Frequently Asked Questions

Certain questions are frequently asked by applicants inquiring about our graduate program in Physics at CMU. Here are the answers to some of them.

Can I receive financial aid to study only for a M.S. degree?

We do not offer financial aid to applicants who intend to study only for the M.S. degree. Our program is primarily a Ph. D. program. We will, in some cases, consider applicants who intend to obtain only a M.S. degree, but only for admission without financial aid.

Is it possible to be granted admission without financial aid?

We do not, in general, offer admission to our Ph.D. program without also offering financial aid. This aid is in the form of assistantships, usually for teaching, but occasionally for research, that provide both a full tuition scholarship and a monthly stipend for living expenses.

Can I be granted a waiver of the application fee?

Because there is NO APPLICATION FEE, it is not necessary to ask for a waiver.

I cannot take the GRE until April; will you still consider my application?

The April test score reports are not mailed until May. That is too late to be of any value in making a decision on your application. Please see the next question.

Can you admit me without the results of the GRE? I will take it after I have been admitted.

We use the GRE in the evaluation of an application in order to make a decision on admission. No purpose would be served by having someone take the GRE after they have been admitted. If you do not submit the results of both the General and Subject tests of the GRE we may still consider your application, but you will be at a distinct disadvantage compared with those who have submitted both scores, and your other credentials will have to be very exceptional in order for you to be admitted.

Can you accelerate the decision on my application?

We cannot usually accelerate the decision on any applications. Each year we begin evaluating applications in late January, and we continue until early April. All applications are evaluated during that period, and we shall make every effort to inform you of our decision as soon as possible. Our first offers of admission and financial aid are sent out about the third week in February; we continue to send out offers of admission until approximately the end of the first week in April.

English is not my native language, but I am not able to take the TOEFL; will you still consider my application?

Unless you are able to demonstrate clearly in some other way that you are proficient in English, we cannot consider you for admission if your native language is not English and you do not submit the results of the TOEFL.

What are the minimum GRE and TOEFL scores required for admission?

We do not have absolute minimum required scores for either the GRE or the TOEFL. For applicants whose native language is not English, the great majority of those who are admitted have TOEFL scores above 600. Applicants with TOEFL scores of less than 600 but whose other credentials are very strong are occasionally admitted, however. Additional comments about the GRE will be found below.

Can you offer me admission to begin in the second semester?

We do not offer admission for study beginning in the second semester of the academic year (January, 1996 for the current year). Our program of graduate courses and our offers of financial aid are based on the full academic year.

I want to do research in Musical Acoustics. Is it possible?

Although one member of the department, Prof. R. T. Schumacher, does research in Musical Acoustics, he does not direct graduate student research in that area. He recommends that students, even if they are interested in Musical Acoustics, carry out the research for their Ph. D. dissertation in one of the more traditional areas of Physics, e. g. condensed matter, nuclear, or particle physics.

What grade-point average, GRE scores, etc. are required for admission?

The Carnegie Mellon Physics Department sets no specific minimum for the GRE score or grade-point average required for admission; decisions on admission are based on the entire record of the applicant, including courses taken, grade-point average, letters of recommendation, research experience, the GRE, and, for applicants whose native language is not English, the TOEFL.

GRE Scores

The following information, reported according to guidelines suggested by the Educational Testing Service, may help you place your own performance on the GRE in perspective.

The data given below report the range of grades for the middle 50% of the applicants to whom we made offers of admission and financial aid for the academic year 1997-98. As you read these data please bear the following in mind:

1). These scores define the middle 50% of the range. 25% of the applicants receiving offers had a score above the reported maximum and 25% had a score below the reported minimum.

2). A particular applicant might have individual test scores that fall in quite different parts of their respective distributions. For example, one applicant might have a score in the bottom 25% on the General Verbal Exam and a score in the top 25% on the Physics Subject exam.

3). These data are for all offers, including offers to applicants whose native language is not English.

Number of Offers       39
 
General Verbal         460 (45) - 650 (91)
General Analytical     670 (81) - 770 (96)
General Quantitative   760 (92) - 790 (97)
Physics Subject        640 (48) - 890 (90)
 

These data include both the numerical score and the percentile (in parentheses) as reported by ETS.

Are there any fellowships available?

We have a small number of fellowships that are often awarded as supplements to teaching and research assistantships.

The Physics Department of Carnegie Mellon University is a member of the National Physical Science Consortium, a Graduate Fellowship Program in the Physical Sciences for Minorities and Women who are US. CITIZENS. For further information, please write to L. Nan Snow, Executive Director, National Physical Science Consortium, Student Recruitment Office, New Mexico State University, Box 30001, Dept. 3NPS, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003-0001.

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