Ph.D. Curriculum Requirements
The Computational Physics area of
concentration within the CSI Ph.D. program
comprises 48 credit hours of course work plus 24 credit hours in
dissertation research. Candidates with M.S. degrees can reduce the
number of credit hours of course work by up to 24 hours. It should
be noted that flexibility will be allowed depending on individual
circumstances (e.g., a candidate who has already taken the equivalent
of one of the core courses can substitute another course as long as
the advisor approves).
1. Common Computational Core (12 credit hours)
- CSI 700 (Numerical Methods)
- CSI 701 (Foundations of Computational Sciences)
- CSI 703 (Scientific and Statistical Visualization)
- CSI 710 (Scientific Databases)
2. Scientific Core (12 credit hours)
- CSI 780/PHYS 613 (Computational Physics and Applications)
- CSI 783/PHYS 736 (Computational Quantum Mechanics) or CSI 784 / PHYS 732 (Quantum Mechanics)
- CSI 785/PHYS 722 (Electromagnetic Theory) or PHYS 513 (Applied Electromagnetic Theory)
To complete the Scientific Core, students should take one of the
following courses:
- CSI 782/PHYS 711 (Statistical Mechanics)
- CSI 783/PHYS 736 (Computational Quantum Mechanics)
- CSI 784/PHYS 732 (Quantum Mechanics)
- CSI 888 (Topics in Quantum Systems)
- PHYS 705 (Classical Mechanics)
3. Scientific Electives (12 credit hours)
All students are required to take at least two of the following courses:
- PHYS 705 (Classical Mechanics)
- CSI 721 (Computational Fluid Dynamics I)
- CSI 782/PHYS 711 (Statistical Mechanics)
- CSI 783/PHYS 736 (Computational Quantum Mechanics)
- CSI 788 (Large Scale Physical Simulations)
- CSI 888 (Topics in Quantum Systems)
After consultation with their advisor, students should take at least two courses
from but not limited to the following:
- CSI 687/PHYS 512 (Solid State Physics)
- PHYS 701 (Theoretical Physics)
- CSI 741 (Nonlinear Dynamical Systems)
- CSI 761/ASTR 761 (N-Body Methods and Particle Simulation)
- CSI 781 (Plasma Science)
- CSI 786 (Molecular Dynamics Modeling)
- CSI 787 (Computational Material Science)
4. Colloquia and Seminars (3 credit hours)
All students are required to take three credit hours of Seminar and/or Colloquia:
- CSI 898 (Scientific Colloquium)
- CSI 899 (CSI Colloquium)
- CSI 991 (Scientific Seminar)
5. General Electives (9 credit hours)
In agreement with their advisor, students are highly recommended to take research oriented courses that initiate the doctoral thesis work. Consult with your advisor. Examples of such courses are:
- CSI 796 (Directed Reading and Research) (up to 6 hours)
- CSI 996 (Doctoral Reading and Research) (up to 6 hours)
- CSI 888 (Advanced Topics in Quantum Systems)
- CSI 986 (Advanced Topics in in Large Scale Physical Simulations)
6. Thesis Hours (24 credit hours)
Copyright School of Computational Sciences, George Mason
University, Fairfax, VA, USA
Last modified: February, 2007
Please send questions or comments to Dr.
Peter A. Becker at pbecker@gmu.edu