Teaching experience is a valuable ingredient of graduate study. Some teaching is required of all resident students; the minimum is one semester for completion of the MS or MA, and an additional semester for completion of the PhD.

For the MA degree, the requirements are the passing of the qualifying exam at the masters level, 24 credits of graduate course work approved by the department (with an average grade of B), and a master's thesis. For the MS degree, eight additional credits are required in lieu of a master's thesis. A student on the way to the PhD will usually satisfy the MS requirements.

For the PhD degree, there are no explicit course or credit requirements. However, the candidate must, in addition to passing the qualifying exam, demonstrate a mastery of the material in the first- and second-year courses, either by doing well in these courses or through individual examinations. The heart of the PhD program is the dissertation. Students typically begin apprenticeships in their chosen specialization during their second year and then start seriously into their research. The research must be a significant original contribution. A dissertation must be approved by the candidate's PhD committee, and then must be defended successfully in a public oral examination.

It is impossible to give a rigorous time-table for completion of the PhD. Our experience has been that starting from the completion of the bachelor's degree, students usually require five and a half years to obtain a PhD.

For information about the PhD degree in physics with a specialization in computational science, go to www.compsci.wm.edu.

These essential requirements are under continual review by the Departmental Graduate Committee which consists of faculty members and at least one elected graduate student representative. It concerns itself with all aspects of graduate student life, including the general regulations and exceptions, arrangements for financial aid, and the academic progress of all students.

The detailed and formal statements of requirements are given in the Graduate Studies Catalog of the College of William & Mary, which is available on request.