The PhD Core Curriculum

 

Effective Fall 2005, a total of eight courses from the following lists are needed to fulfill a student's core course requirements:

 

Group I.  A PhD student must select one course under each topic.  These topics and course materials will not appear on the comprehensive exam.

  • A. Mathematical and Physical Foundations
    Opti 512 Linear Systems, Fourier transforms
    Opti 543 Quantum Mechanics for Optical Physics
    (or an equivalent graduate–level quantum mechanics course)
    Opti 604 Math Methods for Optics

  • B. Statistics and Noise
    Opti 508 Probability and Statistics in Optics
    Opti 528 Information and Noise

 

Group II.  A student must select one course under each topic.  The material in the five courses chosen by the student will be on the comprehensive exam.

  • 1. Electromagnetic Waves
    Opti 501 Electromagnetic Waves

  • 2. Geometrical Optics
    Opti 502 Optical Design and Instrumentation I

  • 3. Quantum Optics
    Opti 511R Optical Physics and Lasers (Prereq: Opti 501)
    Opti 544 Foundations of Quantum Optics (Prereq: Opti 543)

  • 4. Physical Optics
    Opti 505R Diffraction and Interferometry (Prereq: Opti 501, and 512 or 604)
    Opti 546 Physical Optics (Prereq: Opti 501)

  • 5. Solid State Optics
    Opti 507 Solid-state optics (Prereq: Opti 511R or Phys 371)
    Opti 548 Optical Properties of Solids (Prereq: Opti 501 and 543)
    Opti 537 Imaging Physics and Devices (Prereq: 501, 536)

Note: A student may not elect to have both Opti 511 and Opti 546 count towards fulfillment of his/her core course requirements.
 

 

Group III.  A student must select one course from this list. 

The material in the course chosen by the student will be on the comprehensive exam.

  • 6a. Photonics
    Opti 510R Photonics (Prereq: Opti 501, 505R, 507, and 511R)

  • 6b. Image Science
    Opti 536 Introduction to Image Science

  • 6c. Applied Optics
    Opti 509 Optical Design and Instrumentation II (Prereq: 502)

 

 

Some recommended
course sequences (tracks).
                        TRACKS
Applied
Optics		 Image
Science

Photonics and Quantum Optics
COURSE AREAS A B *

A:  Math/Physics Foundations

512

512 or  604

512

543 *

B:  Statistics

508

508

508 or 528

508 or 528

 

        

1:  Electromagnetic Waves

501

501

501

501

2:  Geometrical Optics

502

502

502

502

3:  Quantum Optics

511

511

511

544*

4:  Physical Optics

505

505

505

546

5:  Solid-State Optics

507 or 537

537

507

507 or 548

6:  Specialization Area

509

536

510

510

* Opti 543 and Opti 544 assume previous academic experience in physics, particularly undergraduate-level quantum mechanics.  The PQO track B is recommended primarily for students who wish to pursue quantum optics, physics-oriented photonics, and solid-state optics research.

 

Questions?

Please contact Ms. Gail Varin,  Academic Advisor, at gail@optics.arizona.edu.  Ms. Varin's phone number is 520-626-0888.  Or, for calls inside the U.S. only, our toll-free number is 1-888-285-3415.