DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT
The Distribution Requirement is designed to ensure that all Ph.D. and M.S. non-thesis physics students have a good overall knowledge of physics. The latest version of the “distribution requirement” was adopted in May 1999. It states that:

All students must pass, with a grade of “B” or higher and at least three physics lecture courses at the 5000 level or above. The subjects of these courses must be in three different sub-fields of physics, and must not include the core courses.

Examples of sub-fields are “High Energy Physics, “Condensed Matter Physics”, etc. An example of a set of courses that would completely satisfy this requirement would be Particle Physics I, Introduction to Solid State Physics, and General Relativity I. Students who have had graduate experience elsewhere may apply to the Graduate Coordinator for permission to count courses taken at other institutions for this requirement.

Students may, of course, take more courses than the minimum. In particular, their supervisory committee should check that their course load is consistent with gaining a broad education in physics as well as a thorough knowledge of their sub-field.