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How to Pass the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam in Physics

By arhatee, eHow Member

How to Do

So you've made it into graduate school, and have somehow managed to pass your first year of classes. ConGRADulations! Now, if you're in 90% of the universities in the United States , you will inevitably face the physics PhD. qualifying exam. Don't fret! With a few tips, you'll be cruising through to a passing grade.

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Pencils

Paper

Physics Textbooks

Old Qualifier Exams

Step 1

KNOW YOUR SCHOOL'S STYLE: Each university has their own unique PhD qualifying exam, which changes from year to year. Also, the exam format varies for each university (the amount of questions and time allowed for examination). Some schools have a 6 hour exam in one session, while others give the exam in multiple sections over multiple days. It is important to become familiar with your university's qualifying exam to know what exactly to expect. The best way to do this is to talk to professors.

Step 2

KNOW THE TEST: While the qualifying exam may be different for different universities, they should all cover Electricity and Magnetism, Quantum Mechanics, Classical Mechanics, and Statistical Mechanics. Usually there is more emphasis made on E&M and Quantum. The difficulty level is usually equivalent to your first year of graduate school classes. The same profs who are teaching you these subjects are the ones who are writing the qualifying exam so keep this in mind. One of the best ways to study for the qualifying exam is by getting as much out of your current classes as possible.

Step 3

KNOW WHEN TO START: It is best to start serious studying for the qualifying exam a couple days after your final exams end, probably May sometime. This gives you approximately 3 months to study (Most Quals are given in August). Treat it like a day job! Try to designate at least 6 hours a day to practicing problems as we'll discuss below and you'll be confident and ready for your exam come August!

Step 4

GET OLD EXAMS: Every physics department has a stockpile of old qual exams locked away in the basement. Your department's receptionist will undoubtedly know where to find these and will give them to you, No Charge! This really gives you a ton of problems to do...say 10 years of exams X 12 problems per exam = 120 problems! Also, this will give you a feel for the difficulty level of your particular school's exam.

Step 5

GET THE RIGHT BOOKS: In the words of Good Will Hunting, "You people spend your whole lives surrounding yourselves with books and their the WRONG books!"
Well, here are a list of the right books to use as references while working qualifier problems. Also, ask your professors which books they think are the right books. I'm sure they will have a list they're dying to talk about.
E&M--
Classical Electrodynamics by Jackson - A must-have!
Electrodynamics by Griffiths - Undergrad text but very clear and useful-Must-have.
Classical Theory of Fields by Landau and Lifshitz - Doesn't show steps, but may clear up conceptualization problems.
Problems & Solutions on Electromagnetism by Linn - Great big vat of problems from old qualifying exams taken from a number of universities.
Quantum Mechanics--
Quantum Physics by LeBellac - Grad text, very thorough.
Quantum Mechanics by Griffiths - Undergrad text with essential problems.
Modern Quantum Mechanics by Sakurai - grad text, good but may need LeBellac to clear things up.
Classical Mechanics--
Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems by Thorton and Marion - undergrad text but essential!
Classical Dynamics by Goldstein - pretty dense grad text but good for reference.
Statistical Physics--
Introduction to Statistical Thermodynamics by Hill - good overall book.
Statistical Mechanics by Pathria - dense grad text but good for reference.

Step 6

MAKE A PROBLEM BOOK: Here is some key advice to passing the qualifying exam. When you work on a problem, write the final solution on one sheet of paper. Then put it in a binder which will soon be comprised of all your previous worked solutions. Title each problem with a catchy heading which describes the jist of the problem. Also, highlight any tricks or difficult jumps that were made with a bright color. A couple of weeks before the exam, study your binder, going back through all the tricks and essential tools you used to solve the problems. This is fantastic review!

Step 7

FINAL ADVICE: On the day of the test, set two alarms, get up early and take a jog to get the blood flowing, take deep breaths, relax.
By now you have worked through every problem Griffiths has ever come up with, you have mastered every problem from the last 10 years of your school's qualifying exam, and you have a binder of mastered problems. So relax and dominate the test!

Tips & Warnings

Use your textbooks as references only for tricky problems! The main point is to learn how to do as many types of problems as possible, not to read every book on physics. Don't waste time reading chapters!