A graduate physics education should stimulate intellectual excitement and instill the knowledge, skills, confidence, independence, and versatility needed for a successful career in either the sciences and other quantitative or technical fields. Essential to this goal is a talented, enthusiastic, and imaginative faculty committed to the professional development of graduate students. We have such a faculty here at Penn State.

A graduate program cannot be successful without robust lines of communication between faculty and students. In addition to the traditional advisor/student mentoring relationship, the Penn State graduate program also elicits feedback from graduate students through web-based survey forms, an occasional email newsletter from the Director of Graduate Studies, and lunches between students and the heads of the graduate program committees. These activities provide student feedback into departmental policy decisions and allow us to continuously improve the program.

Please peruse the other sections of this brochure, and the entire Penn State Physics website, to gain a glimpse of the intellectual and physical environment in which you could be pursuing your studies. If you are interested, we cordially invite you to visit with us at University Park Campus. Such a visit also provides an introduction to the atmosphere of the University, which is described in a following section. Please contact graduate-admissions@phys.psu.edu for further information.