year, most of our graduate students receive some RA support, which allows them time to concentrate on their thesis research.
Almost all departmental research programs enjoy substantial external research funding, so most graduate students can expect significant RA support during their careers. Students whose research programs cannot provide RA funding, and who continue to make steady progress toward a degree, continue to receive TA support during their later years. This can continue after their own graduate coursework is complete while they are concentrating on thesis research. So, the actual level of financial support usually does not depend significantly on the research field chosen; sometimes the type of financial support does.
Will your financial support offer cover all my expenses?
It is our experience that students receiving our financial support packages described above live reasonably comfortably in Chapel Hill.
Can I provide my GRE scores to the Department or must they come to you directly from the Educational Testing Service?
We
invite students to send us early 'unofficial' copies of their GRE and TOEFL test scores. These can be used for internal departmental
evaluation for admission. However, our Graduate School requires that 'official' results reach us from the testing agency before any
admission offer can be extended.
What minimum GRE and TOEFL scores are usual for students you admit?
Our average GRE scores for admitted
students for 2007 were: Verbal: 590; Quantitative: 763; and Physics: 694. The TOEFL exam is
required for non-native English speakers and the minimum acceptable score is 550 (243 on the computer-based test and 95 on the internet-based test), though a score
above 600 (250 on the computer-based test, 100 on the internet-based test) is strongly preferred. Our average TOEFL score for admitted students for 2007 was 625.
The Department also requires three letters of recommendation; information included there is often weighed strongly.
How recently must I have taken the GRE/GMAT or TOEFL exams?
Our Graduate School requires recent, official score reports. GRE/GMAT scores more than 5 years old and TOEFL scores more than 2 years old are not acceptable.
Do you ever waive the requirements that applicants take the GRE exams?
No. Our Graduate School requires that all applicants take the verbal and quantitative GRE exams. Physics & Astronomy requires that applicants also take the Physics subject test.
Do you ever waive the requirements that applicants take the TOEFL exam?
The only chance for TOEFL waiver is for applicants claiming exemption from the requirement based upon receipt of a previous degree from
a US institution. In these cases, an official transcript or diploma showing the degree award date must be submitted to the Graduate
School to receive the waiver.
Why does Physics & Astronomy usually require a higher TOEFL score than the Graduate School?
The principal departmental
goal in requiring the higher TOEFL score is assurance that students accepted can communicate well in English and serve effectively as
teaching assistants in an undergraduate laboratory or recitation section. Applicants should note that each master's degree graduate must
have completed one semester of such teaching service during his or her career; doctoral graduates must complete two semesters of such
teaching. In rare cases, when departmental faculty know applicants personally and can vouch for an applicant's English language
proficiency, a lower TOEFL score may be allowed.
For up-to-date information about taking the GRE, visit
ETS's GRE web site.
By when must I tell you if I accept your admission offer?
The deadline for acceptance of our offer of fall semester admission is April 15. We greatly appreciate earlier notification if at all possible. Since the number of places in our program is limited, and since we keep a file of applicants who are deemed worthy of admission if space becomes available, we would like to know as quickly as possible whether admitted students will be able to accept our offer. Declined offers open spaces for others.
Is an acceptance by email sufficient to hold my place in your program?
Notifying us by email of your acceptance is strongly encouraged. We ask also that a follow-up letter of acceptance be sent by regular mail.
How do I officially accept the off of admission with the Graduate School?
Included in your official offer letter from the Graduate School are instructions regarding the acceptance of admission as well as the required enrollment deposit and Student Health Forms.
What happens once I have accepted your offer?
Within ten days of receiving your enrollment deposit and acceptance form the Graduate School will mail materials needed to complete your fall semester enrollment. By late May, the International Center will mail materials to admitted foreign students to allow them to apply for a US entry visa.
A final transcript showing your grades for the current semester and proving that you have completed all requirements for the degree program in which you currently are enrolled is required by the Graduate School before you are eligible to register for classes. This proof of your qualifications to enroll here as a graduate student is mandatory and cannot be waived under any circumstances.
The Graduate School will also request payment of a non-refundable $100 enrollment deposit to hold your place in our program until you actually enroll.
Finally, you will be sent a Student Medical History form which must be completed and returned to the Student Health Services office. All students are urged to complete this form and return it as quickly as possible. You will not be allowed to enroll here until it is completed.
Can I wait until arrival on campus to submit my completed Medical History form?
International students coming here in the past have not all returned the health forms by the requested May 1 deadline date. A few have brought the forms with them only when they arrived on campus. However, you should realize that the Graduate School will cancel your permission to enroll here if these forms are not correctly filled out and submitted here to the Student Health Service before the fall semester begins in August. Thus, it would be wisest if this form were completed and returned here long before the date of your expected arrival in Chapel Hill. Then, if there is any problem, or if any information is lacking, there would be time for you to obtain the missing information before departing for Chapel Hill.
I am an international student and need the form to apply for a US entry visa. When can I expect it to arrive?
Each year our admitted international students quickly become worried that this form will not arrive in time for them to obtain the necessary passport and visa. These forms are mailed out by our International Center after the Graduate School has mailed all admitted candidates a formal acceptance letter. Usually all International Center forms needed for fall semester enrollment are mailed in the month of June.
We cannot recall a recent case when any of these materials have been lost in the mail, though sometimes 3 to 4 weeks were required before actual delivery abroad. Two weeks is typical, but longer delivery times can and do occur. Our International Center will not consider mailing any duplicate forms until six weeks have passed. So, please be patient and keep us informed about their arrival. If after six weeks you still are waiting, we certainly will try again to help you obtain the needed forms quickly.
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