PhD Program
The Research You do Here Could Impact Your Future – and the World’s
As a PhD candidate in the Physics program at WPI, you’ll find yourself in strategically sized classes and research groups where you’ll receive individualized attention from faculty members who are internationally recognized for their outstanding research endeavors. You’ll be challenged to explore new ways of thinking, and encouraged to take part in groundbreaking discoveries.
You’ll have the option of choosing a research specialization from the areas in which our principal investigators are engaged, including fiber optics, biophysics, order-disorder phenomena, quantum computers, and many others. Or you may suggest your own area of original research through our Independent Study/Project. The choice is yours.
Financial Support
For PhD candidates, we offer financial support in the forms of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships.
- Teaching Assistantships: A nine-month appointment at approximately $18,000.
- Research Assistantships: Generally an 11-to-12 month appointment at $20,000 - $22,000 with the principal investigator.
- Fellowships: A wide variety of individually applied fellowships are available.
Degree Requirements
The PhD degree requires 90 credit hours, including 42 in approved courses or directed study (which must include PH 511, PH 514-515, PH 522 and PH 533, or their equivalents), 30 of dissertation research, and completion and defense of a PhD thesis. Learn more…
