Master of Arts in Physics

• Program Overview
• MA Degree Requirements
• Pathway to the PhD Program
• Funding and Tuition
  • Transfer Credits
  • Underloading in the Final Semester
• General Policies
• Sample Schedules for the MA Program

Program Overview

The goal of the Master of Arts (MA) in Physics degree program is to offer a superb graduate education that prepares you for either the challenges of today’s workplace or the requirements of a PhD program in physics or astronomy. To meet these different needs, the program offers a great deal of flexibility, ranging from industry-focused laboratory or computational work to a track based on advanced theoretical coursework in physics and astronomy – see Sample Schedules below for the specific options. Students looking for further specialization can also pair the MA with an additional Graduate Certificate in Data and Computational Science or in Accelerator Science – see Sample Schedules below for the details – or consider Stony Brook’s related MSI and Quantum Information Science degree programs.

Approximately 50% of our incoming class goes on to a PhD program, either our own or elsewhere. In Fall 2026, approximately 25% of the MA class joined the PhD program at Stony Brook, and approximately 30% of our current doctoral students started in the Stony Brook MA program.

The MA degree is offered both as an option without a thesis, which requires passing the Comprehensive Exam at the Master level, and as an option with a thesis, which does not require the comprehensive exam. See MA Degree Requirements below for the full details of both options.

MA Degree Requirements

An MA degree requires a minimum of 30 credits in graduate courses deemed appropriate by the Physics and Astronomy graduate program. Up to 12 graduate credits can be transferred in from a prior institution, provided they were not used for a previous degree – see Transfer Credits below for the eligibility rules and how approval works. A course from outside the Department can also count toward this total, subject to approval – see Taking Courses Outside the Department in Resources for the process.

The requirements for the Master’s degree can be satisfied in two ways.

MA Thesis Track (Recommended)

We encourage most MA students to follow the thesis track. The requirements are:

• Passing of a satisfactory program of study approved by the Graduate Program Director. Normally such a program includes at least two approved graduate courses and two semesters of PHY 598 and PHY 599. The total number of credits with passing grades (which normally is B or better), including the Master’s Research credit, should be at least 30.

  PHY 664 (Astro Journal Club) or PHY 655 (Advanced Graduate Seminar) can be used as a discretionary substitution for one of PHY 598 or PHY 599. This substitution requires prior approval from both the Graduate Program Director and the course instructors.

• Completion of a Master’s Thesis. The Master’s project is supervised by an advisor and must be written up as a thesis – not just a paper or a research note. The thesis should be a single-author work in which any contributions from other members of the research group the student is working with are made clear. Naturally there may be many such contributions, and this is entirely fine, but it should be clear that the student performed a significant piece of research work themselves.

  There is no need to submit the Master’s thesis to the graduate school – see The Master Defense in Resources for the Guidelines and Template to use if you choose to. The Master’s thesis is not expected to be especially long, similar in style to a PhD thesis. While we do not have precise guidelines, a reasonable expectation might be that it would be between 20-50 pages long (regular 11-12pt font pages, not two-column journal pages). The thesis should demonstrate that the student has obtained an understanding of the background to the research question and has made progress on that question. It is not a requirement that the work be sufficiently original or complete to be published, though if a Master’s thesis does contain publishable work we highly encourage both the student and advisor to see that publication occurs, even if that doesn’t happen before graduation.

Students in this track are not required to take the Comprehensive Exam. They are nonetheless encouraged to do so, especially if they intend to apply to the PhD program – see Pathway to the PhD Program.

Thesis Defense and Committee. Three faculty members are required for the thesis committee: the student’s advisor and two others. At least two of the three must be Stony Brook faculty; the third may be an external member, in which case a CV is required. The advisor is one of the three but cannot chair the committee – one of the other two members chairs instead. The committee needs the Graduate Program Director’s approval.

For the full step-by-step checklist – applying for graduation, getting your committee approved, writing the thesis and holding the defense, confirming the results, and submitting the thesis for certification – see The Master Defense in Resources.

Exam-Based Track

Most students should complete a thesis while at Stony Brook. However, for theoretically inclined students, the non-thesis track may be an appropriate option. In this case, the academic transcript should also ideally include advanced theoretical coursework. Discuss this option with the Graduate Program Director. The requirements are:

• Passing of Graduate Courses approved by the Graduate Program Director with a grade of B or better. The number of courses should be such that the minimum of 30 credits is satisfied. An approved program usually includes PHY 598 and PHY 599 (or the substitutions discussed above) as well as some advanced coursework.
• Passing all parts of the Comprehensive Exam at the Master level.

Pathway to the PhD Program

Many MA students go on to a PhD program – historically, about 25% are admitted into our own PhD program, and another 25% continue on to PhD programs elsewhere. Admission is competitive and not guaranteed, though, so it helps to plan ahead.

Students who wish to continue on to the PhD apply through the same general admission pool as any other doctoral applicant – see Application to the Graduate Program for the requirements and process. There is no separate fast-track, but we review applications from our own MA students with special care, in a dedicated meeting.

Successful candidates typically:

1. Have an advisor who supports their move to the PhD program, both academically and, when possible, with funding.
2. Do well academically in at least two rigorous core courses. Rather than attempting all of the core courses, it’s more effective to concentrate on performing well in a couple of them.
3. Have taken and passed at least one subject of the comprehensive exam at the PhD level, showing they’re ready for PhD-level work.

Most students wanting to be admitted to a highly ranked US PhD program at Stony Brook or elsewhere will generally need to spend at least two semesters in our MA program to build up a good case for admission. Although you are not required to complete the MA in order to enter the PhD program, it is normally a good resume-building step.

Funding and Tuition

MA students are not guaranteed financial support, though it is sometimes available. The department has recently been able to hire a few MA students each semester as teaching assistants, and support from a research group is possible as well, though that has become less common in recent years. MA students do not receive tuition waivers or scholarships and are responsible for tuition, which depends on residency status – see the Cost of Attendance page for current figures.

MA students who are US citizens or permanent residents and are interested in Accelerator Science may be able to receive full funding through the Ernest Courant Traineeship, supported by the Department of Energy – see Schedule V below for the coursework details.

Transfer Credits

Bringing in credits from another institution can shorten your time in the program and reduce what you pay in tuition. Up to 12 credits of comparable graduate coursework taken at another university can count toward the 30-credit MA requirement, at the discretion of the Graduate Program Director. Transfer eligibility must first be approved in writing by the Stony Brook professor teaching the comparable course, and then by the Graduate Program Director, who authorizes the departmental approval. Credits that were already used to complete another degree are not eligible – if you received a degree from the institution you’re transferring credits from, its Registrar’s Office must confirm the course(s) weren’t used toward that degree’s requirements. Such credit transfers should be requested in the student’s first semester at Stony Brook.

The Graduate School also has its own eligibility rules for any transfer credit – for example, the coursework must be reasonably recent and graded B or higher – and requires its own request form. See Transfer Credit Request in Resources for the full requirements and a link to the form.

Underloading in the Final Semester

An MA student (not a PhD student) can request an underload in the last semester of study if fewer than 9 credits are required for graduation. For instance, if you have earned 25 graduate credits and only 5 are required to graduate, you can request an underload to register for only 5 credits. An MA student with an approved underload is still considered a full-time student but will pay less tuition. Students serving as a TA or RA that semester are not eligible for an underload.

Foreign students applying for an underload must inform the Office of Visa and Immigration Services and stay in communication with the Graduate Program Director about the plan.

Note that if you request an underload in a given semester, you must graduate at the end of that semester. Underloading therefore carries some risk, especially for foreign students: failing a course at this stage would prevent the student from graduating, and may require reinstatement through Visa and Immigration Services under the applicable visa rules.

General Policies

Professional conduct and good standing for MA students follow the same University and Departmental policies as PhD students – see Professional Conduct and Good Standing in the PhD page for the full detail, including the Graduate School’s GPA-based probation standard and the Program Grievance and Appeals Committee (GPGAC) process for appealing a decision. The PhD-specific items there – the Advisor and Oral Exam deadlines, the Departmental Probation committee tied to the Comprehensive Exam, and the seven-year PhD time limit – don’t apply to the MA program; see below for what does.

TA and RA performance. As with PhD students, TA performance is evaluated each semester by the supervising faculty member (see Teaching in the PhD page). Sustained unsatisfactory performance can put an MA student’s standing in the program at risk, and can result in the loss of TA or RA funding.

Time limit to degree. Most students complete the MA in two years (four semesters) – see Sample Schedules below. The Graduate School’s outer time limit for a full-time master’s degree is three years. See Time Limit Extension in Resources for how to request more time if you need it – the request is reviewed by the Graduate Program Director together with your advisor.

Leave of Absence. MA students follow the same University leave policies as PhD students, including parental leave – see Leave of Absence in the PhD page for eligibility, forms, and how re-entry and funding are handled.

Sample Schedules for the MA Program

In most cases the thirty credits coursework for the MA degree can be essentially completed in three semesters, allowing for a significant underload in the fourth semester.

Below we give five examples of approved course sequences for an MA degree. There is a great deal of flexibility, and depending on your interests, courses can be substituted with other physics graduate courses. The schedules below are designed for full-time students with 9+ credits in the first two semesters and 9 credits in the third semester, with an optional fourth semester as needed. All programs of study require approval of the Graduate Program Director.

Schedule I and II prepare students for admission to a PhD program. Schedule I is the default option, which focuses more on research, while Schedule II caters to well-prepared students interested in theory. Doing more research has the advantage that your advisor will be able to write a stronger letter of recommendation. Schedule I, shown below, incorporates the underload option in the last semester, while Schedule II is typically completed in three semesters with no Fourth Semester coursework required.

Default Program for Preparation for Admission to a PhD Program with Master Thesis Research – Schedule I

Undertaking Master’s thesis research is one of the best ways to prepare an application for a PhD program. It gives you skills that make you a desirable recruit, and gives your advisor the insight needed to write a strong letter of recommendation.

You should also build a strong transcript: take at least one core course or math methods in each of the first two semesters to demonstrate academic readiness. Most MA transcripts will look stronger with this added rigor, but it’s better to take on just one core course per semester and do well in it than to stretch for two.

While it is not required to be at Stony Brook over the summer between Semesters 2 and 3, it can be an excellent opportunity to make significant progress on your research project. Enroll in PHY 800 Summer Research for 0 credits.

Schedule II – Coursework-Focused Program for Preparation for Admission to a PhD Program, with a Focus on Theoretical Physics

This schedule does not include a Master’s thesis: the coursework is demanding, and the student finishes in three semesters. It requires passing the comprehensive exam at the Master level, so students following this schedule should be confident they can earn strong grades in a demanding course load and pass these exams by the start of Semester 3.

Additional variations of this schedule could include further independent study, more advanced courses, a fourth semester at Stony Brook, and additional theoretical research. Students in this category may also wish to transfer credits and skip the core courses (in favor of additional theoretical courses) if they have already completed equivalents elsewhere.

While it is not required to be at Stony Brook over the summer between Semesters 2 and 3, this is a good time to do a reading project, attend Simons Center talks, and study for the comps. Enroll in PHY 800 Summer Research for 0 credits.

Schedule III – Program Focused on Practical Laboratory Skills

This is a good option for building practical skills and research experience in a laboratory setting. Students with this inclination should also consider the MSI degree or the degree in Quantum Information Science.

Students inclined toward computational science should consider a schedule similar to Schedule IV, along with earning the Graduate Certificate in Data and Computational Science.

Students interested in Accelerator Science should consider Schedule V below.

While it is not required to be at Stony Brook over the summer between Semesters 2 and 3, it can be an excellent opportunity to make significant progress on your research project. Enroll in PHY 800 Summer Research for 0 credits.

Schedule IV – Program Including an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Data and Computational Science

This schedule is for students interested in documented practical skills in computation, built on a foundation in physics. The student earns a Graduate Certificate in Data and Computational Science in addtion to the MA degree.

Note: this track requires a full-time fourth semester.

Courses marked (Certificate) are required for the Certificate in Data and Computational Science. Students should ensure that at least one of the PHY electives they take is listed on the Certificate Course Catalog.

A lighter schedule similar to the one shown below, but without the certificate, is also a reasonable option for students interested in obtaining practical skills in computation with a foundation in physics beyond the undergraduate level.

We also note that JRN 501 and JRN 503 have not been offered recently – you should speak to the IACS to find acceptable substitutes if they are not being offered in a timely manner.

Schedule V – Program Including a Graduate Certificate in Accelerator Science

This schedule is for students interested in earning a Graduate Certificate in Accelerator Science. US citizens or permanent residents may be supported financially through the Ernest Courant Traineeship (see Funding and Tuition above). Students in the Traineeship are required to take at least six credits in accelerator physics and should plan to attend the USPAS school over the summer and winter terms (see below). Completing the Traineeship also earns a Graduate Certificate in Accelerator Science. If you are interested in this path, speak to the Graduate Program Director and Professor Vladimir Litvinenko.

Students registering for PHY 689 are required to attend the USPAS school over the winter and summer terms and will earn a course grade for PHY 689 based on the assessments given at the USPAS school. Support is provided for travel to the USPAS schools.