Graduate Application Procedure

This page describes how to apply for admission to the graduate program in physics at Carnegie Mellon.  Other information you may find useful:

• Financial Assistance
• FAQ - Some frequently asked questions about admission
• Statement of Assurance
• Application Forms
• Apply Online!

To be admitted to graduate study in a department of the Mellon College of Science, an applicant must have graduated from a recognized four-year college, university or institute of technology, or must have earned equivalent credentials

Students who are finishing a B.S. or B.A. degree in physics or a closely related subject, with a good record, will be considered for admission to graduate study in physics. Applications should normally be submitted by January 21. All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record General Test and the Advanced Physics Test, which are weighed together with the academic record and recommendations in selecting students.

There is no application fee. In order to reach a decision on admission, we must have the following:

• A completed application form.
• A personal statement about your background, experience, and educational goals
• Transcripts from all college-level institutions that you attended, whether or not you received a degree.
• Three letters from professional references, at least one of which should be from the institution that you attended most recently.
• An official report of the General and Advanced Physics tests of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). To ensure that the scores reach us in time, you should take the GRE in December. Information on these examinations is available from
  
  Graduate Record Examinations
  Educational Testing Service
  Box 6000
  Princeton, NJ 08541-6000
  
  Please note that the GRE Institution code for Carnegie Mellon University is 2074 and the GRE department code for physics is 0808.
  

• If your native language is not English, an official report of the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Please see Special Information for International Applicants for more details.
  
  Please note that the TOEFL Institution code for Carnegie Mellon University is 2074 and the TOEFL department code for physics is 76.

Students whose undergraduate physics curricula are deficient may have to take some undergraduate courses during their first year at Carnegie Mellon. In general, the following coursework is considered to be part of a normal undergraduate preparation. (Textbooks are given to indicate the general level.):

Intermediate Mechanics (Fowles)
Electricity and Magnetism (Wangsness)
Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics (Callen, Guenalt)
Atomic Physics (Eisberg and Resnick)
Elementary Quantum Mechanics (Liboff)
Electronics
Advanced Calculus

Special Information for International Applicants

Applicants whose native language is not English must submit an official report of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A minimum score of 600 is usually required for admission. Information about the TOEFL can be obtained from the

Program Director
Test of English as a Foreign Language
Box 899
Princeton, NJ 08540

After enrolling at Carnegie Mellon, students whose native language is not English will be expected to take the International Teaching Assistant test administered by our Intercultural Communications Center. Students are required to take this test in order to be certified as teaching assistants, but we believe that it is valuable for all students whose native language is not English.