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Qualifying Exam

 

The Qualifying Exam (or written preliminary exam) is required of all Ph.D candidates and covers the fields of mechanics, statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, quantum mechanics and modern physics at the upper division undergraduate level.  The exam is given over two days, Thursday and Friday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, during the first week of classes of each Fall and Spring semester.

2006-2007 Qualifying Examination Committee: Duke (chair), Bonesteel, Brooks, Schlottmann, Volya, Wahl, Wiebe.

The following websites have collections of problems at *roughly* the desired level: upper division undergraduate courses.

Problem Sets without Solutions

http://www.phys.ufl.edu/grad_program/sample_prelims.htm
http://www.phy.duke.edu/graduate/qualify.ptml
http://www.physics.uiuc.edu/Education/Graduate/Qual/Qual-Attic.html
http://www.physics.uc.edu/~johnson/qualifying.exams/Index.html
http://www.physics.wisc.edu/graduates/qualifiers/qualifiers.html#Exams http://www.phys.washington.edu/phd_quals.htm

Problem Set with Solutions

http://physics.ucsd.edu/students/grad_exams/

Previous Exams

Fall 2006 Exam
Fall 2006 Solutions
Spring 2007 Exam
Spring 2007 Solutions
Fall 2007 Exam
Fall 2007 Solutions
Spring 2008 Exam
Spring 2008 Solutions

Previous Exam Problem Bank

MECHANICS QUESTIONS (.pdf) SOLUTIONS (.pdf)
ELECTRODYNAMICS QUESTIONS (.pdf) SOLUTIONS (.pdf)
MODERN PHYSICS QUESTIONS (.pdf) SOLUTIONS (.pdf)
QUANTUM MECHANICS QUESTIONS (.pdf) SOLUTIONS (.pdf)
THERMODYNAMICS AND STATISTICAL MECHANICS QUESTIONS (.pdf) SOLUTIONS (.pdf)

 

PHY 6938, Proficiency Exam Preparation Problems

MECHANICS

QUESTIONS (.pdf)

QUESTIONS (.ps)

SOLUTIONS (.pdf)

SOLUTIONS (.ps)
Spring 2003 Spring 2003 Spring 2003 Spring 2003
Fall 2002 Fall 2002 Fall 2002 Fall 2002
Spring 2002 Spring 2002 Spring 2002 Spring 2002
Fall and Spring 2001 Fall and Spring 2001 Fall and Spring 2001 Fall and Spring 2001
Fall 2000 Fall 2000 Fall 2000 Fall 2000
Spring 2000 Spring 2000 Spring 2000 Spring 2000
Fall 1999 Fall 1999 Fall 1999 Fall 1999
Spring 1999 Spring 1999 Spring 1999 Spring 1999
Fall 1998 Fall 1998 Fall 1998 Fall 1998
Spring 1998 Spring 1998 Spring 1998 Spring 1998
Fall 1997 Fall 1997 Fall 1997 Fall 1997
Spring 1997 Spring 1997 Spring 1997 Spring 1997

ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

QUESTIONS (.pdf)

QUESTIONS (.ps)

SOLUTIONS (.pdf)

SOLUTIONS (.ps)
Spring 2003 Spring 2003 Spring 2003 Spring 2003
Fall 2002 Fall 2002 Fall 2002 Fall 2002
Spring 2002 Spring 2002 Spring 2002 Spring 2002
Fall 2001 Fall 2001 Fall 2001 Fall 2001
Spring 2001 Spring 2001 Spring 2001 Spring 2001
Fall 2000 Fall 2000 Fall 2000 Fall 2000
Spring 2000 Spring 2000 Spring 2000 Spring 2000
Fall 1999 Fall 1999 Fall 1999 Fall 1999
Spring 1999 and Fall 1998 Spring 1999 and Fall 1998 Spring 1999 and Fall 1998 Spring 1999 and Fall 1998
Spring 1998 Spring 1998 Spring 1998 Spring 1998
Fall 1997 Fall 1997 Fall 1997 Fall 1997
Spring 1997 Spring 1997 Spring 1997 Spring 1997

OPTICS AND THERMODYNAMICS

QUESTIONS (.pdf)

QUESTIONS (.ps)

SOLUTIONS (.pdf)

SOLUTIONS (.ps)
Spring 2003 Spring 2003 Spring 2003 Spring 2003
Fall 2002 Fall 2002 Fall 2002 Fall 2002
Spring 2002 Spring 2002 Spring 2002 Spring 2002
Fall and Spring 2001 Fall and Spring 2001 Fall and Spring 2001 Fall and Spring 2001
Fall 2000 Fall 2000 Fall 2000 Fall 2000
Spring 2000 Spring 2000 Spring 2000 Spring 2000
Fall 1999-Spring 1997 Fall 1999-Spring 1997 Fall 1999-Spring 1997 Fall 1999-Spring 1997

MODERN PHYSICS AND QUANTUM MECHANICS

QUESTIONS (.pdf)

QUESTIONS (.ps)

SOLUTIONS (.pdf)

SOLUTIONS (.ps)
Spring 2003 Spring 2003 Spring 2003 Spring 2003
Fall 2002 Fall 2002 Fall 2002 Fall 2002
Spring 2002 Spring 2002 Spring 2002 Spring 2002
Fall 2001 Fall 2001 Fall 2001 Fall 2001
Spring 2001 Spring 2001 Spring 2001 Spring 2001
Fall 2000 Fall 2000 Fall 2000 Fall 2000
Spring 2000 Spring 2000 Spring 2000 Spring 2000
Fall 1999-Spring 1997 Fall 1999-Spring 1997 Fall 1999-Spring 1997 Fall 1999-Spring 1997
 
         
     

 

 
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