Because of the large number of qualified applicants, the Department of Physics has had to restrict formal admission to the Graduate School to those who have shown particularly outstanding work in their undergraduate records or who have already done satisfactory work in key senior-level courses at the University of Maryland. Students who have less outstanding records but who show special promise may be given provisional admission under special circumstances. Regular admission will then depend on the satisfactory completion of existing deficiencies. A faculty adviser will inform each of these students what background he or she lacks and what he or she must accomplish to achieve regular admission. Thus, the Department hopes to offer an opportunity for advanced study in physics to all qualified students.

Students who enter the graduate program are normally expected to have strong backgrounds in physics, including intermediate-level courses in mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, physical optics, and modern physics. A student with deficiencies in one or more of these areas may be admitted but will be expected to remedy such deficiencies as soon as possible.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE), including the Advanced Physics test, is required for admission. In rare instances, this requirement may be waived. The average GRE Advanced Physics test score is 785. The average gpa for students educated in U.S. institutions is 3.7. A minimum overall score of 575 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language is required of applicants from non-English speaking countries.