How to Apply

To apply for graduate study at URI, follow the online application process at the URI Graduate School website. All applicants are automatically considered for financial aid in the form of Teaching or Research Assistantships, when their applications are received by the specified deadlines; no special aid application is necessary.

Requirements

• Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree, preferably with a major in physics
• The Graduate Record Examination (GRE), including the advanced test in physics, is recommended but not required
• To be accepted as a graduate degree candidate, applicants should have maintained an average of approximately B (3.0/4.0 scale) in their undergraduate work. Applicants with undergraduate averages below this level, but not less than 2.0, may be admitted by submitting other evidence of academic potential; i.e., satisfactory performance in post-baccalaureate work, professional experience as evidenced by publications or letters of recommendation, and/or high test scores.
• Foreign students must pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with the score at least 550 or, for the IBT test, the scores for reading 20, listening 17, speaking 17, writing 22 (the cumulative IBT score is irrelevant). The exam must be taken within two years of the application date; the TOEFL requirement is waived for students with a graduate or undergraduate degree from an American school.
• There is no set format for recommendation letters, which can either be submitted online or sent to the Department either by the applicant (in sealed and signed envelopes) or directly by the letter’s author. For further information, contact the Chair (contact@phys.uri.edu) or the Graduate Program Directors Prof. Kahn and Prof. Meyerovich at the Department of Physics, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881.

Cost & Financial Aid

Tuition and fees are set on an academic-year basis and are lower for residents of Rhode Island than for out-of-state students.

Financial aid is available to students in several forms:

Graduate Assistantships are the most common form of support for entering students. Duties usually consist of about six contact hours as a laboratory instructor in an elementary course. Graduate Assistantships are usually renewable for up to six years for the Ph.D. students in good standing. This means grades not less than C in all courses with the minimum grade average of B, active participation in one of the departmental research programs starting from the summer of the first year, and taking the qualifying exam after the first three semesters at URI.

Graduate Research Assistantships are awarded, usually to advanced students, for work on a specific research project under the supervision of a particular professor. Stipends for assistantships depend on the students level. Stipends are given for a nine-month academic-year term, but with additional summer salary generally available.

Fellowships and Scholarships are awarded by the Graduate School to outstanding students in Doctor of Philosophy programs from among nominees selected by the department chairperson. Scholarships for tution and fees only are occasionally available to otherwise unsupported students. Neither fellowships nor scholarships require any formal duties.