M.S. PROGRAM IN PHYSICS

The Graduate Program in Physics is designed to prepare the students for pro­fessional careers and further research in physics. Candidates are expected to pur­sue a course of study and research that will give them a greater comprehension of basic theoretical and experimental physics. Students of this program will be either theoretically or experimentally ori­ented, depending on the type of research they choose for their thesis.

The program encompasses the following major branches of physics:

•  Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Nuclear Physics

RESEARCH FACILITIES

Superconductivity

The superconductivity Laboratory houses a 9-Tesla vibrating sample magnetom­eter (VSM). Transport measurements and AC-susceptibilities set-up. Magnetic properties of superconductors, nanopar­ticles, alloys and glasses are routinely studied in this lab.

​Surface Science

The Surface Science laboratory houses a SCALAB 250XiX ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Two X-ray diffraction instruments Shimadzu XRD6000 and Bruker AXS D2 PHASER 2nd Gen desktop A26 - X1 - A2d0B2A0. There is also an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM-2)  diInnova, Veeco-Innova. The laboratory also possesses a home­made magnetron dc-sputtering system that is used to synthesize thin films.

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Thin Films LAB:

Thin film laboratory is located in building 28 in KFUPM campus, and it houses Leybold L-560 box coater Physical Vapor Deposition, Oerlikon (Leybold) Univex 350 Sputtering system DC/RF Sputtering, and Jasco V-570 UV-VIS-NIR Spectrophotometer.

Nuclear Physics Facility: This consists mainly of a 350 KV, high current accel­erator.

The main area of research at the 350 KV ion accelerator are fast neutron activation studies and nuclear reaction studies suing polarized and non-polarized beams of neutrons, protons and deuterons.

Laser Research Laboratory (LRL): The laser research laboratory houses a vari­ety of molecular and atomic activities supported by advanced equipment that include several dye lasers pumped by excimer/yag/Argon ion lasers suitable for frequency-resolved (500kHz) or time-resolved studies (femtosecs).

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Other Facilities

In addition to the research facilities men­tioned, the department also has a well-equipped workshop, and an electronic shop.

​A complete list of research equipment in the physics department research Labs can be found here.

DEPARTMENTAL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The Master of Science program in Phys­ics is available to students who meet the requirements for admission to the Uni­versity with a B.S. degree in Physics or equiva­lent from an institution of acceptable standing. The Department might ask the applicant to submit his score in GRE subject test in Physics.

Degree Plan for the M.S. Program in Physics ​

• ​The M.S. program in physics requires the successful completion of 8 courses or 24 credit hours of course work, a seminar, and a research thesis of minimum 6 credit hours.
• The course work consists of five core courses and three elective courses. All candidates must take five core courses (PHYS501, PHYS505, PHYS507, PHYS503, and PHYS571).
• The remaining three courses or nine credit hours are electives, which are usually 500 level physics courses. Students are allowed to take a maximum of 6 credit hours of 400-level physics courses as electives with the approval of the graduate advisor. Furthermore, a maximum of two (graduate level) electives can be chosen from outside the department with the approval of the graduate advisor.
• Student must select his thesis supervisor within his/her second semester of enrollment in the M.S. program.
• MS Student must submit his degree plan to the deanship of graduate studies by the end of his/her second semester.
• Students will take the courses approved in their degree plan, any course taken outside of their degree plan will not be counted towards the degree. 

A Generic Degree Plan for the M.S. Program in Physics can be as in the table below:

 *PHYS530 Statistical Mechanics is highly recommended elective for MS students.