FAQ

Applications to the Physics Graduate Program are submitted through the University of Maryland's Graduate School.

Please visit the University of Maryland Graduate School's Application Process page, where you will find a step-by-step guide to applying, answers to frequently asked questions, and the link to the application. The Physics Admissions Requirements are listed here under the Designation of Full-Time and Part-Time Status section.

The application submission deadline is December 12, 2025 at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time.

All applicants must submit the same application form. Please tell us about your reasons for transferring in your personal statement. It is also important that you have letters of recommendation from your present school as well as from your undergraduate school. All applications are considered in the same applicant pool.

There are no specific course requirements for admission. However, applicants should demonstrate a solid background in undergraduate physics including mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum physics, statistical physics, and dynamics.

We do sometimes offer admission to students who have studied other topics as undergraduates, but only if they have also taken most of the physics courses a physics major typically takes, and have an exceptionally strong application in other ways (e.g., promise for succeeding in research). Our graduate program is really designed for students with a solid background in undergraduate physics.

Our department does not admit students seeking only a Master's degree, although many of our Ph.D. program students do fulfill the requirements to earn a Master's degree along the way.

No, we do not require an official transcript at the time of your application. Should you be offered admission and decide to enroll, the Graduate School will require official transcripts at that time.

We request that all letters of recommendation are submitted by the application deadline. However, as long as they arrive before January 1, the admissions committee will be able to review your application.

You can fill out another Supplementary Application with the additional courses and upload it as "Supplementary Document 2" in the application portal.

Our admissions committee uses many factors to determine your eligibility for admission and we are unable to address your admission chances without a complete, official application.

No, we only admit students for the Fall semester.

The Statement of Purpose should not exceed two pages. It may be single or double spaced. 

The Department will inform you of its decision and financial offer via email. You may also check your admission decision status on the application dashboard.

The University of Maryland Physics Graduate Program receives over 700 applications per year and typically makes 150 offers of admission.

The General GRE will not be used in our admissions process.

The Physics GRE is formally optional; if a student submits a score, it will be considered along with many other factors. In all cases, we will fully and fairly evaluate applications based on the available information and will do this regardless of whether a Physics GRE score is submitted.

However, if at all possible, we recommend that students take the Physics GRE and submit the scores. The PGRE contains information that is complementary to what is found elsewhere in the application.  While the Ph.D. is essentially a research degree, it also requires a student to demonstrate mastery of material taught in physics classes.  To assure that students are in a position to succeed in this—and to do so without undue stress—it is essential that students enter the program well prepared academically.     Unfortunately, undergraduate grades have become increasingly less useful in assess this due grade inflation; the GRE can help fill the gap.   In the absence of a PGRE score we would need truly outstanding grades as evidence that a student is sufficiently well prepared, while with a PGRE somewhat more modest grades could suffice, even if the PGRE is not itself stellar.

We find the PGRE to be especially helpful for students planning to pursue a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. We also particularly recommend that international applicants, students from less familiar schools, and students who believe that their transcripts do not accurately reflect their underlying academic strengths submit a Physics GRE score.

Our process is designed so that Including a PGRE score should only help an applicant; a student who would have been admitted without a PGRE score will not be rejected because the score is too low.

The score requirements can be found here. If you fall below the minimum requirements for "full enrollment", unfortunately your application will not be considered.  Timely advancement in our Physics Ph.D. program is incompatible with the "English Bridge Program"  or "Intensive English".   The scores for "full enrollment" is set by the Graduate School and not the Physics Department.

The University of Maryland's Graduate School receives and processes all score reports. Please use the following institutional codes:

GRE (General and Subject) – 5814
TOEFL – 5814

We will accept GRE scores from tests taken within the last 5 years and TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores from tests taken within the last 2 years.

You will not be required to submit TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores if you have or will be awarded a degree from the United States, United Kingdom, Anglophone Africa, Anglophone Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the Commonwealth Caribbean prior to enrolling in the University of Maryland. See a complete list of countries here.

You will be required to submit TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores if you are a US citizen or permanent resident with international credentials whose native language is not English and who does not hold a degree from an institution in the US or one of the areas listed above.

Test scores are received and processed by the Graduate School, who will attach them to your application shortly after receiving them. You can check the status on your application dashboard. If you think your scores should have already been received, please contact the Graduate School at .

Yes, but please do not ask for more than four recommendation letters to be sent. The admissions committee will not read more than four letters regarding a given applicant.

We ask that score reports and letters of recommendation are submitted before the deadline. However, as long as they arrive before January 1, the admissions committee will be able to include the scores in their review of your application.

We manually mark your application "complete" after we receive all parts of your application, including recommendations and test scores. Since we have so many applicants, it can sometimes take a day or two to finish marking all of the applications complete. Our Admissions Committee reviews all applications, even if they are not marked complete.

You are welcome to visit! Applicants should schedule a meeting with the Associate Chair for Graduate Education or the Graduate Studies Coordinator to discuss our program. Feel free to drop by the Office of Student and Education Services.

You are welcome to directly contact any of our faculty with whom you would like to discuss research. All Physics faculty members are listed on our departmental website, along with their research areas.

The research areas in the Department of Physics can be found on the department's website. Here, you can find the contact information for faculty members who are doing research in your field of interest.