Admission is based on undergraduate and/or previous graduate grade-point averages, performance on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and references. The Department of Physics requires the general GRE test and recommends the physics GRE test.

To apply for admission to NMSU and our physics program, please carefully follow the instructions below.

If you need financial support in the form of Graduate Assistantships, please complete the Physics Graduate Application for Financial Aid. You must also have 3 former instructors submit a letter of reference. These forms must be mailed, to the Department of Physics together with a copy of your transcript(s), a copy of your GRE Score Report, to the Department of Physics. Please send inquiries about financial support to the Graduate Advisor, Vassili Papavassiliou, pvs@nmsu.edu. (addresses below)

The Department of Physics offers both thesis and non-thesis M.S. programs. Requirements for both of these programs include: course work, and passing the written qualifying exam & oral final exam. The general time-frame for the M.S. program is about two years to completion.

The Ph.D. program requires additional course-work to the M.S. degree; passing qualifying, comprehensive & final exams, and writing a dissertation based on original research in an area of physics. The time required for completion of the Ph.D. program varies with the average about a 6 year completion rate.

More information about the requirements for physics M.S. and Ph.D. degrees can be found in the Department’s Graduate Student Requirements.

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  Instruction

  U.S. applicants should:

  • first apply for graduate admission to the Graduate School at NMSU (step 1)
  • as well as the Department of Physics (step 2).
  When complete, your application package will be sent to the Graduate School, and will then be forwarded to the Department of Physics. The Graduate School will not process incomplete packages.

  Financial support in the form of a teaching or research assistantship may be provided if you meet the requirements. Most of our current graduate students have full or partial financial support.

  • Complete, sign and mail the Application for Financial Aid form to the Department of Physics at NMSU.

  If you will be financing your graduate study ( partially or in whole) through a non-NMSU sponsor and/or using your own funds, please send the relevant official documentation tothe Graduate School. .

  • Send official documentation of amount and source of finances to the Graduate School.

  Application Deadlines:

  • Fall Semester: March 1
  • Spring Semester: October 1

  (Applcations recieved after the above deadlines will be processed as time permits.)

  1. Graduate Admission, part 1

  • Complete, sign and mail the Application for Admission to Graduate School form or you may fill out the form online: http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/
  • Application Fee: US$15.
  • Official Transcripts from all colleges/universities you have attended in the U.S. and overseas. (These documents must be sent directly from each college or university you attended. These documents must bear the institution’s official stamp or seal. Photocopies will not be accepted.)

  Please mail your application to:
  The Graduate School
  New Mexico State University
  MSC 3G, Box 30001
  Las Cruces, NM
  88003-8001

  2. Graduate Admission, part 2

  • Letters of reference must be written by 3 teachers, acquainted with your education and academic abilities, and mailed directly to the Head of the Department of Physics at NMSU.
  • Mail a photocopy of all your college/university transcripts to the Department of Physics at NMSU.
  • Mail a photocopy of your GRE reports to the Department of Physics at NMSU. The Department requires the general GRE test and recommends the physics GRE test.
  • Please include any other information, that you wish us to consider, to package.

  Please mail your letters of reference to:
  Attn. Graduate Advisor
  Department of Physics
  MSC 3D
  New Mexico State University
  PO Box 30001
  Las Cruces, NM
  88003-8001