Rice University Applied Physics Program

Modern research is fundamentally transdisciplinary: it cuts across science and technology and it does not care for boundaries between traditional topics. In research particularly competitive context, a physicst's training adds a particularly effective point of view to a wide variety of scientific endeavors. The Rice University Applied Physics Graduate Program (APP) provides students with a solid background in the fundamentals of the physical sciences, allowing them to address and solve cutting-edge applied research problems in areas as different as advanced materials, quantum magnetism, plasmonics and photonics, biophysics and bioengineering, ultracold atom physics, condensed matter and chemical physics, and all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Through rigorous research work, and by providing an extensive number of opportunities to improve communication and leadership skills, the program prepares scientists ready to start a professional career as leaders in academia or in the industry. The Applied Physics Program leads to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) The program does NOT offer a stand-alone Master of Science degree; students admitted to our Ph.D. program with a bachelor's degree are required to defend an M.S-level thesis before proceeding to the Ph.D. No qualifying exam is required.