Physics and astronomy graduate students at Johns Hopkins are involved in research starting in their first semester in the program.

Orientation

In the beginning of every fall semester, the department organizes a series of events (graduate orientation, various seminars and presentations) to provide an in-depth overview of research activities in the department. During a two-day research jamboree, students discuss possible research projects with multiple faculty members either in individual meetings or in a group setting. These events help familiarize the student with the department, with the faculty and with the expectations of the graduate program.

To help guide students through the first two years of the program, all entering graduate students are assigned an academic adviser (“The 1st/2nd year advisor”).  This adviser works with the student until a thesis adviser has been appointed, generally during the summer at the end of 2nd year. During the orientation, the 1st/2nd year advisor reviews the program with the students as a group, and is available during the semester for individual advice. There is a more formal review of each student’s progress at the end of the semesters.

Getting Started with Research

By the end of September, the student chooses their first research adviser among the professorial faculty and starts working on the first-semester research project. If the proposed research advisor does not hold a primary appointment as a tenure-track or research faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the form must be co-signed by a PHA faculty member, who will provide mentorship (relevant department faculty members list). This requirement holds for all semesters of research. The first-semester project continues through intersession in January. The spring-semester research project continues until the end of the spring semester. The summer semester lasts from June through August. Students may continue with one adviser through the entire first year, or they may choose to cycle through several different research advisers from one semester to the next.

This system of semester projects continues during the first two years of the program, when students also complete required coursework. The nature of these first- and second-year research projects varies from student to student, from adviser to adviser and from one sub-field of physics to another. Some may be self-contained research projects that lead to published scientific papers and may or may not be related to the thesis research in later years. Others may comprise reading or independent-study projects to develop background for subsequent research. In other cases, they may be first steps in a longer-term research project.

This system accommodates both the students who have chosen the direction of their thesis work before graduate school and those who would like to try a few different things before committing to a long-term project. As students get more familiar with the department and the research opportunities, they zero in on their thesis topic and find a thesis adviser. This may happen any time during the first two years, and students are required to find a thesis adviser by the beginning of the third year.

Semester Reports

At the end of every semester, students provide a written research summary of their progress. These reports should be a 2-3 page write-up succinctly describing the research performed during the semester.

Second Year Research Presentation

Furthermore, at the beginning of the second year, each student takes an oral research exam that consists of a 15-minute presentation to a committee of three faculty members about the research they have carried out in their first year and questions from the committee about the research and related scientific background.

Finding Thesis Advisor

Securing a mutual agreement with a thesis advisor is one of the most important milestones of our graduate program. Students must find a thesis advisor and submit the thesis advisor form before the first day of their 3rd year. The form represents a long-term commitment and serious efforts in planning and communication between the student and the advisor. If the proposed thesis advisor does not hold a primary appointment as a tenure-track or research faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the form must be co-signed by a PHA faculty member, who will serve as the departmental advisor of record (relevant department faculty members list).

Students should start their thesis planning no later than the beginning of the summer after the second year. By this time in the program, many students have identified projects and advisors of interest during their research rotations in the 1st and 2nd years. In these cases, students should discuss with their prospective advisors their mutual expectations for the scope and the timeline of the thesis and when an agreement is reached, submit the thesis advisor form. If by the summer after their 2nd year, the student does not have a clear idea of who they want to work with for their thesis, they should reach out to different faculty of interest, to 1st / 2nd year academic advisors, and/or to the Chair of the graduate program committee (Director of graduate studies). In these cases the student’s goal for the summer is to identify a thesis advisor and to reach an agreement regarding a thesis topic. In all cases, the thesis advisor form must be submitted before the 1st day of the 3rd year.

Graduate Board Oral Exam

After the student chooses a thesis adviser, together they define the scope of the thesis, and the student presents the thesis proposal at the Graduate Board Oral Examination (GBO). The GBO should be taken in the fall of the third year of the program. The committee consists of internal and external examiners from our department and from other departments and includes the thesis adviser. A week before the examination, the student submits a written thesis proposal to the committee (typically 4-5 pages in journal format). The examination starts with a 20-minute presentation of the research proposal by the student, and then the committee members take turns asking questions which are usually (but not always) related to the proposal.

By this point in the program, the students have had many opportunities to practice their presentation skills and answering questions, including the research exam in the beginning of the second year and the graduate-student journal club.

Thesis Committee

Upon passing the GBO, the student forms his/her thesis committee consisting of three faculty members in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy (PHA). At least two should be tenure track faculty with primary appointments in PHA. An external advisor may be added as the fourth member of the committee. These committees function as extended advisory bodies, so that students have the opportunity to discuss their progress and problems with several faculty. They also conduct a formal annual review of each student’s progress.

The thesis committee is an excellent avenue for students to get input from the faculty on their advance toward their degrees, to get broader access to faculty, and to resolve any difficulties that may arise during the completion of the thesis research.

The Annual Review

The annual review takes place during the second part of February. Students present a written report (1–3 pages long) to all three members of their thesis committee. The report succinctly describes the accomplishments and difficulties of the last 12 months and plans for the following academic year. The report incorporates future milestones and the estimated time to accomplish them including expected date of thesis defense. Major changes in the scope or direction of the project should also be detailed.

During the next two weeks, students meet with their thesis committees to discuss the report. After the meeting, the thesis committee provides written feedback to help the student on his/her progress toward a degree.

The Dissertation and Thesis Defense

At the conclusion of thesis research, the student submits the complete written dissertation to the University and defends the dissertation before a faculty committee. Thesis defense typically lasts two hours and consists of a 40-minute presentation by the student, followed by questions from the committee on the thesis research and related scientific background.

The principal goal of graduate study is to train the student to conduct original research. To provide timely feedback and to help the student plan and execute their dissertation research, we conduct the following examinations:

Step 1: Research Examination

This oral exam is given in the beginning of the second year (typically in the 3rd full week of September). The exam serves a dual purpose:

• to evaluate students’ progress in research conducted during the first year,
• to assist students in learning to present their scientific research.

No special report is required in advance of the exam. Research report must be submitted for each of the three periods of conducted research (fall, spring, and summer of the first year). It is understood that some of these research projects may be just past the level of a reading course, while others may be more advanced and even yield publishable results. Students who have participated in multiple research projects in their first year should pick one topic to present in depth at the research exam.

The research exam includes the following parts:

• a 15-minute presentation explaining the motivation, background, and progress made in their research. The first 10 minutes should be accessible and interesting to a broad audience, with the last 5 containing more specialized parts.
• a 15-minute question-and-answer period. The questions typically focus on the research presented, but can reach beyond that to explore how well the student understands the context of their project and its physics background.
• a 10-minute closed discussion by the exam committee.

The exam committee consists of three faculty members from all areas of physics. The student’s research advisor cannot be a member of the committee. Therefore, students should avoid excessive technical jargon and abbreviations. The exam committee will evaluate the following aspects of the student’s presentation:

• Motivation. Has the student explained, in terms understandable to a non-expert physicist, why the project was undertaken and what new information it was meant to provide?
• Intelligibility. Has the student conveyed main results of the research project and explained their significance in a way understandable to the non-experts on the committee?
• Engagement with the audience. Has the student provided clear and satisfactory answers to questions?
• Broader context. Is the student knowledgeable about the chosen field of research and its foundational physics background?

After the exam, the student is provided with oral and/or written feedback from the research exam committee and the academic advisor. The outcome of the exam can be a Pass, a Conditional Pass, or a Fail. In the cases of a Conditional Pass or a Fail, the research exam committee and the graduate program committee will require remedial measures specific to each individual case.

• Unconditional Pass means that the student has successfully completed the exam to the satisfaction of the committee.
• Conditional Pass means that the committee will require the student to remedy some knowledge gap, weakness, or error exhibited in the exam, e.g., by taking a particular course, completing a research project and producing satisfactory results, making another presentation at a research group meeting, etc. Conditions will vary by student and may be developed by the committee in consultation with the graduate program committee and the research advisor and will be delivered to the student within a week of the research exam. A conditional pass is resolved by the advisor reporting to the graduate program committee that the conditions have been satisfied.
• Fail indicates that the committee has found a serious deficiency in the student’s research progress and reporting. A failing grade is reported to the graduate program committee. The graduate program committee determines the appropriate action, e.g., academic probation if the research exam has revealed a lack of research engagement. The student will be notified of the exact ramifications and of any plan for corrective action within three weeks of the exam.

Step 2: Graduate Board Oral (GBO) Examination

The GBO is a University-mandated exam which follows the University rules laid out here. As per these regulations, the GBO in the Department of Physics and Astronomy is of the preliminary type and focuses on the student’s thesis proposal. The purpose of the exam is to:

• Test the depth and breadth of the student’s knowledge in physics and astronomy and his/her reasoning ability
• Determine the student’s readiness to embark on PhD-level research and the student’s preliminary understanding of the field of the proposed dissertation topic

To achieve these goals, the Department of Physics and Astronomy requires the student to prepare a thesis proposal (about 3–5 pages long), which should be provided to members of the GBO committee at least one week in advance of the exam. The exam starts with an approximately 20-minute presentation by the student describing the proposal. (While the student’s PhD thesis will usually focus on the topic discussed at the GBO, this is not a requirement. The student is not expected to have an expert’s detailed knowledge in the proposed thesis subject.)

The exam should be taken in the fall of the third year of the program, soon after the student has chosen an area of research and has been accepted by an adviser. Students should contact the academic affairs administrative coordinator approximately six weeks prior to the desired exam date for scheduling. The grade for the exam is Pass or Fail and is documented on a form signed by all committee members. If the student fails the exam, he or she can take the GBO the second time. If a student fails the GBO twice, he or she cannot continue on to a PhD.

The five members of the GBO examination committee are selected, according to the rules of the Graduate Board, by the Department of Physics and Astronomy:

• Two faculty members from the Department of Physics and Astronomy (one of them being the formal JHU adviser)
• Two faculty members from other science departments in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences or the Whiting School of Engineering
• The fifth member could be either from Physics and Astronomy or the science departments of the Krieger and Whiting Schools except in case the adviser is not from the Department of Physics and Astronomy. In this case, the thesis adviser is the fifth member of the GBO Committee and can also be a scientist from outside the University.

The chair of the GBO Committee can be neither a faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy nor the thesis adviser.

It is the policy of the Department of Physics and Astronomy that at least one of the internal examiners serving on the committee should be from a different area of physics than the student (astrophysics, condensed matter physics, particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics are the four different areas).

Step 3: Final Thesis Defense

The thesis defense focuses on the student’s dissertation. The Defense Committee consists of five members:

• Two who are experts in the field of the thesis topic (at least one of them must be a faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy)
• One who is a faculty member in Physics and Astronomy with expertise in an unrelated field
• Two who are usually chosen from other departments of the University; however, they could be affiliated with other institutions of higher education or research

Scheduling of the thesis defense can be during fall and spring semesters, as well as the summer months. Students should contact the academic affairs administrative coordinator approximately six weeks prior to the desired exam date for scheduling. Every member of the committee must receive a copy of the thesis at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defense date. The thesis defense usually begins with the student presenting his or her dissertation for 40-45 minutes, during which the committee may ask questions. The presentation is open to the public, and the student and his or her advisor decide how widely to advertise the presentation. After the presentation, the audience leaves the examination room and the committee proceeds to the questions phase. Most defenses last between 1.5 and 2 hours. The committee may recommend changes to the thesis.

After successful completion of this final thesis defense, the committee documents by signatures that the student has passed. The academic affairs administrative coordinator forwards the appropriate forms to the graduate board notifying them of the newest PhD in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, while the student incorporates any final edits into the dissertation and submits it to the JHU library. If the student fails the defense, thesis modifications can be made and the student can be re-examined.

The development of powerful AI tools has the potential to enhance the accomplishments of our graduate students engaged in dissertation research. The department welcomes the use of technologies that make our community more productive. It is, however, important to distinguish between enhancing accomplishments and replacing accomplishments. The hallmark of a successful dissertation is that it demonstrates the creativity and scholarship of its author. AI tools cannot be used as substitutes for those qualities.

It is legitimate to use AI tools to edit student-written text for grammar and clarity, to generate or debug boilerplate code for various tasks, and to assist in the formatting of the dissertation. The use of AI tools to write entire chapters or sections of the dissertation is strictly forbidden. All use of AI tools must be disclosed and described in the dissertation. Students are responsible for the correctness of any AI generated contributions and will be expected to demonstrate mastery of their work during the thesis defense.