Admissions

Fee Waiver Instructions:

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT SUBMIT the application until you hear back with a decision.

Start the application and choose our program then sign out of the application. (DO NOT SUBMIT THE APPLIATION).  Use your application credentials to access the fee waiver form. Once you submit the form you will receive an email confirming receipt. A decision will be sent to you within a week.  If you are denied, you must pay the application fee before we can have access to your application.  Paid application fees will not be refunded.

https://www.sas.upenn.edu/graduate-division/prospective-students/application-information

Please direct problems/questions to: gdasadmis@sas.upenn.edu

Please do not send transcripts or other documents to the “admiss@upenn” email address.

Information for applicants to the graduate program:

The graduate program in physics and astronomy is directed primarily towards the PhD degree, emphasizing completion of an original and significant research investigation. The department will, however, award a M.S. degree signifying a knowledge of physics well beyond the undergraduate level but without the comprehensive background and intensive research effort of the Ph.D.

The departmental research program presently emphasizes experimental and theoretical works in particle physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, astrophysics, and astronomy.

https://apply.graduateadmissions.upenn.edu/apply/

Special Admissions Requirements

A Bachelor's degree in physics, astronomy, or a related science is required. If the Bachelor's degree is not in physics or astronomy, a strong physics minor is necessary. Prior research experience is strongly encouraged.

For applicants whose native language is not English, the TOEFL exam is required to demonstrate proficiency in English. We do not require GRE scores as part of our admissions process, but like many other items of a student’s application—transcript, letters, statement—they may provide information about you as a student that might otherwise be missed. If you have chosen to take the GREs and feel that they demonstrate an ability that is not shown otherwise by your record, please note this in your research or personal statements.

In the personal statement, all Ph.D. applications within the Graduate Division of Arts & Sciences should address the following:

Please describe how your background and academic experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree and led you to apply to Penn. Your essay should detail your specific research interests and intellectual goals within your chosen field. Please provide information about your educational trajectory, intellectual curiosity and academic ambitions. If you have overcome adversity and/or experienced limited access to resources or opportunities in your field of study, please feel free to share how that has affected the course of your education. We are interested in your lived experiences and how your particular perspective might contribute to the inclusive and dynamic learning community that Penn values and strives to create.

For Further Information

Admissions

Department of Physics and Astronomy

University of Pennsylvania

209 S 33rd Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104-6396

telephone:(215) 898-3125

department (215) 898-8141

email: admiss@physics.upenn.edu

Admission Statistics

• Address admission inquiries to: Admissions Coordinator, Department of Physics and Astronomy
• Graduate application fee required: $90
• Admission deadline (Fall admission): December 15
• Admission information: We typically make offers of admission to about 12 percent of those who apply.
• Admission requirements: Bachelor's degree in physics, astronomy or a related science. If the Bachelor's degree is in another field, a strong physics minor is required. No minimum undergraduate GPA is specified. No minimum score on the GRE verbal and quantitative is specified.
• Undergraduate preparation assumed: A typical student will have completed intermediate and advanced courses in mechanics (Marion, Becker, etc.); electricity and magnetism (Reitz and Milford, Corson and Lorrain); quantum mechanics (Saxon, etc.); and undergraduate laboratory.

Transfer Credit

Students may receive credit for graduate courses taken at other institutions, though no more than 8 credits may be transferred. For more information, contact the Graduate Chair with your transcript and a description of the topics covered in the class.